Customer Reviews

I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book to read with my 8 yr old son at bedtime. The book is very well written with the language being both accessible and engaging for young children. My son also loved the illustrations which have a wonderful clarity and warmth. Each Jataka we read gave us a great opportunity to talk about kindness, fear, greed and the other myriad feelings we have every day. Best of all, after we finished the book my son went back and read it again himself. Which is a big deal for him since he usually goes for Captain Underpants before anything else.

Both my 3 and 7 year olds enjoy these stories. It is a great way to start discussions on topics like telling the truth, trust, careful thought, friendship and kindness. The illustrations are wonderful and inspire the imagination.

My five year old son loved this book with jakatas, or tales, that buddha told. The jakatas are all told through the stories and lessons that buddha learned through his life as different animals: a monkey, lion, dove, and jackal. There are valuable lessons learned and I would highly recommend this as an introduction for children to buddhism.

I purchased this book because it looked like a nice introduction to Buddah. My daugher and I both throroughly enjoyed the book. My daughter is 4 and a half and she first went through the book to look at it's pictures and attempted to figure out each story. As we read each story she enjoyed guessing what was going to happen next and how each animal would react by her first impressions by the artwork. It is nicely written for a read aloud book and contains timeless stories about interaction. I highly reccommend this book, even in you are not interested in Buddah as a religious figure, but looking for tales of common sense and relating to others.

My nine year old daughter and seven year old son loved this book. I have an eleven year old son who wasn't too interested. If you want a gentle introduction to Buddhist thought, or simply want to broaden your children's horizons, this is an excellent resource. Sadly, it is pretty short, but the illustrations are excellent and the stories profound.

My five year old son loved this book with jatakas, or tales, that buddha told. The jatakas are all told through the stories and lessons that buddha learned through his life as different animals: a monkey, lion, dove, and jackal. There are valuable lessons learned and I would highly recommend this as an introduction for children to buddhism.

I actually checked this book out at the library, with some others, for my children to start learning a little about the Buddhist teachings. We all enjoyed it and not long after returning it to the library, I decided I wanted to own it.

It is refreshing to find stories for children that contain important lessons about character and consequences, without threats or bribes (like many religions teach). I recommend this book for children and adults alike. I hope to find more just like it to fill our ever growing library.

My 6 year old and 8 year old enjoy the story this book tells. It helps them to ask questions and start the process of understanding the "big picture". This book along with many others written for children about kindness and Buddhism are an important part of bringing up a well rounded person.

I checked this book out of the library based on the general description of what was inside. I thought that is would be a good piece of literature for my 5 year old son to help to introduce him to other cultures around the world.
Well, I have to say thaat I really enjoyed this book as much as he did! He sat on the bed every night, hanging on to every word, and could not wait for the next night so we could read the next story. I could have easily finished the book in one night myself, but didn't so that I would be just as excited as he was when it came time to read the next story.
We now own a copy of this wonderful book and I am actively seeking stories that are of a similar bent. I have created the tag, "zen for children" just to help me group together books that are similar to this one in some way.
If you're sick of Cat in the Hat and your kid is starting to ask you some real tough questions about why kids (or adults) do this or that (act mean, yell at each other, lie, etc..), then I think you'll be ready to read and enjoy this book!

I read these to my child every night. Some of the stories were a little more mature than I'd prefer for a small child, but they haven't caused any problems.

All in all a great book!