Zen for Kids: 50+ Mindful Activities and Stories to Shine Loving-Kindness in the World

by Laura Burges, Melissa Iwai (Illustrator)

Overview

Eleven engaging Zen-inspired stories and fifty activities to help kids (ages 4–8) learn about patience, kindness, honesty, sharing and forgiveness.

Dive into 11 engaging stories drawn from different cultures, each concluding with short reflections, questions, and fun, thought-provoking activities that teach children how to integrate the theme of the story into their lives. There are 53 activities, including:

• Writing haiku
• Sitting zazen
• Observing, making, and appreciating food
• Growing plants
• Spreading kindness and performing secret good deeds
• Learning and writing about family history
• and more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611809923
Publisher:	Shambhala
Publication date:	03/14/2023
Pages:	92
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

LAURA BURGES (Ryuko Eitai) is a lay entrusted Buddhist teacher in the Soto Zen tradition. She lectures, offers classes, and leads retreats at the San Francisco Zen Center and at other practice places in Northern California. She is the abiding teacher at Lenox House Meditation Group in Oakland. Laura taught children for 35 years and now mentors other teachers.


MELISSA IWAI has illustrated over 30 books. From the time she was a little kid, she wanted to write and illustrate children’s books. She used to staple paper together and make tiny books for her dolls. She lives with her husband and teenage son in a teeny, tiny apartment in Brooklyn, NY.

Editorial Reviews

Zen for Kids is comprised of 11 engaging Zen-inspired stories and 50 activities to help kids learn about patience, kindness, honesty, sharing and forgiveness. These stories are drawn from different cultures, each concluding with short reflections, questions, and fun, thought-provoking activities that teach children how to integrate the theme of the story into their lives. Thoroughly ‘kid friendly’ in organization and presentations, Zen for Kids will prove a welcome and prized addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library Buddhism, Zen Philosophy, and Inspirational collections.”—Midwest Book Review
 
“Featuring an assortment of uplifting activities and entertaining stories, Zen for Kids is a heartfelt Buddhist self-help guide.”—Foreword Reviews

“This is a book of zen-inspired activities and stories to help kids learn about patience, kindness, honesty, sharing and forgiveness. Each chapter has a new story to explore, with themed discussion questions, meditations, journal prompts, and hands-on projects.”—International Examiner

From the Publisher

2023-01-12
Stories and activities are combined in this illustrated book on Zen Buddhism.

Burges explains the fundamentals of Zen with adapted folktales and fables, each of which highlights a core tenet, such as “Everything Changes,” “Everything Is Connected,” and “This Present Moment.” After each story, activities are suggested, such as sitting zazen (meditation) or writing a haiku. While the premise is intriguing, the execution is slightly lacking. Some of the stories perpetuate outdated tropes about women, casting them as gossips or shrews. And some of the activities rely on items that not all children will have access to, such as a meditation cushion, a meditation bell, or even a caregiver with the time to assist the child. The core of Zen, that of sitting zazen and paying attention to one’s breathing, is rightly emphasized, but other recommendations, such as the suggestion to give away unneeded or extra toys, assume readers are from middle- or upper-class backgrounds. Overall, though, this book about learning to meditate and the inward sense of peace it cultivates offers readers an antidote to social media’s damaging emphasis on external validation. Colorful, accomplished illustrations primarily depict light-skinned or Asian characters, though a brown-skinned child is shown on the cover and early in the book.

Worthy in intention but slightly uneven. (glossary) (Nonfiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews