Caldecott Honor winner Grace Lin (A Big Mooncake for Little Star) writes and illustrates The Little Stone Buddha, a heartening, charismatic picture book about a lost figurine that inspires a community to come together and transform their run-down block.
The book's first double-page spread shows the little stone Buddha tumbling off the back of a bicycle. He lands, abandoned and ignored, in a trash heap on a busy city street. "Tall buildings [hide] his view of the stars" and "noisy cars and trucks rumble by," but the statue's smile stays "just the same." Eventually, a girl finds him and places him upright; others gradually slow and take notice. In groups and alone, folks pick up garbage, plant flowers, and build him a shelter, until the outdoor space is changed into a welcoming gathering place.
At the beginning, Lin depicts the gloomy neighborhood in browns and grays, and its residents frown with downcast gazes. The only spot of color is the red sash around the statue's neck. As each person performs a good deed, the muted hues slowly brighten and people's heads lift. By book's end, the neighborhood and its inhabitants shine with sunny, multicolored joy. Lin shares in an author's note that her inspirations were Virginia Lee Burton's The Little House and the true story of the "Oakland Buddha," in which a Buddha statue was installed in a blighted traffic median and its presence spurred neighbors to clean and maintain the intersection. The Little Stone Buddha is a hopeful, irresistible picture book that features lovingly detailed illustrations. --Kieran Slattery, freelance reviewer, teacher