BOOK BRIEFS
he story of how Prince Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha is nothing new for the readers of . What (Shambhala Bala Kids 2020), a storybook by Heather Sanche with illustrations by Tara Di Gesu, offers is not exactly a new spin on the classic tale. Rather, it is noteworthy for the elegant simplicity of Sanche’s retelling, as well as Di Gesu’s atmospheric watercolors, which imbue the narrative with an ethereal beauty. Siddhartha’s world, rendered in exquisite detail, is suspended in an evocative shroud of otherworldliness. Here, the sun and moon loom large, as if to encompass the enormity of the Buddha’s experience. When the Buddha passes on, in the deep blue hues of twilight, the humans
