About the Author

John Fusco is an award-winning screenwriter with ten major movies to his credit, including "Young Guns", "Hidalgo", "The Forbidden Kingdom", and the Academy Award-nominated animated film "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron". An avid martial artist, he began studying Tang Soo Do at 12 years old and currently holds a black belt in Northern Shaolin Praying Mantis Kung Fu. He lives with his wife and son in Northern Vermont.

Patrick Lugo was the Art Director for Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine for 15 years, where he created the long running comic strip 'Tiger's Tale' which is currently slated for development as a graphic novel. He resides on Alameda Island in the San Francisco Bay.

Reviews

"Appealing to both folktale and martial-arts fans, Fusco's work highlights the fighting skills learned from nature but stresses how rarely and reluctantly the monks used them. Young readers will enjoy Lugo's paintings of the fight scenes, but his work truly shines when portraying the praying mantis." --School Library Journal

"With illustrator Patrick Lugo's colorful, energetic paintings, author John Fusco has brought to life an inspiring tale. To paraphrase the teachings of one of the monks in the book, Fusco's story has good Kung Fu." --Peter Laird, co-creator "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"

"Although presented as a story for young readers, Little Monk and the Mantis is the kind of book that will delight anyone interested in the teachings at the heart of the martial arts. It's truly a lesson story of the best sort, one that is as entertaining as it is wise." --Joseph Bruchac, Our Stories Remember