Advanced Children's Literature

Muth, Jon J. ZEN SHORTS. New York: Scholastic, 2005.

Muth writes a most unusual story about a Panda named Stillwater who comes to visit a family of children named Michael, Addy, and Karl. Stillwater tells the children that the wind blew his umbrella all the way from his backyard to theirs and he wanted to “retrieve it before it became a nuisance.” Muth continues, “He spoke with a slight Panda accent.” ZEN is a charming picture storybook that is approachable if unconventional. Stillwater wears shorts and plays in the pool with the children, climbs to the top of the highest tree in the neighborhood and introduces two “Zen shorts” based on short traditional tales. The Zen shorts are a traditional tale about the moon and another about luck and a farmer. They break up the multicolored pages and are in a single shade with black and white primitive drawings. Stillwater receives a birthday present from his Uncle Ry because it was Ry’s birthday. Addy brings Stillwater a white cake with a bamboo shoot in the center rather than a candle and he inquires if Addy’s birthday is the occasion for her to present the gift of the cake to him. Stillwater drinks tea with the children and does traditional painting with Addy using a calligraphy brush. The Author’s Note at the end of the book is needed and very appropriate explaining that Zen is a word from the Japanese and means meditation. He mentions Buddha and explains that “Zen shorts” are short meditations to puzzle over that help develop intuition. He relates that of the two traditional tales incorporated in the story one is based on a Japanese artist and another on a famous poet. He mentions that the second story has roots in Taoism and he explains that means it is several thousand years old. I think it would be a better one on one read so the inevitable questions and perspective do not steal the natural pattern and rhythm of the base story. Whimsical drawings with muted colors appear throughout. The most beautiful artwork may well be on the inside book cover and end papers. A shaded purple umbrella and white cherry blossoms are in the front and become a graduated French blue design at the close of the book.