Zen Shorts
February 20th, 2005John J. Muth, illustrator
ISBN: 0439339111
Stillwater is a giant panda, something of a Zen master. He meets three children when his umbrella is blown into their yard — and as he befriends each one, he tells them a classic Buddhist story.
Muth depicts Stillwater and the three children with watercolors: spare, color not too intense but not too pale, with light that perfectly captures a lazy afternoon. The giant panda manages to look substantial, solid, soft and quick and light.
When Stillwater is telling stories the art switches to an Asian calligraphy-influenced style. The black and white drawings on pale pages focus attention on the story, as Stillwater and the child he is telling it to recede. The stories contain lessons about possessions and generosity, the perception of luck, and holding on to anger and frustration. Because they are zen stories, the lessons aren’t heavy-handed, and children (both the three in the book, and the intended audience for the book) are left to ponder the meaning of the stories with only gentle guidance from Stillwater.
Graceful art, solid lessons, and an entrancing panda make this a highly recommended title.
