THE PRINCE WHO RAN AWAY

Rockwell tells of the life of Siddhartha, from his foretold birth to his enlightenment, then very briefly of his time as the Buddha and his death. As she did for Sojourner Truth in Only Passing Through (2000), she tries to present an extraordinary life in a picture-book–length text with an epic tone—but she is less successful here. Her pace often drags across text-heavy white pages. She puts the enlightenment, the Buddha’s death, and Mara into words that will make some sense to young readers, but radically oversimplifies them in doing so. Demi was able to express these better in her Buddha (1996). Nevertheless, having different interpretations of this subject should help young readers to understand its complexity, and Rockwell’s version is accessible. Amiri’s (The Monkey Bridge, 1997, etc.) paintings, reminiscent of the Persian miniatures she is a student of, bring welcome brightness to the pages, elaborately expressing the narrative. In a short author’s note, Rockwell sets Buddhism in a historical context, and hopes that readers will discover more about the Buddha elsewhere, but provides no bibliography or list of sources. (Picture book/biography. 8-12)