Wabi Sabi

Written by Mark Reibstein & Art by Ed Young
Little Brown & Company, 2008
The pictures and words go from the top down in this book, just like in Japanese! The cat's name is Wabi Sabi and she goes around asking everyone what her name means. She gets a lot of responses saying, "That is hard to explain!" She finds out that it is more of a feeling. You'll have to read it to find out what feeling! Ed Young uses textured paper and and natural items for the illustrations for a unique quality. In the story line there are Haikus from the 2 great Haiku writers: Basho and Shiki. There is a brief history of wabi sabi and haikus at the end. Very intriguing read! Great for Japanese history from the 15th and 16th century!