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Wabi Sabi

Wabi Sabi Open the full-size image

Contributors

By Mark Reibstein

Illustrated by Ed Young

Formats and Prices

Price

$19.99

Price

$25.99 CAD

Format

Hardcover

Format:

Hardcover $19.99 $25.99 CAD

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The award-winning and New York Times bestselling book about a cat named Wabi Sabi who searches for the meaning of her name

Wabi Sabi, a little cat in Kyoto, Japan, had never thought much about her name until friends visiting from another land asked her owner what it meant.

At last, the master says, “That’s hard to explain.” And
That is all she says.

This unsatisfying answer sets Wabi Sabi on a journey to uncover the meaning of her name, and on the way discovers what wabi sabi is: a Japanese philosophy of seeing beauty in simplicity, the ordinary, and the imperfect.

Using spare text and haiku, Mark Reibstein weaves an extraordinary story about finding real beauty in unexpected places. Caldecott Medal-winning artist Ed Young complements the lyrical text with breathtaking collages. Together, they illustrate the unique world view that is wabi sabi.

A New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book for 2008!

Genre:

On Sale
Oct 1, 2008
Page Count
40 pages
Publisher
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13
9780316118255

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Mark Reibstein

About the Author

Mark Reibstein is an English teacher and writer who has lived in New York, California, Hawaii, Japan, and Thailand. Now Mark and his daughter live near San Francisco with their good friend Arlo, who is also a cat. This is his first picture book.

Ed Young has illustrated for over 70 books and has been awarded the Caldecott Medal for Lon Po Po and the Caldecott Honors for Seven Blind Mice and The Emperor and the Kite. He lives in upstate New York with his daughters.

Learn more about this author

Author photo of Ed Young

Ed Young

About the Illustrator

Ed Young is the illustrator of more than eighty books for children, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Lon Po Po, and the New York Times bestseller Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein, and Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta. He has also written and illustrated The House Baba Built, which recounts his childhood in Shanghai. Born in China, Ed moved to the United States as a young man and pursued his love of art. He currently lives in New York.

Learn more about this illustrator