Zen Shorts (a Stillwater Book)

This is a beautiful book. I purchased it for my son many years ago when he was little and have since gifted this book to 4 others - and they felt the same: these are meaningful insightful stories that will make you think as well as warm your heart:)

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.

Das Buch ist sehr gut für Kinder die ihre Neugierde auf die Welt und wie die Welt ist entdeckt haben- sozusagen für Kinder ab dem Alter von 4 Jahre..

I picked up a bunch of children's books recently. I use them when I teach English. The ones I bought were:A Sick Day for Amos McGeeThe Incredible Book Eating BoyZen Shorts1 Million DotsI bought these after I searched on the net for "children's books with a soul." In that search I found the following page: "Design Mom’s Top 50 Picture Books." These were all books that had been published since 2000. I wanted to see some newer, but good quality, books.A Sick Day for Amos McGeeVery charming and very surprising. I would recommend it to anyone. 5 StarsThe Incredible Book Eating BoyAlso, very funny. I'd be a little worried though that the book might teach kids to start chewing on books. A good book though. 4 stars.Zen ShortsGood. The art is wonderful. The outer story seems a little too thin though. It appears to be merely a vehicle for the author to tell the three inner stories from the book...which the author himself did not invent. I would have preferred to see the author put more effort into his own part of the story. In general though, Zen Shorts reminds me of the Disney movies "Song of the South" and "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh." In both of these works, there is also an outer story that serves as a vehicle for smaller stories to be told. Unlike Song of the South and Winnie the Pooh though, there is no time for us to meet and fall in love with any of the characters within the story. Falling in love with the characters is a necessity that was neglected in this book, but was allowed to happen in both "A Sick Day for Amos McGee" and "The Incredible Book Eating Boy."It's a good book. But it needed to be larger and the author himself needed to contribute more. 3 stars.1 Million Dots has not yet arrived, so, I can't speak much about it.

Book was bigger than I expected in height! Quite a big square - a fun size for kids to really immerse in the illustrations! Still thin to hold which is great. Beautiful storyline - Stillwater is the most wholesome of inspirational characters to read to your little one. 10/10