Get Mooned: Joey & Johnny, the Ninjas, Book 1
Common Sense says
- Kevin Serwacki, Chris Pallace
- Humor
- 2015
Parents say
Kids say
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Get Mooned: Joey & Johnny, the Ninjas, Book 1 kicks off a funny, frenetically paced series. Spot illustrations and intermittent comic-strip sequences add to the appeal, especially for graphic novel fans. The violence -- and there's a lot of it -- is over-the-top ridiculous: daily battles with a venomous mountain-dwelling octopus, school lunch turned into a contact sport, a class focused on wielding and avoiding all things sharp and pointy. The octopus’ venom causes victims to behave similarly to someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs; they speak nonsense, appear to hallucinate, and ultimately pass out.
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Good Plot - Bad Layout
What's the story?
Best friends Joey and Johnny are students at Kick Foot Academy, a very traditional -- and dangerous! -- ninja school in Lemming Falls. Though they're devoted to becoming spectacular ninjas, they seem to cause chaos wherever they go. Nevertheless, their intimidating headmaster taps them to keep tabs on a suspicious exchange student, who turns out to be a superhero sidekick-in-training. On their mission, the boys discover that their rivals in Red Moon Clan have been arming themselves with mechanical suits and high-tech weaponry -- which is so not ninja. The two ninja schools must face each other in the traditional Test of Three to determine which school will survive -- and which will shut down for good.
Is it any good?
Joey and Johnny hurtle from one amped-up adventure to the next in a lively world filled with ninjas, superheroes, con men, and shadowy villains. The silliness is sometimes crammed to overflowing.
The plot of GET MOONED unspools loosely, with meandering asides on pop culture or the astral plane. There's hardly a line of dialogue or a descriptive sentence that doesn't aim for a chuckle. But most of those chuckles are well-earned with engaging wordplay and clever writing. Comics panels and spot illustrations add to the fun and help draw readers, even reluctant ones, in.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about the pros and cons of technological tools. Do you ever find technology that's supposed to help actually gets in the way of what you're trying to do?
Does this strike you as a violent book? Would it seem different as a movie or TV show? Do you think that media violence affects kids?
The Red Moon Clan school seems to operate like a video game, with often random-seeming achievements. How do in-game rewards and offers affect the way you play?
Book details
- Authors: Kevin Serwacki, Chris Pallace
- Illustrators: Kevin Serwacki, Chris Pallace
- Genre: Humor
- Topics: Sports and Martial Arts, Superheroes, Adventures, Friendship
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Publication date: March 30, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 8 - 12
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: April 06, 2020
Themes & Topics
For kids who love humor and adventure
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.