Young Minds, Ancient Wisdom
A review of Zen Tails by Peter Whitfield, illustrated by Nancy Bevington. Published in Education Today , October 2004 Zen Tails is a unique series of children’s books aimed at ages 5 - 8. It sets out to convey to young readers some of the profound wisdom contained in the vast store of traditional stories of the East. The Zen Tails are enacted by nine animal characters who are grouped into three group: the teachers, the students and the fools. The teachers (a St. Bernard, a wombat and a turtle representing action, love and knowledge) are the enlightened ones. The students (a beagle, a hippo and a beaver representing courage, compassion and studiousness) are striving to emulate them. The fools (a cat, a monkey and a bear representing laziness, agitation and anger) are living in selfish ignorance. In case you don’t get all this from reading the books, it’s spelt out for you on a three bookmarks which comes with the series. Nancy Bevington’s illustrations are skilfully drawn watercolour