After reading a quiet but favorable review of this series, I decided to give it a go with my son. Now, two months later, he is obsessed and I'm terrified because I have no renewals left on this book and its sequel
(which I'll probably discuss in the future). This children's book is both gorgeous and intelligent. It teaches zen lessons with a deft hand, applying a child's thought process to them. The teacher is a large panda bear named Stillwater who has moved into a house next to three young children. He is large, but gentle and sweet. The story around the lessons is my favorite part as the children do things like take tea with Stillwater, fly paper airplanes with him, or go swimming with him.
One of my favorite sections is one in which Michael, the eldest, and Stillwater fly paper airplanes. It's simply some of the most beautiful children's text I've ever read. My son, on the other hand, is a large fan of the illustration on the page which shows Michael and Stillwater in a tree throwing two paper airplanes.
Being only two, my son cannot appreciate the sentiment behind many of the pages, but I'm happy to introduce them at a young age as he can grow to understand them. In the meantime, he's simply happy to be reading a story about a panda bear playing with children.
Stillwater Books
- Zen Shorts
- Zen Ties
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