Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book) (Caldecott Honor Book) Hardcover – Picture Book, March 1, 2005

This set of books about Stillwater the panda are wondrous. Art work is beautiful, and enchanting. The stories are unique and thought provoking. My 3 yro has all of them, and loves them. He's still too young to get the depth of the stories, but still the story provides something he can grab onto now, and as he has grown, repeated reading have allowed him to gain new insights. The characters are pleasant and relatable to a child.What I really appreciate about the story is they are not static stories. There's levels to them. And they are not just another reiteration of the same stories you see repeated in children's book time and time again. For example, rather then just talk about being mean, or sharing, or considerate, on story is about a child who wants to play robots with Stillwater. The child tells Stillwater that he will be "the bad guy". So, with some cookies, Stillwater demonstrates that being the bad guy is no fun for himself, or for others, but still agrees to be the bad guy. Then allows the child to decide to play differently by having both robots go on an adventure together, changing the playtime from a conflict oriented imagination, to a cooperative and positive game.The feel of these books is not a classic story, there is a mundanity to and a flow that provides a very nice change of pace. The Not just how you interact with others, but how you interact with yourself. This should be obvious from the "Zen" in all the titles, but until you have read it (20 times at least) it is hard to appreciate how these books flow and form a story that is both thought provoking for little (and old) minds, and still provide a story that is immersive and childlike.I sincerely hope Mr. Muth makes more of this story line, and if not, I thank him for these pieces of joy.

If your household is anything like ours, you've got books aplenty. We could open a small library at this point, because as my now 3.5-year-old has grown, we saved all his books for his little sister. We haven't hit the phase yet where books can be donated because we've got another baby ready to read the old ones. So, when it comes to recommending a book to someone, knowing that they too may have a million books already, I really try to think it through.And this book is one I recommend to everyone, even if they've got room for just one more on their kid's shelf. It's well drawn, it's a good length for toddlers, it's peaceful, and there are messages in the stories that will evolve with your child as they grow. I remember the first time we read it when my boy was two. He liked the pictures and sat through it, listening the whole way. He asked for it a few times a week. And now that he's closer to four, we still read it, and he asks thoughtful questions about the Zen short stories that he (hopefully) absorbs and help him down the road.It's the type of book that's all fun on the surface with deep, positive ripples underneath. Our copy has been read maybe 80 times and we've gifted the book to a few others as well. Apple TV+ even recently created an animated show around the book so the stories of the three kids and their neighbor panda, Stillwater, can continue to evolve.I just love books like this. They teach kids lessons about how to understand some of the day-to-day stresses of life, while keeping it fun and positive. I'd much rather my kids learn how to handle difficult emotions as a normal part of the big picture rather than being scared or confused by them. If only we could all have a Zen panda living next door to us... The world would be better for it.

I regret trusting Amazon's recommended reading age, which says 2-6. Bought this book for my 3.5yo son for Christmas and while it's beautifully illustrated and has meaningful stories (hence my 5 star rating), we probably won't really be reading it for another few years. My son is very well-read for his age and generally has an advanced level of understanding but I think the story-within-a-story format can be confusing for his age and the lessons conveyed are not easy to decipher or apply to real life. Finally, one of the stories mentions a war and a draft and I'm not looking to explain either one of those concepts in detail to my 3yo. I'd recommend, but for an older child.

I was reading this book to some 14-year-olds. After one of the zen stories/parables, one of the kids turned to whisper to a friend, "that's DEEP!" Love this book. It's beautifully illustrated. I find the sequel (Zen Ties) much less engaging, but I love the usage of the framing story and the parables in Zen Shorts.

We bought Zen Shorts last year when our son was only 3 years old and were delighted that he enjoyed it as much as he did even though he was so young. It provides for good story telling and make me feel good about reading him literature that will enable him to become a better person as he grows up. The illustrations are fantastic but that just seems to be a bonus. The story is about a panda who befriends 3 siblings and develops a friendship with them. As the story unfolds, the wise but absolutely adorable panda spends time with each of the three siblings and shares stories or makes observations that are steeped in Buddhist philosophy. The characters are appealing to all ages and the narrative is just right for little kids to wrap their little heads around these concepts. The book has important lessons to teach and imparts valuable Buddhist philosophy in a way that is entertaining, subtle and not preachy. We love Stillwater and after enjoying the fun story, we almost feel the sense of well-being settling on us as we sit to talk about the stories and what Stillwater shared with the kids in the book. We subsequently bought Zen Ties and Zen Ghosts as well, both of which are really good books, but I think Zen Shorts is our favorite.