Zen Ghosts (A Stillwater and Friends Book)

My 5.5 year old son and I are huge fans of Stillwater, but this book was a bit of a disappointment. First, as others have noted, the central Zen story is a bit too sophisticated for the age group reading this story -- so it drags the book down. As a result, there is no central thought for children to really grab onto and ponder. Zen Ties provided this central Zen thought beautifully through the story of Koo, Stillwater's nephew -- and the three Zen stories in Zen Shorts were appropriate for different age levels (ranging from the uncle giving away his robe to the priest carrying the princess over the puddle). Indeed, in those books, the three kids in the story (Addy, Michael & Karl) themselves glean meaning from Stillwater's stories and actions -- here, even the kids themselves seem not to understand the point of Stillwater's story. Second, the story of the children and Stillwater -- and their dialogue -- is unusually stilted and meaningless. The teaching, encouraging Stillwater of the first two books is not really here -- the conversations seem literally to focus on Halloween candy. However, the artwork in this story is completely spectacular -- possibly even more so than Zen Shorts and Zen Ties -- and Muth's weakest work is still better than 90% of the banal drivel that passes for children's literature.

These books are wonderful, and they have a really pleasant edge that is slightly different from most kids books

This book is just beautiful. The pictures are gorgeous, the writing is simple and beautiful, and the themes are accessible to all ages. This book is a bit like a children's book for adults; kids will love it for the pictures and the story, while adults will quickly recognize the koan-like style of the story. I don't want to say too much, because this is a book that absolutely MUST be experienced. It's a great way to introduce people of any age to a portion of the Buddhist mindset. I highly recommend this book for absolutely any person at any age; buy it and leave it on your coffee table, and see how guests react. You'll love it, and they will too!

I read multiple people complaining about the storyline and how "adult" it is but at 4, 8, and 10, all my daughters have loved the story, each at their own level of understanding. The 8 and 10 year old grasp how we are different people in different circumstances. The 4 year old just likes finding Stillwater in all the pictures and laughing at how the kids play. The concept of elopement is no more outlandish in a child's book that is cannibalism in Hansel and Gretel or trying to kill your step daughter in Snow White. I love Jon Muth and his awesome attempt to bring Buddhist wisdom into children's books.

Beautiful book, lovely story. I wish the story about Stillwater and the children was as compelling as the ghost story, but it will remain a Halloween favorite regardless. I enjoyed the author's note at the end, and the questions that it raises. My 1.5 year old loves the illustrations! A perfect book to grow into.

This is book three of the John J Muth Zen books, and it is as beautiful and engaging as the other two. We read this with my 3 year old son, and it is one of his favorites that he requests again and again. The illustrations are gorgeous and the story is as deep or as surface as you choose to take it. While I guarantee that my son gets something different out of it than I do, and my husband gets something different yet, we all cherish this book. Worth adding to any library.

I love Halloween so I was hoping that this book could be among the decorations. But this story, in my opinion, was surprisingly set for an older group of kids, older than me :). The art is beautiful and the underlying moral to the story is wonderful. I just felt that the story - vehicle for the moral is quite depressing.

I love the way Jon J. Muth captures and integrates historical derived Zen lessons into simplistic stories with well placed illustrations so the parent/teacher has vast opportunities to share and translate into relevance for the child. In addition, it's a fun story that certainly is applicable to the Halloween holiday, but transcends costumes and candy in an enlightening way, as the moon on the cover would suggest.Thank you, Stillwater!

Excellent

Una sorpresa agradable este libro. Digo sorpresa porque, aunque Zen Shorts me gustó mucho, pensé que había sonado la flauta, ya que el autor no me convenció con Zen Ties. Pero aquí vuelve a ofrecernos una historia muy interesante que no quiero desvelar. Muy bueno, creo que compraré Zen Socks cuando salga.

Muth's watercolors are masterful and whimsical. Even better, the story that backs it up is equally up to the task.It's not vapid Disney garbage, nor a Dora episode that repeats ad nauseum. This is a fun kid's book that doesn't insult their intelligence, nor yours either!

Our family love this book. It’s a story within a story.

Item was supposed to be used with scratches on cover, but was brand new. Arrived quickly. Thank you!