''Zen Ties'' is a

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

children's picture book by

Jon J. Muth Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Zen Shorts ''Zen Shorts'' is a 2005 in literature, 2005 children's picture book by Jon J. Muth. The picture book can be divided into three sections based on the three stories told in the book. The illustrations in the book are created using the watercolor an ...

'' (

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), and a third book, ''Zen Ghosts'', was released in September 2010.

Plot

Stillwater, a panda, and his three-human friends, Karl, Addy and Michael are back in a new adventure. This time, Michael is faced with the daunting challenge of an upcoming

spelling bee A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite ...

. The story also introduces Miss Whitaker, an elderly neighbor whose cantankerous nature frightens the children. Stillwater uses his quiet wisdom and insight to see past her bad temper to the lonely woman within. Stillwater also receives a visit from his young nephew Koo, who speaks in

Haiku is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or se ...

References

American picture books 2008 children's books Giant pandas in popular culture Children's books about bears {{child-picture-book-stub