Little Kunoichi the Ninja Girl

Kunoichi (“ninja girl” in Japanese) goes to ninja school but isn't very good at it. She is inspired by a new friend, Chibi Samurai (little samurai) to train really hard and excel. The book gives a phonetic spelling of Kunoichi but for all other Japanese words you're on your own. None of them are very hard but if you're not familiar with Japanese beforehand you're likely to butcher at least some of the terms. The last page explains various cultural terms and images in the story, so there's an educational aspect but it's not forced into the story itself. The story focuses on a “practice makes perfect” sort of message. It's quite nonviolent as well, despite some shuriken accidents played for comedy.