Tag Archive | Nepal

E is for ENLIGHTENED: A Fictionalized Tale of the Buddha, by Sachi Ediriweera (Graphic Novel review) #A2Z

Apr5
book cover of Enlightened: A Fictionalized Tale / words and art by Sachi Ediriweera. Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Locked safely in the palace after his mother’s death, lively Prince Siddhartha has never known suffering, never seen an old person – how can he be a good king in the future when he knows so little about real life?

Even when he marries, the King insists he and the princess stay inside the palace for safety. Their son is born, and yet the young family must remain there, suffering despite having the best of everything.

Enough! Siddharta leaves behind his wife and child, traveling into the countryside to meet his people, to try to understand the truths about suffering – however long it takes.

The king of a nearby realm leads Siddhartha to a monastery, where the prince will live and work and meditate as a monk, learning from a wise teacher.

After a year, Siddhartha has found inner peace, but not the answers for his deepest questions, and so he travels onward. Will fasting provide insight? More meditation?

Time passes as he journeys, and he suffers because he desires to see his family as much as he desires to know the truth about suffering. Clarity comes at last – suffering and desire are a never-ending cycle!

He refines his realizations into Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path that can end the pain of our cyclical existence: right view, right intention, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right endeavor, right mindfulness, right concentration.

As the Awakened One, he teaches to all who will listen as he travels back toward his homeland and the family he left behind, never again to be a prince, moving ever onward to establish monasteries for men and women in India and beyond.

Experience the Buddha’s life and journey toward enlightenment in this compelling graphic novel. Sri Lankan artist and author Ediriweera skillfully uses soft blue, umber, and orange tones to accentuate both the stillness and the action of its storyline.

What are your experiences with Buddhism?
**kmm

Book info: Enlightened: A Fictionalized Tale / words and art by Sachi Ediriweera. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

SINGING WITH ELEPHANTS, poetry in her heart breaks free! by Margarita Engle (MG book review)

Jun8
book cover of Singing With Elephants, by Margarita Engle. Published by Viking Books /PRH | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Home isn’t here.
English is so hard to learn.
Animals always understand her.

Doctors in California after World War II couldn’t cure her grandmother diabetes, but now Oriol’s family is established here, her parents’ veterinary practice thriving, her big sister flirting with elephant handler Surey at the wildlife ranch they serve.

Summer is a release from kids who bully the 11 year old for not speaking English well, for the scents of animal companions that cling to her clothes. Oriol still longs for Cuba, where she and Abuelita cared for whistling birds.

Into their neighborhood comes an older lady whose words ring out with messages of nature and peace and hope. This poet from Chile begins teaching Oriol how to observe the world and bring poetry from her soul onto the page – in Spanish, in English, in both languages at once.

Oriol finally gets to meet wise-eyed Chandra at the ranch and Surey who cares for the pregnant elephant. The wonderful sounds that Chandra makes bring her so much joy, inspiring words and more words!

Can Oriol someday be a poet and a veterinarian, someone who translates animal speech to humans?

The noisy movie star who brought Chandra and Surey from Nepal can’t wait for the baby to be born – is he really the right person to own an elephant?

Big surprise when Chandra gives birth! Then terrible shock – what can Oriol do to help?

This novel-in-verse was inspired by the late 1940s California stay of Gabriela Mistral and her companion Doris Dana, as the educator, writer, and only woman Latin American winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature continued her work as a peace activist.

Another lyrical Cuban-centered story by the author of Rima’s Rebellion (I recommended here), Your Heart My Sky (more here), Lion Island (here) and more.

What words does nature inspire you to write?
**kmm

Book info: Singing With Elephants / Margarita Engle. Viking Books /PRH, 2022. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.