Materials from Asia
When Mai feeds the caged birds at a Buddhist temple in Vietnam, her simple act of kindness starts a chain of thoughtful acts that ultimately comes back to her. Includes author’s note explaining the Buddhist concepts of karma and samsara, or the wheel of life.
See the review at WOW Review, Volume 3, Issue 1
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Moon bears, or Asiatic black bears, get their name from the white moon-shaped blaze on their chests. Sadly, there are more moon bears in captivity than in the wild, as the animals are being farmed for their commercially valuable bile.
It is a hot summer afternoon. A frog is hiding tiredly in the shade. Nothing is stirring. Even the grass and flowers are still.
Suddenly the birds are flocking overhead. The small animals are racing for shelter. Then the rain starts pouring down. The sky is as dark as night. Thunder booms. Lightning cracks and flashes.
Mick, Mack, and Molly are caught in the midst of one of the most mysterious and magical moments of summer: a sudden summer thunderstorm. It can be scary; but for the three squirrel children, safe and dry in a cave, it brings new friends.
Many centuries ago, in a kingdom in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains, a miraculous child was born to the king and queen. The young prince, Siddhartha, was raised in the greatest luxury, sheltered from all pain and ugliness. But one day Siddhartha left the palace and saw, for the first time, human suffering and death. He knew then that he must relinquish everything– his family, his wealth, his position– to discover the Truth of life and death. With only a few humble possessions, he began a remarkable spiritual journey that ended many years later under a bodhi tree. There he finally discovered the Truth and became an Enlightened One, a Buddha. The Buddha taught the Truth and the path to inner peace for forty-five years, attracting thousands of disciples. Today millions of people around the world live by his teachings.Demi’s exquisite illustrations, inspired by the paintings and sculptures of several Asian cultures, are layered with meaning; each brush stroke has a special significance. Demi, herself a Buddhist, brings her devotion to the teachings of the Buddha and her vast knowledge of his life to this comprehensive picture-book biography of an extraordinary spiritual leader.
Explore a world of stunning silk, delicious spices and exotic trade locations in this rhyming tale about a Chinese familys journey along the Silk Road, the trade route that ran thousands of miles through Asia.
This innovative book combines the story of Liu, who goes off to visit her grandfather, with a rebus-style look at the evolution of the Chinese written language from pictures to modern calligraphy characters.
Describes the first successful climb to the top of Mount Everest by the Sherpa Tenzing Norkey and Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
This book provides comprehensive information on the geography, history, wildlife, governmental structure, economy, cultural diversity, peoples, religion, and culture of Mongolia.
A retelling of four Asian myths that deal with the moon & its phases.
Porcupine and the sky mirrors (Siberia) — When the moon child came to live on earth (Japan) — The Fire Dog that bites the moon (Korea) — The plot to steal the moon (Burma).
A Japanese folk tale about the brave daughter of a samurai warrior and her journey to be reunited with her exiled father. When Tokoyo’s father, a samurai nobleman, is sent into exile on a lonely island in a distant sea, his young daughter is determined to join him. Despite her noble birth, Tokoyo has spent much time with the amas, the agile women divers of Japan who harvest shellfish from the sea, and she is strong and brave as any samurai herself. Setting out on her journey to join her father, Tokoyo encounters many terrors and trials, including bandits in the mountains, a ghost ship on the high seas, and finally a monstrous sea serpent. Finally, she reunite with her beloved father.