Mountains of Tibet (1989) by Mordecai Gerstein

Authors

Maughn B. Gregory, University of Massachusetts AmherstFollow

Files

Description

High in the mountains of Tibet, a little girl was born who loved to fly kites. Mordecai Gerstein’s picture book, inspired by the Tibetan Book of the Dead, tells of the girl’s previous life as a Tibetan woodcutter who loved to fly kites, and the decisions he made after death to choose the circumstances of his next life. The idea of reincarnation belongs to the culture of many parts of the world. Some adults avoid discussing stories like this with children because they don’t want to face the question, ‘But is it really true?’ Children, however, are often more ready than their elders to “dwell in possibility” for a while. Both children and grownups need to make some room in their lives for ‘What-if?’ questions. “What if, like the Tibetan woodcutter, you could choose your next life?” is a good way to begin reflection on what really matters in life.

Publication Date

1991

Publisher

Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children

City

Montclair

Keywords

death, life, reincarnation

Disciplines

Early Childhood Education | Education | Philosophy

Comments

This review was originally published in Thinking: The Journal of Philosophy for Children 9(4): 1, 1991.

Recommended Citation

Gregory, Maughn B., "Mountains of Tibet (1989) by Mordecai Gerstein" (1991). Picture Books. 59.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/iapc_thinkingstories_picturebooks/59