New Arrival: Juvenile Fiction: Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny, by John Himmelman

Tales of Bunjitsu Bunny
John Himmelman
ISBN: 9780805099706
Black and white and red drawings show off fierce (but zen) bunnies learning the way of bunjitsu.

Brilliant.  I saw this because it came through the library, but I bought myself a copy, and I'm getting one for my friend, a black belt in Ki-Aikido who has a young daughter.  It's a brilliant way to explain the purpose and mindset behind the less-offensive of the martial arts.

Isabel is a great bunjitsu-kai, and she can kick harder, punch straighter, and tumble better than "anybunny" - but she also knows that the power of bunjitsu isn't in strength or fighting, but in using wisdom and knowledge and compassion to create a situation where a fight becomes simply unnecessary.

Himmelman is really good (like Jon J. Muth good) at teaching moral lessons without being preachy or "moralizing" at the reader.  Isabel is a great illustration, and a great character.  Her posture and her expressions, although done in thick outlines and blocky chunks of red, clearly show her emotions, from frustration to frazzled patience.  She isn't perfect, but she tries to do her best.  She practices and works at her bunjitsu, and plays happily with her fellow students.  She's not a teacher or an "example" but a fun little bunny who has interesting martial-arts-based, real life based, small child level adventures.

I can't wait for the next installment: Bunjitsu Bunny's Best Move, coming out this fall!

Stone Soup, Jon J. Muth

Stone Soup, Jon J. Muth.  ISBN: 043933909X

Read July 23, 2013

 

Picture Book: Three monks (named for the Chinese deities for health, wealth, and prosperity) visit a town crippled and isolated by bad fortune.  They set up in the town square and begin to cook stone soup, and the peculiar sight draws the townsfolk in to investigate and assist.  By the end of the night, a town-wide party is underway, people are visiting and making merry, and the monks are given a fond send-off the next morning.

 

I love the extra touches in this book (many of them mentioned in the afterword).  The little girl in the sun-yellow coat that first breaks the ice, the gentle but sly expressions on the monks' faces as they trick the townies into being nicer and happier, the omnipresent black cat.

 

I also like that the monks perform shadow puppets for the townies - I love puppetry, and having a puppet-scene illustrated is a nice touch.

 

Muth is the author/illustrator of the Zen Shorts set of books, and I dearly love his illustrations.  His writing is also gentle and clear, which fits the "teaching" style of his moralistic stories.