Jon J. Muth’s Zen Ghosts ($9.99) is about a giant panda in human clothes that teaches the kids around the block about zen. You know, like it’s just something pandas do when they’re bored hanging out at zoos or eating bamboo or being the mascots of various Oriental frozen food products.
This is the third book in a series of stories featuring a talking panda named Stillwater waxing philosophical, and was recently profiled in an interview with NPR: “Zen Ghosts combines the simplicity and elegance of a Zen teaching with the magic and mystery of a full-moon Halloween ghost story. It also demonstrates Muth’s careful balance between worldly advice and a playful attention to detail.” There are no endorsements for frozen food products at the end of this children’s book.
