Zen Ties

The story is pretty simple. Huge panda Stillwater picks up his visiting nephew Koo -- who only speaks in haiku -- at the train station. They are joined by Stillwater's friends Addy, Michael and Karl. The pandas play with the kids, and Michael tells Stillwater his concerns about an upcoming Spelling Bee. Stillwater then takes them to Miss Whitaker's house, an elderly woman who lives on the kids' street. None of the three children can believe Stillwater would be friends with such a cranky, unpleasant person. Stillwater helps the siblings get to know Miss Whitaker, and they realize she is sad and bitter because she is alone, scared and not well. In the end the kids and the old lady learn to appreciate and help each other.

There is such depth here. Consider the wordplay. When Stillwater picks up his nephew, he says "Hi, Koo!" And then, of course, Koo only speaks in the 17-syllable haiku poetry form. The lovely and realistic watercolor renditions of people and pandas make the whole story seem dreamlike. Stillwater sometimes seems normal panda sized, sometimes as big as a house. The wordless -- and haunting -- image of Miss Whitaker, late at night, looking at a painting Karl and Koo made for her is worth the price of the book in itself.

Posted in: Fables