Learning How: Karate

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-- An adequate overview for beginners. The text is clear, but not very lively. It covers the basic stances, kicks and punches, as well as the forms, competitions, and history of Japanese karate. Although other martial arts differ somewhat, this book could provide an introductory view of what these sports entail for a child considering lessons. The full-color photographs show both boys and girls of various ethnic backgrounds demonstrating karate skills. However, some are poorly reproduced and are too dark to illustrate what's being described. Overall, there's not much to separate this from other books on the subject--there's nothing wrong with it, but there's nothing in its contents or illustrations to make it stand out. --Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library