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    Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion | Dedicated Review

    Bianca SchulzeBy Bianca Schulze3 Mins Read Ages 4-8 Author Showcase Best Kids Stories Books with Girl Characters Cultural Wisdom Picture Books Social Emotional
    Kuan Yin The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion Dedicated Review
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    Book Review of Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion
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    The Children’s Book Review

    Kuan Yin- The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion

    Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion

    Written by Maya van der Meer

    Illustrated by Wen Hsu

    Ages 4-8 | 32 Pages

    Publisher: Bala Kids | ISBN-13: 9781611807998

    What to Expect: Chinese culture, Chinese mythology, Buddhism, family, love, compassion

    Ling loves her sister Kuan Yin dearly, but she is terribly afraid of losing her. Their father, a powerful and cruel king, insists that his daughter fulfill her family duty by marrying a prince, but all Kuan Yin wishes to do is become a nun and live a spiritual life.

    When Kuan Yin refuses to marry, her father agrees to send her to a nunnery but tells the nuns to treat her cruelly. Calling on her sister’s love and a little bit of help from a dragon, Kuan Yin is able to thrive at the nunnery and becomes loved by all who know her. Filled with even more rage, the king drives Kuan Yin away, and for nine long years, Ling is left wondering if she will ever see her sister again. However, as she learns in the end, love is the greatest power in the world.

    Kuan Yin The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion Illustration

    Many children are familiar with traditional Western fairy tales, in which princesses seem to want nothing more than to marry a prince and live a thoroughly pampered life forever after. In this beautiful Buddhist fairy tale, readers learn to admire a princess with a very different set of values. Like Snow White, Kuan Yin has the power of charming animals and is loved by everyone around her, but unlike that classic princess, Kuan Yin’s goal in life is to help and heal the whole world, and her fate is to end up not as a happy wife but as a revered Goddess. It’s a powerful and inspirational message for young readers.

    Inspired by historical sources, Wen Hsu’s illustrations are truly magical, with flowing lines and transparent, glowing colors that evoke the grace and delicacy of Eastern art.

    Altogether, Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion is a book to treasure.

    Buy the Book
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    Shambhala Publications
    MAYA VAN DER MEER Author Headshot

    About the Author

    MAYA VAN DER MEER is an author, educator, environmentalist, and long-time Buddhist practitioner. She is the founder of the online education platform Bodhi Kids and assists Buddhist communities in establishing or enhancing their children’s programming. Maya has run children’s programs at meditation retreats and was an instructor at the Middle Way School in Woodstock, New York, where she currently lives with her life partner and their children.w

    To learn more, please visit www.mayavandermeer.com.

    Wen Hsu

    About the Illustrator

    WEN HSU is a Taiwanese-Costa Rican illustrator. She has a wide range of styles working with papercuts, ink, watercolor, textiles, and digital art. She has illustrated stories for children in Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Korea, and China. Wen has had a personal connection with Kuan Yin since she was a child, stemming from the bedtime stories her father told about the bodhisattva and trips to the Kuan Yin temples in Taiwan she took with her grandmother.

    Dedicated Reviews allow authors and illustrators to gain prompt visibility for their work. This is a sponsored*, non-biased review of Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion. Learn more about getting a book review …

    What to Read Next:

    1. Find Mom’s Wok, by Jung Hee Kim | Book Review
    2. C is for Chickasaw, by Wiley Barnes | Dedicated Review
    3. Meditation Station, by Susan B. Katz | Dedicated Review
    4. Now What? | Dedicated Review

    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Bala Kids Buddhism Books for Kids Chinese Compassion Culture Culture Around The World Dedicated Review Family featured Love Maya van der Meer Mythology Picture Book Wen Hsu
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    Bianca Schulze
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    Bianca Schulze is the founder of The Children’s Book Review. She is a reader, reviewer, mother and children’s book lover. She also has a decade’s worth of experience working with children in the great outdoors. Combined with her love of books and experience as a children’s specialist bookseller, the goal is to share her passion for children’s literature to grow readers. Born and raised in Sydney, Australia, she now lives with her husband and three children near Boulder, Colorado.

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