Customer Reviews

The Prince Who Ran Away: The Story Of Gautama Buddha

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4 star:		(1)
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This is one of the most moving and best books for children about Buddha's life. There are many other good books, but this one is really straight forward and clear in his life's details. I would use this books with others to teach about Buddha, but this book would be the cornerstone while teaching about his life on Earth.

This is a wonderful, simple story about the life of Gautama Buddha with beautiful illustrations. It covers all the basic "facts" of the story of Prince Siddhartha. The images (and story) are strong and I worried my 5 year old might be frightened as she is easily upset. However, she LOVES this book and is fascinated by both the story and illustrations.

This book is well written, well done and informs on the life of Buddah. Absolutely fascinating. My 4-year old daughter wants this story every other night...

This is a must read for any parent, auntie or friend of a child who is interested in the story of Buddha-how his parents tried to protect him from the world, how he rebelled and what the consequence of that was!! He truly gave his life for the benefit of all beings!!

This is the first children's picture book I've seen about the life of the Buddha, so I find it interesting for that alone. It is beautifully, though at times a bit garishly, illustrated but with the Mara depicted in it, this might have been what illustrator Fahimeh Amiri was going for. Regardless of subject, however, I sometimes think there are simply too many colors in a few illustrations when I believe a subject demands subtler colorings, but this is likely just a matter of personal taste. Besides that, the illustrations are fine except for the one of Siddhartha in his ascetic phase when he, in this picture, resembles one of those extra terrestrials I've seen in movies before. Also, in the illustration of the prophet looking at baby Gautama's feet, the feet look to be half the length of the baby's body. I say these things not to be picky but because they distracted me from the story, which I think is relevant. There are some perfectly beautiful illustrations too, that do not distract with either too much color or with distortions. One is of the Buddha meditating under the Bo Tree, when Mara is sending down fierce rains and the king of the cobras shelters Gautama from the rain. There's a color theme at work here, too, rather than the clash visible on other pages.

The story proceeds as is known--prince is born, mother dies, prophecy induces king to shelter prince from sorrow and pain, prince finds out anyway and, after a brief marriage, sets out to find the cure of suffering becoming, ultimately, the Buddha. No surprises here. Suffice it to say, however, that my 7 year old son is mad about this book, stares with wonder at the illustrations and listens intently to the story.

As an introduction to the Buddha for elementary school kids, it's a good choice.

I read a great review of this years ago in "Tricycle" magazine. Finally, I bought it (quick service in good condition). My son, age 8, read it and did not like it. Siddhartha's encounter with death made my son sad, and he never read it again.

More recently, my younger son, age 4, asked to be read it. He was okay, but when my older son heard it he got sad, again. The next day he began thinking that, one day, he will die. I know every kid thinks this at some point, but it was interesting that this book was the trigger.

Colorful and well told (perhaps too well told, for my son). Inspiring and not insipid.