(I love that the one little boy can't decide if he wants to be a pirate or an owl and that Stillwater tells him he can be both-this is such a great foreshadowing of the theme of this story!) After the children go trick-or-treating, they meet Stillwater for a ghost story and Stillwater tells them a Zen Koan (a teaching story with no 'right or wrong' answer but something for the student to internalize-it's meant to resonate), the Story of Senjo. Stillwater the panda returns to his friends, the three young children, as they prepare for Halloween. My 7 year old niece loved the pictures, but thought the story was just “okay”. I’m not sure how little ones will react to Stillwater’s tale. Note to parents: I recommend trying this one as a library book before buying. The thoughts they raise are constantly reemerging and changing as we go through our lives.” Stories like that can’t be neatly wrapped up and placed on a quiet shelf and forgotten. ”It is the kind of story that leaves you with more questions than it answers. Please be sure to read the author’s note at the end. A tale filled with questions, magic, and mystery about who we are, the decisions we make, and how those decisions or demands tear us apart each and every day. Dream, create, and be.Īnd to celebrate the night, Stillwater, our favorite Zen panda, treats us with a story of sadness and shivers. Young Michael’s costume alone illuminates the essence of the holiday for me-an Owl Pirate! How awesome is that? :D My favorite part of Halloween is that we can be anything or anyone we want, anything we can dream up for one night.

Rich, warm autumn colors, leaves, and shadows set the mood for a full moon Halloween of trick-or-treating with ghosts, pumpkins, and of course-oodles & oodles of candy! Readers will see and feel the magic of Halloween on every page. Picture after picture will catch your eye and never let go. So my first thought when I spotted Zen Ghosts in the bookstore was-Gah! How did this slip by me?įrom the very first flip and step into this story, my imagination latched on to the warmth and wonder of the illustrations. Muth is one of my all-time favorite books. ”When our hearts are taken in two different directions, where are we?”

Zen ghosts by jon j muth