Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein and Ed Young

Mark Reibstein – author. Ed Young - illustrator. Wabi Sabi. New York: Little, Brown, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-316-118257

Author website: No author website found.

Ilustrator website: http://edyoungart.com/

Media: Mixed media collage.

Genres: Fictional picture book, haiku, bilingual, Japanese philosophy, Japanese poets, Zen, Taoist philosophy, identity, cultural identity

Annotation
 Japanese cat, Wabi Sabi, wanders across Japan in a search for what her name means. Through haiku, she finds real beauty in unexpected places and discovers the meaning of her name and philosophy.

My thoughts
This Zen Buddhism/Taoism philosophy is effectively broken down into its most simple elements and illustrated beautifully by award winning illustrator Ed Young. For a book, that intends to take this highly unexplainable Zen/ Taoist concept, a way of seeing beauty in life and simply see things, it does a nice job.

The cat’s journey starts by receiving an unsatisfactory answer from her owner. She asked her owner “what is the meaning of my name.” The owner replied, “That's hard to explain.” And that is all she says. She continues to question other animals until she is led to a wise old monkey who teaches her the meaning. This journey in addition to teaching the philosophy also teaches empirical research. This is the idea of questioning multiple people to find an answer and to gain a full understanding of an idea.

The reader also experiences a physical journey and can partly experience part of Japanese culture through this book. The book has the unusual way of turning the pages upward vertically and is read top to bottom similar to classical Chinese and Japanese traditional scroll paintings/ calligraphy/ texts. The haiku is also traditional.

I have had the opportunity to travel to Ginkakuji (the “Silver Temple”) and I loved reading the poetic descriptions and linking it to Wabi Sabi. “Yellow bamboo stalks bow by teahouse doors so low emperors must kneel. Dark building, floating, sit on white sand seas. A stream sweeps small stones, chanting.”

Literary Devices
Use of Personification: Wabi Sabi the cat represents Wabi Sabi the Zen Buddhism and Taoist philosophies.

Use of Simile: "He moved things as if they were gold, although they were wooden or clay."/ “As simple as a brown leaf. So ordinary!”/

Use of oxymoron: "She saw that everything was alive and dying too."

Reading level/ Interest Age
 K- grade 3. (Arguably, all ages). The simply complex philosophy and beautiful collages also can be used for older readers. This book can be used by teachers when introducing Japanese Zen or Taoist philosophies, or for learning about the haiku as a poetry structure, or for art teachers (the collages are really visually interesting and are good inspiration for class projects).

Reviews and Awards

ALA Notable Book (2008)

New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book for 2008
Booklist starred review