THE LITTLE LAMA OF TIBET

A photo essay about six-year-old Ling Rinpoche, a young Tibetan Buddhist monk, said to be the reincarnation of the late tutor of the present Dalai Lama. While living in Dharamsala, India, home of the young lama, Raimondo received permission to interview and photograph him. She presents Rinpoche's daily activities, the adults who surround him, and his travels to his monastery and to New Delhi for a once-a-year vacation. The author clearly explains Rinpoche's role as ``cultural caretaker''/teacher of Tibetan spiritual ways; unfortunately, her explanation of reincarnation is less adequate. The book opens with a letter for adults from the Dalai Lama and concludes with a message to American children from Rinpoche. The artistically composed color photos depict an appealing, hard-working child/student priest. Since they were taken using naturally available light, they are sometimes dark; also, they're not always well placed in relation to the text. A map and note about Tibet are (of necessity) ethnocentric, and don't reflect the political reality of Tibet as an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. An interesting and unusual portrait, but not fully satisfying. Pronunciation of names is given in the text. (Nonfiction. 5-9)