The Children’s Book Review | June 9, 2014
The Cynja
By Chase Cunningham, Heather C. Dahl; Illustrations by Shirow Di Rosso
Hardcover: 46 pages
Age Range: 5-9
Publisher: The Cynja, LLC.(2014)
ISBN: 978-0991204908
What to expect: Cyber Security, Internet Safety, Good vs. Evil
Get ready for some serious action in the first volume of a new comic-book-style picture book series about malicious cyber attacks, The Cynja.
The team behind this book wants readers to know that there are protectors working behind the scenes to keep the Internet a safe place and they hope to inspire some future cyber ninjas. Grant, an eleven-year-old boy who lives for computer class, must find courage after some surprising events find him working as a cynja with the almighty Cynsei. Cynjas (cyber ninjas) battle to save the Internet from a range of enemies who are all controlled by the Botmaster. Cunningham and Dahl who collaborate on the text have found a gap in children’s literature and filled it well. The topic is current and their translation of cyber language and virtual worlds is exciting and completely relatable through classic good guy vs. bad guy storytelling. Shirow Di Rosso’s east-meets-west illustrative style truly brings the virtual world to life. There is never a dull moment with his sketched, inked and photoshopped illustrations.
This is a book that is sure to draw in young media junkies that would normally prefer to get their 20 minutes of daily reading from instructions and screens during a video game session, but will also appeal to all children and adults that are curious or bewildered by the digital world.
About the Authors
Chase Cunningham fights bad guys in cyberspace. He began his cynja training serving in the U.S. Navy, where he worked as an analyst in the Department of Defense’s network exploitation program. He lives in Northern Virginia with his two young cyber warriors Callie and Caelyn. He earned a B.S. from the American Military University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in information systems security from Colorado Tech University. Chase always keeps his passwords secret.
Heather C. Dahl writes about the magic in technology. She’s a journalist who has covered politics and foreign affairs on the ground and now she researches battles in cyberspace. Heather’s an Oregonian living in Washington, DC. Heather earned a B.A. from Willamette University, a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University, and an MBA from The Johns Hopkins University. She never shares her USB drive with anyone.
Read The Children’s Book Review‘s interview with The Cynja authors, Chase Cunningham and Heather C. Dahl.
About the Illustrator
Shirow Di Rosso is the Artmaster. After years of working as an IT engineer, he’s now bringing cyberspace to life through drawing. Shirow lives near Brussels, Belgium with his awesome wife and two cynja daughters Sakura and Hinata. He makes sure to fuel the flames of his firewall on a regular basis.
Read The Children’s Book Review‘s interview with The Cynja‘s illustrator, Shirow Di Rosso.
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