Dalai Lama

When the thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1933, the highest holy men in Tibet searched throughout the land for his successor. They were spiritually guided to the humble dwelling of a loving family high in the Himalayas. When the search party greeted the youngest son, the child told them, "Now I am going home!" At last the fourteenth Dalai Lama had been found, and at the age of two, the young boy was taken to the capital city, Lhasa, where he began his training to become the spiritual leader of Tibet.

The work of the Dalai Lama and the fate of Tibet are topics of evergrowing international focus. In simple language and glorious art, Demi pays tribute to the fourteenth Dalai Lama's remarkable life. She captures the beauty of Tibetan culture, as well as the charm, talent, and vision of one of the world's best-known spiritual figures.

In simple language and glorious art, Demi pays tribute to the 14th Dalai Lama's remarkable life, capturing the beauty of Tibetan culture, as well as the charm, talent, and vision of one of the world's best-known spiritual figures.

Children's Literature

The author, a practicing Buddhist, has created a staid and beautiful picture book biography of the current Dalai Lama which, along with her Buddha and Buddha Stories, contributes to the growing body of books about Tibetan culture and religion. Tiny detailed figures dwarfed by the mountains and palaces give way to close-ups of the young boy's tutelage in the monastery where he lived until his exile in 1959 at the age of twenty-four. Demi's artwork often uses borders to emphasize, frame, or isolate important incidents. Here she also makes use of dramatic double page spreads to highlight the tragic destruction of Tibetan people and property by the Chinese and to dramatize the Dalai Lama's escape through the snow-covered mountains to India on the back of yak. In Dharamsala, India, the Dalai Lama has set up a community to preserve the Tibetan way of peace. Older readers will appreciate the book's artistry and the foreword letter from the Dalai Lama setting his life in historical context helps children understand the consequences of Mao Tse-Tung's policies of "modernizing" Tibet. For a contemporary look at Tibetans in exile, see Laurie Dolphin's photo-essay Our Journey from Tibet (Dutton, l997) in which the Dalai Lama greets new arrivals in Nepal.

Demi, along with her husband, Tze-si Huang, has been a practicing Buddhist for more than twenty years. She is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including Buddha, Buddha Stories, and The Empty Pot. Demi lives in Carnation, Washington.