Kiki Kicks

"I want to be strong for the right reasons."

Kiki has watched her mama practice karate for a long time, and now she wants to learn too. She wants to become strong and steady like a mountain.

The bullies at school are strong for the wrong reasons. They make Kiki feel small. But today at her first karate lesson, everything changes. Award-winning author Jane Yolen joins forces with debut author Ariel Stemple in this picture book about reclaiming strength, confidence, and peace through martial arts.

This lyrical story of self-empowerment at a martial arts studio is woven around the poetic lines of Yolen's well-known poem "Karate Kid," used by educators and librarians for decades.

Backmatter includes personal notes from the authors about how this story came to be and how martial arts helped save Stemple who was bullied as a child.