Ara's Rocky Road to White Belt

Description

Break out your uniforms and tie your belts! This Team Taekwondo graphic novel inspires kids to believe in themselves! Ara is the odd turtle out in his family. He's a more into rock collections than wild adventures. Then he meets Baeoh, a confident tiger who practices martial arts. Baeoh wants Ara to join his dojo and help Team Taekwondo complete the Tiger Fitness Challenge...but what if Ara just doesn't have what it takes? With patience and perseverence, Ara must learn how to come out of his shell, persist through failure, and accept the help of his new friends. Ara's Rocky Road to White Beltinspires kids build self-esteem and stick with their goals. With plenty of humor and insight into the struggles children face, this installment is sure to be a fan favorite-passed from one reader to another.

Master Taekwon Lee is a sixth degree black belt and master instructor with many years of martial arts experience with ATA International-the world's largest martial arts licensing company. He's the creator of the award-winning interactive children's videos Agent G- The ATA Defender and Sgt. Safety as well as author of the children's book The Legend of Baeoh. Jeffrey Nodelman is a graphic artist, novelist, painter, and award-winning animator who has worked with Walt Disney, Warner Bros, and Nickelodeon. He is a fourth degree black belt trained in ATA Songahm Taekwondo and a USA certified ice hockey coach. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with- one wife, two children, and three spoiled rescue dogs. Ethen Beavers is the illustrator of a slew of comics for DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and IDW Publishing as well as numerous children's titles, including the Star Wars Little Golden Books and the New York Times bestselling series NERDS. He lives in central California but can be found fly-fishing for trout all across the western United States. Learn more about his work at ethenbeavers.com.

"Lee and Nodelman blend the essential lessons of taekwondo with an idealized look at how family and friends can support self-confidence rather than diminish it. Messages about self-esteem, positive thinking, and persistence are never far from the surface, but the story avoids turning preachy...Beavers's vivid, angular cartoons balance action-oriented scenes with more introspective moments. It's a story that makes the success of a small first step feel like an epic achievement, which is exactly what someone lacking confidence needs to hear." -- Publishers Weekly