Zen Ghosts

Starred review from August 16, 2010
In the third of Muth's contemplative series, Stillwater the panda comes dressed as a ghost to join Addy, Michael, and Karl on Halloween. After trick or treating, they travel through the misty night to Stillwater's house. There, another panda (which one is Stillwater?) shares a ghost story, painted in black ink and based on a Zen koan, which questions the nature of identity. Haunting in multiple senses of the word, this tale should captivate thoughtful readers, as Muth's watercolors convey a world of infinite possibility and gentle enchantment. All ages.

Stillwater, the Zen Buddhist panda companion of Michael, Addy, and Karl, is back and ready to share in the celebration of Halloween. When trick-or-treating is over, Stillwater invites his friends to visit a storyteller and hear a ghost story. David Pittu narrates gently and slowly in a style befitting the sharing of a Zen koan or puzzle story. His extended pauses leave time to ponder which panda is really Stillwater or in the ghost story which wife is the real one. The ethereal lightness of Pittu's voice adds to the mystery of the full-mooned evening and the trip through the woods to the storyteller's house. Seasonal sound effects and music complement the story. A.R. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine