From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up?Tibet is a timely topic. However, in telling the story of the political and religious leader of the country, Demi does not aim at trendiness, controversy, or even high drama. This picture-book biography speaks simply and respectfully of the history and the mission of the Dalai Lama. The author focuses on the search for, and childhood of, the 14th reincarnation of the "ocean of wisdom." As a boy, he was both mischievous and mysterious, with ordinary childlike traits as well as deep spirituality. His accession to temporal power coincided with Chinese Communist control over Tibet, and at the age of 24, in the face of the Cultural Revolution's "madness," the Dalai Lama went into permanent exile. The last pages stress his universal message of peace and his compassion for his people. Demi's figures in this book are nearly as tiny as ever, but the format and watercolor-brushed Himalayas convey the sweep of the Tibetan setting, while minute details suggest the grandeur of its culture. Unlike Buddha Stories (Holt, 1997), this book is as colorful as the country it depicts, and uses gold as a color rather than a glittering line. Few readers will be able to resist the combination of the exotic background, the human interest of the main character, and the vision of peace he represents. This is a book as beautiful as it is moving, and one hopes it will make an impression on as many sensitive children as possible.?Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RICopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 3^-6, slightly younger for reading aloud. Several recent movies about the Dalai Lama have sparked adults' interest in the life of the Buddhist spiritual leader. This glorious picture book for older children should do the same for middle-graders, thanks in no small part to Demi's very special artwork. The book begins with a letter from the Dalai Lama in which he describes his concern about the current political situation in Tibet, though in language children can readily understand. Then Demi briefly introduces Tibet and the Buddhist religion. She begins her biography with the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the search for his successor, who turns out to be a two-year-old boy. The lad readily passes the tests that the monks have devised and moves to the holy city of Lhasa, where he studies Buddhism, as well as academic subjects, and is described as a "holy terror" by the monks. Demi does a good job of humanizing this "god-king," showing him to be a boy who loves taking things apart and putting them back together and watching the mice run up and down the curtains in his room. The book concludes with the Chinese takeover of Tibet and the Dalai Lama's life in exile. Demi's artistic style, with its diminutive figures and intricate lines, is familiar, but here she takes that style to a new level. Soaring landscapes, in which the Himalaya mountaintops peek out from a turquoise sky, are beautifully juxtaposed with spreads of palace pageantry and more personal scenes of the Dalai Lama's childhood. Demi, a practicing Buddhist, clearly shows the love and reverence she has for her religion in this special book. Ilene Cooper

Review
"[A] glorious picture book.... Soaring landscapes ... are beautifully juxtaposed with spreads of palace pageantry and more personal scenes of the Dalai Lama’s childhood. Demi, a practicing Buddhist, clearly shows the love and reverence she has for her religion in this special book." --Booklist, starred review


Review
"[A] glorious picture book.... Soaring landscapes ... are beautifully juxtaposed with spreads of palace pageantry and more personal scenes of the Dalai Lama’s childhood. Demi, a practicing Buddhist, clearly shows the love and reverence she has for her religion in this special book." --Booklist, starred review


Review
"[A] glorious picture book.... Soaring landscapes ... are beautifully juxtaposed with spreads of palace pageantry and more personal scenes of the Dalai Lama’s childhood. Demi, a practicing Buddhist, clearly shows the love and reverence she has for her religion in this special book." --Booklist, starred review


Book Description
Included is a foreword written by The Dalai Lama.

When the thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1933, the highest holy men in Tibet searched throughout the land for his successor. They were spiritually guided to the humble dwelling of a loving family high in the Himalayas. When the search party greeted the youngest son, the child told them, "Now I am going home!" At last the fourteenth Dalai Lama had been found, and at the age of two, the young boy was taken to the capital city, Lhasa, where he began his training to become the spiritual leader of Tibet.

The work of the Dalai Lama and the fate of Tibet are topics of evergrowing international focus. In simple language and glorious art, Demi pays tribute to the fourteenth Dalai Lama's remarkable life. She captures the beauty of Tibetan culture, as well as the charm, talent, and vision of one of the world's best-known spiritual figures.


About the Author
Demi, along with her husband, Tze-si Huang, has been a practicing Buddhist for more than twenty years. She is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including Buddha, Buddha Stories, and The Empty Pot. Demi lives in Carnation, Washington.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When the thirteenth Dalai Lama died in 1933, the highest holy men in Tibet searched throughout the land for his successor. They were spiritually guided to the humble dwelling of a loving family high in the Himalayas. When the search party greeted the youngest son, the child told them, "Now I am going home!" At last the fourteenth Dalai Lama had been found, and at the age of two, the young boy was taken to the capital city, Lhasa, where he began his training to become the spiritual leader of Tibet.

The work of the Dalai Lama and the fate of Tibet are topics of evergrowing international focus. In simple language and glorious art, Demi pays tribute to the fourteenth Dalai Lama's remarkable life. She captures the beauty of Tibetan culture, as well as the charm, talent, and vision of one of the world's best-known spiritual figures.

SYNOPSIS

In simple language and glorious art, Demi pays tribute to the 14th Dalai Lama's remarkable life, capturing the beauty of Tibetan culture, as well as the charm, talent, and vision of one of the world's best-known spiritual figures.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Susan Hepler

The author, a practicing Buddhist, has created a staid and beautiful picture book biography of the current Dalai Lama which, along with her Buddha and Buddha Stories, contributes to the growing body of books about Tibetan culture and religion. Tiny detailed figures dwarfed by the mountains and palaces give way to close-ups of the young boy's tutelage in the monastery where he lived until his exile in 1959 at the age of twenty-four. Demi's artwork often uses borders to emphasize, frame, or isolate important incidents. Here she also makes use of dramatic double page spreads to highlight the tragic destruction of Tibetan people and property by the Chinese and to dramatize the Dalai Lama's escape through the snow-covered mountains to India on the back of yak. In Dharamsala, India, the Dalai Lama has set up a community to preserve the Tibetan way of peace. Older readers will appreciate the book's artistry and the foreword letter from the Dalai Lama setting his life in historical context helps children understand the consequences of Mao Tse-Tung's policies of "modernizing" Tibet. For a contemporary look at Tibetans in exile, see Laurie Dolphin's photo-essay Our Journey from Tibet (Dutton, l997) in which the Dalai Lama greets new arrivals in Nepal.

School Library Journal

Gr 3 UpTibet is a timely topic. However, in telling the story of the political and religious leader of the country, Demi does not aim at trendiness, controversy, or even high drama. This picture-book biography speaks simply and respectfully of the history and the mission of the Dalai Lama. The author focuses on the search for, and childhood of, the 14th reincarnation of the "ocean of wisdom." As a boy, he was both mischievous and mysterious, with ordinary childlike traits as well as deep spirituality. His accession to temporal power coincided with Chinese Communist control over Tibet, and at the age of 24, in the face of the Cultural Revolution's "madness," the Dalai Lama went into permanent exile. The last pages stress his universal message of peace and his compassion for his people. Demi's figures in this book are nearly as tiny as ever, but the format and watercolor-brushed Himalayas convey the sweep of the Tibetan setting, while minute details suggest the grandeur of its culture. Unlike Buddha Stories (Holt, 1997), this book is as colorful as the country it depicts, and uses gold as a color rather than a glittering line. Few readers will be able to resist the combination of the exotic background, the human interest of the main character, and the vision of peace he represents. This is a book as beautiful as it is moving, and one hopes it will make an impression on as many sensitive children as possible.Patricia Lothrop-Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI

Horn