An engaging tale that intends to convey the importance of compassion, but dooms its subject to a cruel fate.
In this illustrated children’s book, a young tiger learns about compassion and puts the lesson into action.
Talan is a young Royal Bengal tiger growing up happily in the Sundarbans, among the mangrove trees in South Asia. One day, when out with his mother, he comes upon a statue that adult readers will recognize as a seated Buddha. Talan’s mother explains that the statue “represents a great man who was a friend to the tigers.” Still curious, Talan asks his father, his grandmother and his grandfather—“the wisest of all the tigers”—about the man in the statue. He learns that the man wouldn’t eat any of them for food, because of his great compassion for all animals. Inspired, Talan wishes to follow his example, even when he’s warned that he’ll suffer and die. As Talan sits beneath a mangrove tree in imitation of the statue, other animals, including those he might have once hunted and eaten, come and question him. They bring him their own food, such as berries and grain, but it can’t sustain him. Moved by Talan’s sacrifice in the name of compassion, the other animals gather around him sadly. Eventually an old, dying deer offers himself to Talan, but the tiger still refuses to eat. The two die curled up together, and now a statue in their memory stands in the jungle. Gray (Ferdie’s Grand Day, 2012) tells the story well; its repetitive structure will have appeal for young readers, and the exotic location with its varied animals and birds is also engaging. Salyers’s illustrations are colorful and charming. However, the story is awfully sad and upsetting; would a compassionate Buddha truly wish a beautiful young tiger to suffer and die slowly, rather than follow its own nature as a carnivore? In these days when wild tigers are almost extinct, the idea that it’s noble for one to starve himself to death seems the wrong message.
An engaging tale that intends to convey the importance of compassion, but dooms its subject to a cruel fate.Pub Date: July 9, 2014
ISBN: 978-0988333437
Page Count: 40
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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