Thursday, March 17, 2011

"Zen Shorts" by Jon J. Muth (Caldecott Award Winner)

     Zen Shorts is the story of three children named Addy, Michael, and Karl who one day find a large panda bear named Stillwater sitting in their backyard holding an umbrella.  Each day thereafter, each child spends a day with Stillwater and each child is told a story to "meditate" over.  The title Zen Shorts refers to the three short zen stories that make the reader reflect upon.  Addy's story deals with the concept of giving.  Michael's story questions what we should consider good and bad luck, and shows that we never know what the future holds.  Karl's story teaches the reader that we should not carry anger with us, but let it go. 
     The thing I liked most about this story is that it teaches children a concept that they may not of heard of before--Zen, which literally means mediation.  Each short Zen story makes the reader consider looking at things from a different perspective.  The author notes that these three stories come from Buddhist literature and are centuries old.  The author has adapted these "shorts" so that young readers can relate and understand them.
     My reaction to this book stems from a respect I have for philosophy.  I'm not a scholar on the subject, but I appreciate methods that make a person reflect and ponder over different concepts.  Learning from reflection is something that helps a person grow.  I also liked the illustrations in this book.  While the story focuses on the children, the illustrations are bright and playful.  The illustrations for the short stories are more like drawings without the use of much color.  It made a clear distinction for young readers between the main story and the Zen short stories. 
     Zen Shorts is much like other works of Jon J. Muth.  Some of his other titles include The Three Questions, Zen Ties, Zen Ghosts, and Stone Soup.  Muth takes stories of old and invents new adaptations that children can understand.  These stories usually teach some sort of moral. 
     The new thing I learned abou children's literature through reading this story is that an author can take a complex, philosophical concept and make it into an enjoyable learning experience for young readers. 

No comments:

Post a Comment