Jonathan Landaw

This offers a lot of good info on the history of Buddhism and the basics of how it's practiced in the modern world... but I don't believe it gives a good explanation of the differences between each type of practice. For example, they make Zen sound amazing and care-free, while making Theravada sound like the crazy bow-20x-a-day snob-kind of Buddhism, which is not the picture I got at all from other books and podcasts I've read. It would have been much better if they had given a broader show more explanation of each, both in modern "householder" practice as well as monastic. But generally this is a good read to brush up on Buddhism facts & history. show less

I love this series.

Buddhism is a belief system that fascinates me but, upon which, I had no real understanding. This book is a great entry point. It takes one from a complete outsider to a point at which one is able to make reasoned decisions about, in this case, Buddhism.

The second value of this book is that it is not just a single read, it becomes a reference work to which one may return regularly. It is set out in such a way that it is simple to find a specific idea which one may wish to show more re-examine. show less

This illustrated long-format paperback chapter book is a favorite and belongs in any Buddhist children’s book library. It follows the journey of Prince Siddhartha and how he became the Tathagata, the Buddha, the Awakened One. There are 30 chapters, which cover many of the important turning points in Buddha’s life. The authors did an excellent job selecting these points. Middle Way School students particularly liked the story of young Siddhartha and his cousin Devadatta arguing over the show more swan, which is featured on the front cover. They wove it into their school play.

The full-color illustrations, nearly one for every chapter, are elementary and sweet. The messages of nonviolence, loving-kindness, and unselfishness come across in a non-dogmatic way and offer great jumping-off points for rich discussion.

There is a companion coloring book of the illustrations that we photocopied so the children could color while listening. When they were finished coloring, we attached the sheets to a long ribbon and strung them across the room so we could reference the stories from time to time. show less

This is one of the most boring books I have ever read. Although the information they're trying to cover about Buddhism is complicated they seem to make it even more complicated. The book doesn't give you very many historical facts and relies allegorical stories about a hypothetical life. This is tiresome and pointless as being lectured in a classroom in 3rd grade about the importance of being kind to your neighbor. You won't learn very much about Buddhism here you might wanna try Wikipedia show more instead well you'll get a much better picture. show less