Buddha

The artist called Demi is a treasure. She is a prolific illustrator of children's picture books and I love all of her work. She illustrates books by many other authors but she also illustrates her own work. In addition to mythological stories, folk tales and children's fantasy she has written many books that tell the life stories of renowned religious figures including the Dalai Lama, Jesus, Mother Theresa, Mohammad and the subject of this book, Buddha.

In this book her writing is straight-forward and simple but gives all the important points of interest in the life of the Buddha as well as key points about the religion of Buddhism itself. It makes an excellent introduction. Demi is a practicing Buddhist and so she is able, in this show more book, to make an informative over-view of the subject while keeping it brief and interesting. The intended readership according to the publishers is the age group between nine and twelve years of age. I dispute this. I have read this to children in the intended age group and one child's eyes glazed over with boredom while the other child hung on every word and poured over each illustration. I feel that Demi's books on religious figures and this one on the Buddha in particular are going to be very popular with a thin strata of children, namely those who have a philosophical bent to start with or who are actually interested in historical "real life" people. Most children in the 9-12 age group will probably find the text of this book obtuse and uninteresting. I think this is because it is not very action-oriented and deals with mythology as well as the weighty topic of a personal spiritual journey and the quest for enlightenment.

Having said that, it is a really wonderful book that certain interested children will love. Those few children that are interested in this type of subject will be delighted with the quality of the writing, the beauty of the illustrations and will get a lot out of this expression of such a broad subject. The illustrations have lots and lots of activity and color. Demi's style usually incorporates gold inks as accents and this makes them have an almost magical quality...certainly it adds an otherworldy aspect that helps a reader realize that the topic is not ordinary. I personally feel the people who will love Demi's religious books the most are probably adults or older children. The whimsy of her illustrations and the light-heartedness that is instilled in them make this book seem like a little work of art, a rare little gem of expression. The illustrations really do illuminate Demi's subjects. To me, Demi's books, and this one in particular are like antique tea cups or vintage jewelry...they seem special and delicate and precious.

In this book Demi traces the life of the Buddha from the prophecies that predicted his birth, through his life as young Prince Siddhartha, his marriage and the birth of his son, his spiritual quest for the Truth of life over death, his ultimate Enlightenment and death at age 80 and his attainment of nirvana. It describes the spread and influence of the religion that grew out of his life journey. The book uses some parables as well as a spare and straight-forward biographical style. It details in simple language the basic tenets of Buddhist thought including a description of the Buddha's Eightfold Path, the path to enlightenment. You can probably see from this synopsis that this book is not the usual stuff of pre-teen leisure reading and certainly not your usual picture book fare.

Demi uses a style in her illustrations that incorporates many different Eastern art forms. The book's dust jacket says that when she was 21 Demi was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and studied art in India. She draws from Indian art as well as Chinese, Japanese, Burmese and Indonesian paintings, sculptures and sutra illustrations.

I love this book because I think it is exquisite on all levels. The paper is glossy and of excellent quality. The inks are crisp, clear and many-hued. I love the gold bits. The characters in the illustrations exhibit humor and activity and Demi shares many details of cultural nuance that are wonderful learning tools for the open-minded child with a questing nature.

I can especially recommend this book and any of Demi's other books to any adult who loves art or who has a philosophical nature. I can also recommend it with minor reservations to thoughtful and curious children in the intended readership age group. There is much here to charm and delight both the mind and eye. show less

I could've sworn I wrote a review of this earlier... doesn't seem to be sitting in anywhere; maybe I jut described it in my group chat. Gorgeous illustrations, though the information is maybe more independent reader/almost middle grade level. A good introduction to the story and concepts of Buddhism.

Beautiful illustrations alongside a touching yet kid-friendly retelling of Siddhartha's life and teachings. I love that this book included the Eight-fold Path. I read this curled up on my daughter's bed with my two-year-old falling asleep in my arms and the winter sun peeking in through the windows, which may also have influenced my impression of this book.

The book Buddha was written by an author named Demi. This book is very well written and has great pictures. It surprised me how captivating it is about such a influencial person in terms that children will understand. One of the things I like about non-fiction children's books is that a complex subject has to be made simple for young readers. And the illustrations have to support the words well.
A book like Buddha allows you to get to know this subject in a small amount of pages.
Classroom extension: 1 - the class could a write a biography about someone that they admire and that they have been influenced by. 2 - the children could learn about meditation.
(I'm not sure how the second extension would pan out considering some people get show more offended about religions and education.) show less

Demi is a Buddhist, so this book is written from that world view. Covering both legend and facts, this picture book will give you the opportunity to talk to children about other religions.

The story of how Buddah became Buddah. Details his journey to enlightenment ad includes awesome artwork. You could spend hours just studying the pictures.

This is the story of Buddha, starting with a prophecy that his mother had in a dream before he was born and ending with his death. The story is long and covers the Buddha's many years. The illustrations are very interesting and keep with the theme and time period. There is a lot to look at. This is a great book to introduce other religions and cultures.