Night of the Ninjas is the fifth installment in the Magic Tree House series. It was written by Mary Pope Osborne and illustrated by Sal Murdocca.
Synopsis[]
Jack and Annie visit the tree house and are whisked off to Ancient Japan and the time of the ninjas. They meet some ninjas and must sneak around a samurai.
Contents[]
- Back Into the Woods
- The Open Book
- E-hy!
- Captured
- Flames in the Mist
- Shadow Warrior
- To the East
- Dragon Water
- Mouse-walk
- 'Night, Peanut
Plot[]
After days of searching for the tree house of Morgan le Fay, the children began to think it had vanished. They were upset, fearing they might never see Morgan again. However, one night, as they walked through the woods, Annie finally spotted it. They climbed up the rope ladder and found a small mouse inside, which Annie named Peanut. Upon exploring the tree house, Jack found a note on the floor that seemed to be from Morgan. The note revealed that Morgan was under a spell and needed their help. The children noticed an open library book with a picture of two ninjas wearing swords and black scarves. Annie thought the ninjas might be involved in Morgan's troubles and decided they needed to rescue her. Before Jack could stop her, Annie wished for the tree house to take them to meet the ninjas. The wind picked up, and when it stopped, the children found themselves in ancient Japan.
Looking out the window, they spotted two ninjas, and Jack warned Annie not to reveal herself, as the ninjas might mistake her for an enemy. Jack read in the book that ninjas were skilled warriors who lived between the 14th and 17th centuries. They sometimes served as spies, protecting their families. Jack jotted down this information in his notebook. Suddenly, the ninjas spotted them. The children quickly pulled up the rope ladder, but the ninjas swiftly climbed up the tree and entered the tree house. Annie showed them Morgan’s note and explained that they were there to help. One of the ninjas took the note and gestured for the children to follow him. They climbed down the rope ladder, with Annie carefully placing Peanut in her sweatshirt pocket. The ninjas led them to a cold, rushing stream. Jack hesitated, but Annie convinced him to cross for Morgan’s sake. Since the water was freezing, the ninjas offered to carry the children across on their shoulders.
As they walked under the light of a full moon, the ninjas led them through a forest. At one point, one of the ninjas held up his hand to signal for them to stop. Jack read that ninjas often held secret meetings in hidden caves, led by a ninja master who was an expert in nature. He wrote this down in his journal. Soon, the ninjas returned and signaled for the children to follow them into a cave. Inside, a ninja master sat on a mat and told the children to sit. They explained that they were there to help Morgan, and the master agreed to assist them, but only if they proved themselves worthy. He told them that his family was at war with a group of samurai, and to prove their worth, the children had to find their way back through the dark forest and avoid the samurai. He advised them to use nature, be nature, and follow nature, Jack wrote this in his journal.
The ninja master gives Jack and Annie a moonstone.
The children put on their sweatshirt hoods to look more like ninjas. To figure out which direction to go, Jack used nature. He found a stick and held it up to create a shadow, which helped them determine east. They then read about samurai in the library book and learned that they carried two swords. Suddenly, they spotted a large warrior holding two swords. Remembering the master’s advice to “be nature,” Annie told Jack to remain still. They froze until the warrior moved on. To return to the tree house, the children had to cross the river again. Just as they began, Peanut jumped out of Annie’s pocket and ran off. Annie reminded Jack that they had to follow nature, so they decided to follow Peanut, who led them to a branch that crossed the river. They eventually made it back to the tree house, where the ninja master was waiting. He praised them for their efforts and gave them a moonstone, one of the four items needed to break Morgan’s spell. He also reminded them to keep a kind heart.
The children touched a picture of Frog Creek, and the tree house spun them back home. Their mother called them for dinner. Annie made a bed for Peanut out of one of her socks, and the children thanked the mouse for its help on their journey.
Notes on time and place settings[]
- It is mentioned in the book that they landed in Japan during its Period of Isolation, which lasted from 1633 to 1853.
- It is implied that they arrived within a generation prior to their later visit to Japan, Dragon of the Red Dawn, which was certainly in the 1680s.
- Ninjas were dying out in the 17th century. The only place where we have evidence of their existence is the countryside of Nagasaki in the late 1630s. In fact, the Samurai seen in the book may have been stationed there because of the Shimibara revolt in 1637.
- The river crossed by Jack and Annie could have been the Nakashima river, outside of Nagasaki.
- In terms of Internal Chronology, this adventure takes place a few days after the last adventure, Pirates Past Noon.