The Mountains of Tibet : A Child's Journey Through Living and Dying - Softcover

Mordicai Gerstein

4.43

368 ratings by Goodreads

9781898000549: The Mountains of Tibet : A Child's Journey Through Living and Dying

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1898000549 ISBN 13: 9781898000549

Publisher: Barefoot Books Ltd, 1987

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In a tiny village, high in the mountains of Tibet, lives a woodcutter. All his life he has longed to travel to faraway places, to see the world. But he grows old without ever leaving the mountian. When he dies, he is suddenly offered the chance to live another life, in any form he wants, anywhere in the galaxies. Carefully he decides... and finds himself in a place he never thought he would choose.

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About the Author:

Mordicai Gerstein is the author and illustrator of many beloved books for children. He won the 2004 Caldecott Medal for The Man Who Walked Between the Towers and is also a painter, sculptor, and prizewinning designer and director of animated films. Mordicai Gerstein lives in western Massachusetts with his wife, Susan Yard Harris, who is also an illustrator, and their daughter, Risa.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2 Up This story of the death and reincarnation of a Tibetan woodcutter is a beautifully gentle look at one human being dealing with life's choices and possibilities. As a boy, he thought about other worlds that he would someday visit; as a man, he thought of other countries and people, yet ``he was always busy with his work and his wife and children.'' After his death, he is given the option of being part of ``the endless universe some call heaven'' or living another life, and he chooses another life. The choices which follow take him through all the galaxies, stars, planets, creatures, peoples, countries, and parents before arriving at the final twist in this journey back to where he had beenalmost. Thus, the story comes full circle. The quiet, rhythmic text is in perfect unity with the softly colored but radiant watercolor and gouache illustrations, leaving readers with a sense of wholeness and resolution. The golden borders neatly tuck the story in and add to its feeling of satisfaction and quiet joy. The real world scenes are in neatly boxed frames while the worlds of possibilities are displayed in mandala-like circular drawings. The main character, pictured in his small personal mandala, shows a range of emotions and dance-like movement. The kites held by the children in three scenes connect the multiple worlds of the story, providing both a grounding in the world we know and a means to soar beyond it. Children will appreciate the well-told tale and the joyous satisfaction of being one's own self in a large and magical world. Kay E. Vandergrift, School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, Rutgers Univ . , New Brunswick, N.J.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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