Zen Pencils–Inspirational Quotes for Kids

Zen Pencils is a book with quotes “cartoon-ized” by Gavin Aung Than. Some quotes are fictional. Some tell the truth. All of the cartoons in this book have plots. The cartoons show interesting ways of seeing the meaning (see “Always Be Prepared”) of a particular quote. It’s easier to understand the quote-cartoon if you know the plot of the cartoon. Look at the cartoon called “Ask Yourself” to see why.

The top three cartoons I liked were: in third, “Nature Loves Courage” (I like this one because bravery is an important characteristic for everyone to have.); in second, “Sympathy for the Devil” (I chose this one because I thought the cartoon – which didn’t have a lot words – was well done.); and, in first, “On Happiness” (I like this one because the artwork is very beautiful and the cartoon is very thought-provoking. For example, what are the “other things” we could focus on besides happiness?)

The illustrations are cool and colorful (especially “Ashes or Dust”). I love Zen Pencils. I think that kids who are ages eight to fourteen would enjoy this book. The cartoons are a really neat way to teach useful quotes and proverbs.