No Presents Please

by Peter Whitfield, Nancy Bevington (Illustrator)

Grizzel Bear is angry. He stomps the flowers, he grumbles, he complains. The sun is in his eyes, the trees are in his way, and the wind musses his fur. On the path he meets Guru Walter Wombat, who is full of love and compassion. As Grizzel rages, Walter smiles and refuses to accept Grizzel's anger. "You tried to give me a stomp on the head, a bone crunching Grizzel Bear squeeze and a punch on the nose. I would not want those presents even if it was my birthday.” This beautifully illustrated tale offers children gentle lessons in learning to control angry feelings, both their own and others'.

Hardcover

Reviews

[Martina Blagojevic]

Predobra knjiga za decu a i za odrasle sa lepom poukom

[Emma]

Amusing, cute way to teach the important message.

[Dolly]

This is one book in a series of books (three so far) that offers a Buddhist philosophy and story, adapted for children. The moral of the story is a worthwhile one, although some of the philosophy is fairly lofty. The illustrations are pretty good and the characters are interesting, though typecast, animals. I prefer the Zen Ties books by Jon J. Muth, however.

[Carrie]

I use this book all the time with children to talk about how we can regulate our emotions and choose how we react to a given situation.