Wabi Sabi

2008, Little, Brown and Company

"A short time after Wabi Sabi entered the woods, she arrived at the foot of Mount Hiei. The woods were dark now, so, hoping to find Kosho in the morning, she curled up beneath an old pine tree and went to sleep. She awoke to the sounds of a stick stirring and tapping."

"A warm bowl of tea
Offered by a monkey, "Please!"
Steam rising gently."

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Mark Reibstein

Reibstein is an English teacher who lived many years in Japan. Wabi Sabi is his first picture book; he followed up with a second collaboration with illustrator Young in 2019 with Yugen, a story told in haiku.

Ed Young

Young (1931 - ), a Chinese-born American, is the author or illustrator of more than 100 children's books.  He earned the Caldecott Medal for Lon Po Po. Young also received the 2016 Society of Illustrators Lifetime Achievement Award.

“A Chinese painting is often accompanied by words,” explains Young. “They are complementary. There are things that words do that pictures never can, and likewise, there are images that words can never describe.”

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Book Synopsis

Wabi Sabi, a kitty living in Kyoto, becomes curious when visitors from another country inquire about the meaning of her name. Curious cats can travel far and find themselves in interesting places and circumstances, but will eventually return home satisfied.

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Picture book, 40 pages. Wabi Sabi is a cat curious about the meaning of her name and her story is told in haibun form and illustrated with lush collages.

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Learning Options

Family Read Aloud Time
Paper, scissors and glue are a must when reading this story with young children and older children might want to try their hand at haiku. This is a lovely book for an afternoon read together.

Classroom Resource
Little, Brown and Company offers Wabi Sabi: An Educator's Guide with multiple curriculum connections based on Marzano's research that the process of comparing and contrasting is very effective for student learning in all content areas.

Learning at Home
Wabi Sabi is an exceptional resource to include in cultural studies for a wide range of ages. The use of prose to set up haiku (haibun), the book's physical format echoing a scroll, and the resources included at the back of the book provide a child-accessible introduction to the Japanese culture.

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