Description
Nikolai is a boy who believes that if he can find the answers to his three questions, he will all the time understand how to be a good person. His friends–a heron, a monkey, and a dog–try to help, but to no avail, so he asks Leo, the wise old turtle. “When is the most efficient time to do things? Who is a very powerful one? What’s the right thing to do?” Leo doesn’t answer directly, but by the end of Nikolai’s visit, the boy has discovered the answers himself.
Award-winning illustrator Jon J Muth’s lovely watercolors are the most appealing aspect of this book about compassion and living in the moment. The simple Zen-based profundity of the boy’s philosophical exploration may escape young readers, but they’re going to enjoy the tale of a kid who, in doing good deeds (for a panda and her baby, no less!), finds inner peace. Muth based his story on a short story of the same title by Leo Tolstoy. (Ages 5 to 9) –Emilie Coulter