#1 Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth

Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth is a Caldecott Honor Book of 2006. After reading this book myself I decided to share it with a group of children. All of them thought the book was very enjoyable, but the older children seemed to understand the meaning of the book better than the others. This book has such a powerful meaning and that is difficult for an author to do when there are four stories tied into one book.

At the beginning of the book there are three siblings; Michael, Kari, and Addy. They all find a panda bear in the backyard holding a red umbrella. At various times each child goes and visits the bear and while they are there, Stillwater (the panda bear), tells them three stories. Each story represents a different Zen principle and holds a special place in Stillwater's heart.

I chose this book because of the illustrations on the front of the book. It was very appealing to a book that I would pick up for my nieces or my classroom students. After sharing this book with so many others and the great reviews I have heard I would certainly recommend reading this book!!