2017 Honorable Mention - Freeman Book Award for Children's Literature

A philosophical tale about how doing things at the appropriate time will lead to effective results. A master monk gives each student—Ben, Jing, and An—a thousand-year-old lotus seed and tells them to grow it. The students have their own ideas and put them into action. Ben wants his seed to grow fast. He waits and waits, but the buried seed never sprouts, and he is so angry that he gives up. Jing chooses the best flower pot and uses the best fertilizer, and his seed starts to sprout. He then covers it with a golden lid. Unfortunately, the seedling withers and shortly dies. When spring finally comes, An plants his seed in the corner next to the pond. The seed sprouts, and one summer morning, the lotus flower blooms. Simple text and appealing pictures illustrate the story of the three young monks’ activities simultaneously to provide interesting pictures of their different personalities. However, a couple of pages with text set on darker colored illustrations are a bit challenging to read. The last three illustrations, which feature a green tone, are very appealing. The simplified Chinese characters with transliterated romanization can be used for learning or teaching Chinese for correct pronunciation. “Words and expressions” of Chinese script and the Pinyin pronunciation with the English equivalent provide one-on-one meanings between Chinese and English words. VERDICT This book is useful for teachers, parents, or librarians with Chinese skills to teach students who are interested in learning Chinese. Best shared one-on-one. (Review from School Library Journal)