BRATTLEBORO-ByWay Books & More, partnering with the Dummerston Community Center and Library and Lydia’s Friends of the Library, will host a storytime event with Rachel Wang Yung-Hsin, translator of Little Monk Writes Rain by Hsu-Kung Liu, Saturday, July 11, at 11 a.m.
All are invited to enjoy a simple, resonant story about how to find — and share — a sense of calm amid the storms of life.
Little Monk Writes Rain is “an evocative tale of mindfulness, self-expression, and compassion,” wrote organizers in a news release. In the story, Old Monk invites Little Monk to practice calligraphy. “Let’s write the character for rain!” he says. And with each brushstroke, Little Monk’s restless, anxious heart grows quiet.
For the next 20 years, as Little Monk becomes Big Monk, he sits down with his brush every day, meditating on and writing the character for “rain,” until one day someone comes to the temple asking for help: The city has no water. All grown up now, Big Monk packs his things and hopes to do his part. But will a pile of calligraphy sheets make any difference?
On July 11, Wang will read the story and guide attendees through how to write the word rain in calligraphy form. She will also share parts of the story in Mandarin.
At the end of the book, the author Hsu-Kung Liu answers the question, Why does the main character only know one word? He replies, “Little Monk actually has a learning disability and cannot learn to write more. ‘Normal people’ might think he is useless to society, just because he can’t read or write except one word. But in a time of crisis, the only word he has written becomes the real rain falling down.”
This story is an excellent choice for educators and parents looking for ways to calm the spirited child and engage in practices which encourage patience. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to support Lydia’s Friends of the Library.
Wang Yung-Hsin is a writer, translator, and interpreter with extensive experience in intercultural communication and international education. She earned a master’s in writing for children from Simmons University and won the Lee & Low and Friends Scholarship in 2017. Little Monk Writes Rain is her first children’s picture book translation published in English. She reviews young readers’ books for Kirkus Reviews, and currently resides in Massachusetts.
ByWay Books & More is at 399 Canal St., with free parking available behind the store. For more information, call 802-490-8014, email contact@bywaybooks.co, or visit bywaybooks.co.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.