Instant (UnderGrad)ification

While in the library this evening, I decided to search to see if anything by Jon J Muth was available. I found numerous books he illustrated, as well as two books that seem to be in the same series as "Zen Ghosts": "Zen Shorts" and "Zen Ties".

"Zen Shorts" by Jon J Muth

"Zen Shorts" is a Caldecott Honor Book. Muth's illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. They seem to be done with a combination of water color and ink. The style itself reminds me of Japanese calligraphy. "Zen Shorts" is about a panda named Stillwater and of the lessons he teaches three children: Addy, Michael, and Karl.

When Stillwater tells the children stories, the illustrations switch from watercolor and ink to what seems to be solely ink. The illustrations are much more simple and stylized. This affectively shows a switch between what is happening and the story Stillwater is telling.



Stillwater tells Mandy the story of Uncle Ry and the Moon. A robber comes into Uncle Ry's house, but there is nothing for him to steal. Uncle Ry doesn't like to let guests leave empty handed, so he gives the robber his only robe and later laments the fact that he couldn't give the poor man something more, like the moon. I'm unfamiliar with Zen stories, but a quick Google search led me to The Thief and the Moon.

Stillwater tells each of the children a story with a Zen lesson in it. Michael is told about "The Farmer's Luck". Stillwater tells Karl a story titled  "A Heavy Load", making him realize that hanging on to his anger towards his brother ordering him around affected him throughout the rest of his day, when, if he had instead let it go, he would have felt better.

And the end of the book, there is an author's note explaining what Zen is, who the Buddha was, and where the stories Muth used came from.

"Zen Ties" follows after "Zen Shorts". Stillwater's nephew, Koo comes to visit him. Stillwater picks him up from the station and gives him balloons. Later, Koo meets Stillwater's friends, Addy, Michael, and Karl.

"Zen Ties" by Jon J Muth

Stillwater takes the children with him when he goes to visit an ailing friend, Miss Whitaker. The children are not fond of Miss Whitaker. She used to teach English and always seemed to be very grumpy. Through the guidance of Stillwater and Koo, the children learn to empathize with the ailing elderly woman and prepare a meal to bring her while she is sick. In return, Miss Whitaker helps Michael prepare for his spelling bee, and the children seem to realize that their first impression of Miss Whitaker as a grumpy old lady may have been wrong, and that even if she was grumpy, perhaps there was a reason behind her grumpiness (as she is sick and can't see very well anymore).

Embarrassingly enough, it took me a while to realize that Stillwater's nephew, Koo, spoke in Haiku's.
I could definitely use this book in the classroom during a unit on poetry.

I also found another book by Muth titled, The Three Questions. Apparently it is based on the short story Three Questions by Leo Tolstoy. I'll be reading both the short story and the picture book and later post about how Muth was able to make the content understandable for children.

What I've liked the most about Muth's children's books are the illustrations. They are absolutely gorgeous! I also like the fact that he is taking complicated concepts and writing books about them for a younger audience without "writing down" (as mentioned in the previously posted article) to children. I believe a child would find the moral of the stories Stillwater told the children in the books relatively easy to understand. These books would also be a great way to start discussions in class about some of the ideas brought up in the Zen stories.