Zen Ghosts
by Jon J. Muth
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Book Summary Information
Author: Jon J. MuthBrand: Scholastic
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2010-09-01
ISBN: 043963430X
Number of pages: 40
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Book Reviews of Zen Ghosts
Book Review: A superlative book for children AND adults
Summary: 5 Stars
Now I wish I didn't give so many five-star ratings, for "Zen Ghosts," in comparison, is way, way up there in superlatives, the stratosphere, the esoteric, where the air is thin and only the most appreciative can breathe in the book's fine and pure quality.
Did that introduction get your attention? I hope so because "Zen Ghosts" is a very special book, mysterious, transcendental, contemplative, philosophical, and ultimately enlightening. "Zen Ghosts" is a wonderful example of a Zen koan.
Thankfully (for me anyway), Jon J. Muth provides an explanation of this mysterious koan in the epilogue. So, rather than explain koan at the end of this review, I'm defining it now so that you may ponder the story with a little key in your hand, so to speak. A koan is "a question that you have to answer yourself." Obviously, this is a clue that the story does not have a definitive ending, but one that requires questions and an intuitive address of those questions.
This is Muth's third book featuring Stillwater, the Panda friend of three children, Addy, Michael, and Karl. This particular book is set on Halloween and addresses the issue of duality. The first is Halloween itself when children leave themselves at home and head out as another aspect of themselves in costume. The second is Stillwater. Is he Stillwater or a ghost? The third is Michael's costume dilemma--to be an owl or a pirate. Stillwater suggests that he dress as an Owl-Pirate. "There's no such thing as an Owl-Pirate! He has to be one thing," declares the littlest one about his older brother. Addy is going as a Moon Princess.
All these elements appear later in Stillwater's friend's ghost story. The friend is also a Zen Panda. His story, which he paints as he tells it, involves a young boy and a young girl who grow up together and who know early on that they will marry at the appropriate time. However, when that time comes, the girl's father is very ill, times are hard, and he arranges a marriage for his daughter with a very rich man. She runs off with the young man. Years later they return home to discover that the girl did not run off, that she lies critically ill and has been so these many years. The dress she wears throughout is Addy's ethereal moon princess costume.
At the conclusion when the children look at each other in wonder and puzzlement, then back to Stillwater's friend, he has vanished, leaving only his costume. So. The children (and readers) are left with this mystery. What is duality? Is it possible? Who are you with your mother? With your friends? Are you the same or different? Whom do you betray by your various behaviors? Or do you?
The children do not discuss this puzzle. Immediately, Stillwater asks for a particular type of candy and gets one. Then they sit and look at the moon in a two-page spread of Panda and children, doubly emphasized by the huge reflection of a giant moon on one page and Stillwater's moon lantern (see cover) on the other. Everyone is still in costume.
The watercolor illustrations throughout the book emphasize this duality theme, especially if you look for them a second and third time. What costume does Michael wear? Big ol' owl wings, of course, and a pirate's hat. Then on the back two end pages sit two owls in a giant, red-leaved tree, one owl wearing a pirate's hat, the other an eyepatch.
The book is pure genius. Breathtaking, spell-binding, and ultimately enlightening.
(Note: Muth's first book with Stillwater is Zen Shorts (Collector's Edition) (Zen), a Caldecott Honor book. The second is Zen Ties.)
Summary of Zen Ghosts
It\u2019s Halloween.
The trees are ablaze in fiery reds. Excited children don colorful costumes. And there\u2019s mystery and fun around every corner!
When Addy, Michael, and Karl finish trick-or-treating, their bags are brimming with treats. But the fun isn\u2019t over yet. Their good friend Stillwater the panda has one more special surprise in store for them. A mysterious visitor is about to tell them a spine-tingling story -- one that will fill each and every reader with wonder.
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