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    Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
    Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
    Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
    Audiobook30 minutes

    Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)

    Written by Jon J Muth

    Narrated by David Pittu

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    "Michael," said Karl. "There's a really big bear in the backyard." This is how three children meet Stillwater, a giant panda who moves into the neighborhood and tells amazing tales. To Addy he tells a story about the value of material goods. To Michael he pushes the boundaries of good and bad. And to Karl he demonstrates what it means to hold on to frustration. With graceful art and simple stories that are filled with love and enlightenment, Jon Muth -- and Stillwater the bear -- present three ancient Zen tales that are sure to strike a chord in everyone they touch.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScholastic
    Release dateJul 1, 2010
    ISBN9780545238861
    Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)
    Author

    Jon J Muth

    JON J MUTH has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books including his Caldecott Honor title, Zen Shorts, which Kirkus proclaimed, “As perfect a picture as can be”; and The Three Questions, which the New York Times Book Review called “quietly life-changing.” His book Zen Ties was a New York Times bestseller. He lives in New York State with his wife and four children.

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    Reviews for Zen Shorts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)

    4.5/5

    559 ratings77 reviews

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      Wonderful short meditative tales, again artfully illustrated.
    • 5/5
      I just really love these Zen books by Jon Muth. The watercolor illustrations are just beautiful; I saw them described in a review as "peaceful and uncluttered," and that really captures it perfectly. The text is Zen-inspired and is thoughtful but still accessible for children.
    • 4/5
      Great presentation of three Zen stories.Like the illustrations.
    • 4/5
      3 beautiful short stories with Big lessons. Nice quick read!
    • 5/5
      Grade K-3. Few children are privileged enough to live next door to a Panda, but Karl, Addy, and Michael do not seem to think their neighbor, Stillwater, is anything unusual. After observing their neighbor retrieving his umbrella from their backyard, one by one the children go to visit their neighbor and reveal something of their personality in the process. Wise Stillwater shares a specially selected Zen Buddhist story with each in order to teach the child (and readers) a particular lesson. These small vignettes are illustrated by black and white pages reminiscent of inked calligraphy, and are contrasted by the muted, imaginative watercolors of the rest of frame story. Every page is a joy both to look at and to read. Subtle humor, deep lessons, and tender personality make "Zen Shorts" a treasure. Highly Recommended.
    • 5/5
      A wise panda tells a series of Zen-Buddhist legends, to help some troubled children overcome their disagreements, and find inner peace.
    • 5/5
      While this selection of short stories is for children, the philosophy is just as relevant for adults. My favourite insightful story is A Heavy Load.
    • 4/5
      I read this for the "Book Used In A Celebrity Book Club" part of my 2020 reading challenge. I enjoyed it, the panda was adorable and the "zen shorts", short additions of classic fables, was a really great idea.
    • 5/5
      John Muth is a wonderful storyteller and illustrator. He uses a giant panda bear named Stillwater to teach a few important life lessons to three young siblings. Each sibling has his/her own day with Stillwater, and each hears what s/he need to hear. The first story of Uncle Ry giving away his last possession a robber looks at the value of things. The second story of "What Ifs" leads us to examine what is good and what is bad, and can we look at things in different ways. The last story is my favorite. It tells the tale of two monks on a journey. The elder monk helps an ungrateful woman by carrying her across a puddle of water. After several hours the younger monk complains about the woman, clearly something he had been thinking about the whole time. The elder monk replies, "I set the woman down hours ago, why are you still carrying her?" Zen Shorts helps the reader meditate on life.
    • 5/5
      Summary – Stillwater the Panda meets three children in their backyard. They then take turns going to visit Stillwater, each taking something with them. Stillwater tells each child a story relating to the activity they do together when the children visit. With the first child, it’s a lesson on the value of material goods, the second lesson is about the boundaries of good and bad, and the third child is taught what it means to let go of frustration.Personal Response – This book was simple enough for young children to understand and the pictures beautifully add to the storytelling. Children and adults of all ages can learn from the Zen-ness of these stories and remember the lessons in them. The tales of love, friendship, giving, and peace are easy to help younger readers understand.Curricular Connections – This book could be used in any variety of classroom lessons with elementary students to teach them about kindness, sharing, good and bad, or frustration. It could also be used with older elementary or even middle schoolers during a lesson on folktales as an example of a type of folktale or how to write one.
    • 4/5
      It went by too quickly - doesn't work for adults who already know the lessons, the stories (in my very personal opinion) - might work better for innocent children - truly is lovely, though.

      ETA - I had better reread it.
      Ok, now I've done so. The trick is to no let it go by so quickly. Mindfully spend time with each page, each thought. Reflect on whether you've really been applying the lessons. I did enjoy and appreciate it more this time, and would be even more likely to share it with a child.
    • 5/5
      I simply love this book. It's so well crafted that you can't help but fall in love with it. It's a wonderful book about life lessons, relating to others, and generosity as well as a great introduction to Zen. Of the three stories that the character, Stillwater, tells to the children in the book, "A Heavy Load" is my absolute favorite.
    • 5/5
      Gentle, lightly humorous (see the opening few pages), wise and lovingly, beautifully illustrated. The zen "shorts," or stories, are simply told for children, yet meaningful for all ages. My favorite is "Uncle Ry and the Moon" for the suitable raccoon as the robber and Uncle Ry's compassionate ending words: "If only I could have given him this wonderful moon." Michael's story, "The Farmer's Luck" is humorous and Michael's conclusion wise: "Maybe good luck and bad luck are all mixed up. You never know what will happen next." "A Heavy Load" for Karl has the perfect message about how useless holding a grudge can be. I love the exuberance of Karl in the pictures. An Author's Note explains more about Zen and some of the real people his characters are partly based upon. I look forward to sharing this story with friends and reading Jon Muth's additional Zen books, Zen Ties, Zen Ghosts and the newest, Zen Socks as well as the seasonal haiku, "Hi, Koo!"
    • 5/5
      A panda named Stillwater moves in next door to a family of children and tries to bring peace and understanding through old Japanese folk tales.
    • 4/5
      Zen Shorts is a picture book that could be used across many grade levels. Despite its cover having the appearance of an elementary children's book I think the value of its contents span all ages. Three siblings meet Stillwater, a panda that just rrives intheir backyard. During his stay each child has personl encounter with him. Still water shares with each child a story relating to something personal each child has done. Each story in reality are a short meditation. These "stories are designed without one specific purpose but to challenge us to reflect on ourselves and or practices. The illustrations are powerful and the messages are solid and encourage dialogue about personal choices and values. Each story Stillwater shares come from Buddhist or Taoist literature. The story has a great flow and would be a great realoud or read and reflect inajournal. It poses topics all humans face and encourages reflection on ourselves. The stories are fables or metaphors for our lives. This simple book could provide for some critical reading ideas and great classroom or social group instruction.
    • 5/5
      I liked this book for three reasons. First, I feel that this book teaches important life lessons though stories that the panda, Stillwater, tells to the characters in the book. Stillwater’s character is very patient and rather than telling the children what to learn and how to live, he lets them figure it out on their own. For example, he tells one of the characters, “it’s a little pool. I don’t know if all of those things will fit.” The boy then says, “let’s see” and Stillwater responds “let’s see” allowing for exploration rather than denying the boy. Stillwater is a good guide for the characters as well as the readers. His descriptive experiences allow for the lessons to be believable. Second, these three lessons were told through simple illustrations, making them easy to understand. The colors used were black and white, allowing readers to stay focused and not get distracted with the rest of the story. The illustrations in the rest of the book enhanced how the characters were feeling. For example, the character Karl had a mad face when he was frustrated with his brother. Finally, this book pushes the readers to think about the big idea and learn from their experiences or imaginations. Stillwater doesn’t just focus on what he is doing at the moment with the children in the book, he looks at the big picture and what each child can take away from their experience. This teaches readers to stay away from getting hung up on little things and to appreciate life for what it is.
    • 5/5
      Summary:This story is about a panda named Stillwater. He moves into the neighborhood. Three kids Addy, Michael, and Karl all go to greet him. Over the course of the next three days each child goes to visit one on one with Stillwater. Addy went first and Stillwater told her a lovely story about his uncle Ry and giving unwrapable gifts like kindness. The second day Michael visited and was told a story about perspective and both good and bad things can happen. Lastly, the youngest Karl has his visit. Stillwater told him a story about holding a grudge. The book ends with the kids becoming great friends with Stillwater. Personal Reaction:At first I thought the book was about special shorts, but it wasn't close to that. However the book did provide stories that can help with have a peaceful zen life. I also thought it was interesting that the panda's name was Stillwater that has a zen and peaceful connotation. The book also gave small asian cultural insights that were subtle and interesting like his red umbrella, his asian robe, and his meditation style of sitting. Another interesting point is when Stillwater begins his stories the pictures get dull and less clear as though to impress the point that the stories are older and classic. Extension ideas:-I thought it would be fun to have all of the kids wear their most fun and crazy shorts.-I also thought of having the children write or draw their own fable/parable type story.
    • 4/5
      This book is about three children who meet a giant panda bear named Stillwater that tells them tales with valuable lessons contained within them. I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because it was a very reflective text that instilled various lessons throughout the picture book and really gave meaning to the book and made readers think and broaden their perspectives as opposed to making the book solely for entertainment purposes. The characters were enjoyable to follow and the writing style was unique because there were multiple stories within the story. However, the book was a more challenging text and it could be difficult for younger children to grasp the lessons that are presented throughout the stories. Overall, I thought the text was great as well as the illustrations and this is a quality book that should be on the shelf in everyone's homes.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. The illustrations were colorful and fit well with the written text. They weren’t too detailed, where that may cause readers to not devote most of their attention to the powerful story. The writing flowed from one story to another. For example, after the oldest brother’s story was told, the book transitioned into the little boy’s story and his story mentioned his oldest brother. Having the sister’s story, the oldest brother’s story, and then the younger brother’s story was well planned. Usually stories are told starting with the oldest siblings to the youngest. It was interesting to see the believable characters develop throughout the book with short stories. All the stories would be about a child hanging out with the panda and talking to him about an issue. After the panda listens to them, the panda gives the child advice from his experiences for the child to ponder and learn. The stories were short and sweet as well as conveying powerful messages. Overall, this book was well written, engaging, and colorful.
    • 5/5
      I greatly enjoyed "Zen Shorts", the central message of which was for the main characters, three siblings named Michael, Karl, and Addy, to learn how to treat themselves and others. This story also conveyed the importance of learning how to be self-reflective, as well as how to entertain different perspectives in how one views life. I liked this book for its soothing, rhythmic language, as seen in the Zen panda, Stillwater's, meditative short stories, the engaging writing, which succeeding in drawing me into the book and allowing me to see myself in its believable and well-developed characters, and its beautiful watercolor illustrations, all of which enhanced the story and were appropriate to the peaceful, Zen mood that it exuded. I also liked this book for the pearls of wisdom it shared through the telling of Stillwater's stories, such as learning not to carry anger as doing so interferes with one's ability to enjoy life's moments, and that an instance that seems to be one of misfortune can, in fact, be good luck in disguise. This book invited both its characters and its readers to consider the world from a different point-of-view through its sharing of brief tales which illustrated Zen principles, such as forgiveness, kindness, and compassion. The graceful art and thought-provoking short stories in "Zen Shorts" made it a thoroughly enjoyable read which served to both enlighten and inspire me.
    • 5/5
      Stillwater is going after his red umbrella that he lost to the breeze when Karl, Michael, and Addy spotted him. When they meet him they notice his "panda" accent. Each child visits Stillwater and vents to him about their problems. With each problem Stillwater has a Zen story to tell that makes the children realize that good can come from bad; that these problems are just a matter of perspective.This book is so incredible, the stories are ones any person can learn from. The watercolor illustrations are well deserving of it's Caldecott honor title. This is the type of book you pick up when you're having a bad day. I would read this to children at any point because of it's meaning. It is a very important lesson on how to handle the struggles of life.
    • 5/5
      In this book, a family became friends with a Panda. When a member of the family would hang out with the Panda, the Panda would tell a story. Each story the Panda told had a lesson. Each child learned something valuable from the Panda. I really liked how this book had a story within a story. The illustrations were wondeful. Each picture was very detailed. It felt like I was actually in the book when reading each page.
    • 4/5
      When Stillwater the panda arrives in their backyard, clutching a red umbrella and speaking with a slight "panda accent," Addy, Michael and Karl aren't sure just what to make of their new neighbor. But as each of them find their way to Stillwater's house, they discover that this tranquil and wise bear has a gift for telling Zen tales that give them a better understanding of their own experiences.The three embedded Zen stories, dealing with generosity and not getting too attached to material possessions, the variable nature of luck, and the importance of letting go of anger, are all engaging. But it is the framing narrative, the lovable Stillwater, and Jon J. Muth's beautiful watercolor illustrations that truly make this picture book extraordinary. This was a Caldecott Honor Book, and truly deserved the distinction...
    • 5/5
      Siblings discover a panda bear outside their house and discover he is a neighbor. Each sibling has a visit with Stillwater and each receives a story that has a practical life lesson: generosity, good luck/bad luck, burden of resentments. Delicate watercolor illustrations detail many perspectives.
    • 4/5
      What a fun find this book was! I really enjoyed the short Zen-ish stories intermingled with the children's interaction with the panda. Cute!
    • 4/5
      A picture book for the older crowd. Stillwater's three stories make a great reader-response lesson with my sixth graders.
    • 5/5
      I was recently introduced to the Zen Shorts series, delightful life lessons on mindfulness presented by a kind and wise panda. Big, airy watercolours and sharp, bold ink drawings accompany each story, perfect for large reading circles or getting lost within, 1:1.

      If you're a fan of repeated reads, and reading aloud, try on different voices for Stillwater. You'll let him in just a little more with each pass. He's good company, that panda!
    • 5/5
      I loved this book! Stillwater is such a kind, patient, and wise bear. I loved how there were small stories incorporated into the main story. The main story was about how Stillwater, Addy, Michael, and Karl met and became friends. Each day, one of the children goes to visit Stillwater and he tells them each a story that relates to them individually. The three stories that Stillwater told were full of wonderful messages that are great for anyone to read. This is a fantastic book to share with children because it teaches many lessons about friendship, kidness, forgivness, and attitude. I loved how the illustrations were vastly different from the main story and the small stories, it really emphasized that we were being told a different story at that time.
    • 4/5
      Beautifully illustrated the pictures help tell the story of how three kids get to know their panda neighbor.
    • 5/5
      A sister and two bothers learn some life lessons through stories told to them by a sweet new bear friend. This is a wonderful book to begin discussions.