Zen Ties

From Barnes & Noble

Fans of Jon Muth's Caldecott Honor book Zen Shorts are bound to find tranquility in Zen Ties. In this gentle tale, Stillwater, Koo, and their friends offer compassion to a grouchy old neighbor, affirming values that Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike can embrace.

Publishers Weekly

Stillwater, the giant panda who taught Zen parables to siblings Karl, Addy and Michael in Zen Shorts, continues to combine his slow-moving grace with genuine spiritual tranquility. This time, Michael faces a daunting spelling bee, and Stillwater, first seen wearing a necktie, introduces the three to Miss Whitaker, an elderly neighbor whose crabby outbursts have frightened them. Stillwater's inward eye sees through her anger to her fear and loneliness. She turns out to be a marvelous spelling coach ("Just like plants, words have roots," she tells Michael. "Roots of words can teach you to spell"), and when Michael wins a red ribbon, the pictures show the whole group sharing his victory with their own red ribbons-the "Zen ties" of the title. (Zentaiis Japanese for "the whole" or "the entire," as in "all of us together.") A subplot featuring Koo, Stillwater's nephew, drifts a bit; he's a cute little panda who punctuates the action with Zen-influenced haiku (and allows Muth another pun: "Hi, Koo!"). Muth's brush is as sure as ever; Stillwater's big, blunt paws and hunched-over listening posture are irresistible, and Miss Whitaker's delicate face and snow-white hair beautifully counterpoint the vignettes of youthful play. From a religious tradition that makes no theological demands and that will be unfamiliar to most readers, Stillwater offers a model of pure saintliness, and children will instantly respond to him. All ages. (Feb.)

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Children's Literature - Mary Hynes-Berry

The many fans of Muth's award winning Zen Shorts will be delighted to see the giant panda Stillwater offering Zen lessons to his human friends Addy, Michael, and Karl. This time around, Stillwater is hosting his nephew Koo, who plays a peripheral role in the main story. While Koo's haikus act as a lovely chorus, much of the story concerns how Stillwater's mild suggestions and example guide the three children and their bad-tempered and sick elderly neighbor to see they have much to gain by interacting respectfully with each other: Mrs Whitaker gets comfort and help with tasks she is too frail to manage, while she dispenses tips on how to do well at spelling and apple tea, made from the fruit the children helped pick. As in his other works, Muth's soft wash watercolor and ink illustrations reinforce the peaceful tone of the book, and, as Koo's farewell haiku sums up the way simple events can take on a resonance that is likely to stay precious: "Nearing my visit./ summer now tastes of apple tea,/ I will keep my cup." Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry

School Library Journal

Gr 1-5- Giant panda Stillwater introduces Addy, Michael, and Karl, first encountered in Zen Shorts (Scholastic, 2005), to his young nephew, Koo. After playing together, he suggests that they make soup for ailing Miss Whitaker. The children initially protest because she shouts at them whenever they pass her house, but they comply. Even when they deliver the soup, tidy her house, and draw her pictures, the old woman doesn't soften substantially. Stillwater, who is insightful enough to recognize harshness as a sign of Miss Whitaker's loneliness and fear, encourages Michael to approach her for help preparing for a spelling bee. It turns out she was a talented English teacher and when he follows her advice, he wins a ribbon. Much more is going on here than Stillwater's quiet message that there is more to people than outward appearances. Koo speaks in loosely structured haiku, and as explained in his author's note, this affords Muth an opportunity to engage in wordplay. Miss Whitaker's change of heart is foreshadowed in a close-up of her examining Karl's painting after she had previously dismissed the children's efforts. All of the characters are "tied" together in the Zen wisdom they have attained and symbolically in the red ties they wear to celebrate Michael's spelling success. From the lovely large watercolor illustrations that include Stillwater and Koo doing Tai Chi on the endpapers, to the lesson presented without sentimentality, this is a rich and wonderful offering.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

Kirkus Reviews

In this companion to Muth's Caldecott Honor-winning Zen Shorts (2006), the wise and gentle Giant Panda Stillwater and his young friends are joined by Stillwater's young nephew Koo. This time, the friends tackle two problems: Michael's nervousness over an impending spelling bee and an irascible elderly neighbor, Miss Whitaker. The plot is predictable: With some friendly attention from Stillwater and the children, Miss Whitaker will turn out to be more vulnerable than nasty and, as a former English teacher, will help Michael overcome his spelling anxiety. The pleasure, as always, is with Muth's irresistible storytelling, both visual and textual. In most of the delicate, finely detailed watercolor paintings the towering figure of Stillwater dominates. In others, the frail figure of Miss Whitaker dressed in red and purple with a magnificent fluff of white hair carries the most visual weight. The story's theme of intergenerational kindness is tender, and the text is infused with bits of haiku, wordplay and small lessons that charmingly avoid didacticism. A welcome return. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)