I started writing Tots to Teens almost five years ago. At the time I was a sub-editor at Galaxie Magazine, the entertainment fortnightly owned by Star Publications.
I joined the Star in 1996 as a writer for Galaxie and in 2003, tired of writing and clearing copy about boybands, I transferred to StarMag, initially as a sub-editor for the health pullout (Fit for Life - the idea was that as I am a registered nurse I would be good at this. WRONG!!) and then as a writer for StarMag itself.
My column continued and I can't quite believe that I have produced a story every week (apart from a handful of Sundays) since September 2002 til now!
Well, I am now no longer a fulltime employee of the Star/StarMag. Saturday, 30th June, 2007 was my last official day with the company and magazine, but Tots to Teens will continue, for the forseeable future ... until I run out of things to say about children's books ... or they ask me to stop.
And now, on to something new. My next job is to do with children. And books. Keep reading this blog for more ...
1st July 2007
Panda power
TOTS TO TEENS
By DAPHNE LEE
Our columnist shares her discovery of a lyrical writer.
I OFTEN receive e-mail from StarMag readers asking for children’s and young adult book recommendations – for their children, their students, their friends and themselves. I sometimes highlight new books that I like (and rant about new books I abhor). Well, I thought I should maybe start regularly recommending books that have been around for a while.
They would include classics that have stood the test of time and have never been out of print. They would also include books that have been out of print and been re-issued perhaps because they have inspired a film version. And they would include books that I think will remain in print for some time and are destined to be future classics.
This week, I’m highlighting Zen Shorts by Jon J. Muth. The author and illustrator is new to me, although he has published since the 1980s. In fact, Muth was originally a comic book artist (he has illustrated, among many others, books in Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed Sandman series of comics). I was given Zen Shorts a few months ago; Muth’s elegant and serene watercolour art immediately made him one of my favourite illustrators.
In the book, a bear is blown into the backyard of a house where three children live. He speaks “with a slight panda accent” and, indeed, he is a giant (literally) panda; he’s called Stillwater and he carries a cheery red umbrella and has a wise and placid expression. The children take turns to visit him (he pitches a lemon-yellow tent in the backyard and also likes hanging out under a shady tree) and Stillwater tells each of them a story. They are interesting and amusing tales, and, if the reader chooses to think more seriously about them, they also offer a message or lesson.
They are, in my opinion, more effective than tales that end with the author saying: “And the moral of the story is....”
Neither Muth nor Stillwater is preachy. The stories are told in a matter of fact tone, and with great simplicity. The illustrations that accompany them are done in black ink, with brush strokes of varying thickness. The effect is quite spontaneous, as if the storyteller is painting the picture right then and there, as he tells his story.
The parts of the book that are about Stillwater’s growing friendship with the children are illustrated with the most gorgeous watercolours. The lines are smooth and graceful, the colours range from soft and hazy to bright and vibrant. Each spread seems to be bathed in golden sunshine.
Stillwater the panda is inspired by and based on Zen artist and teacher Sengai Gibbon. Zen, in Japanese, means meditation and Zen Buddhism teaches that in order to achieve clarity of vision and thought one has to be still and calm. “Zen shorts” are short meditations or ideas that are supposed to encourage us to re-examine our ideas, concepts, desires and fears.
The stories that Stillwater tells the children speak to people of all ages. The third story that he tells certainly made me think long and hard about how bearing a grudge ultimately hurts the grudge-keeper more than it does the object of his resentment and anger.
Zen Shorts is a versatile book. It can be enjoyed as a delightful tale of friendship and fun. It can also be used to raise issues and questions. It deserves a place on every bookshelf.
Recent Comments