Buddhism For Sheep

by Chris Riddell (Illustrator), Louise Howard, Denis Whyte

Sheep are seriously underestimated creatures when it comes to spirituality and religious feeling. For the first time, this book recognizes their huge potential and offers ovine students of Buddhism everywhere the opportunity to focus their skills and follow the path to enlightenment. From meditation and mindfulness to the essential concepts of Zen, all the fundamentals are set out here in a series of concise interpretations of Buddhist teaching. Wonderfully illustrated by well-known illustrator Chris Riddell, this is the perfect gift with a difference.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Buddhism, Humor, Religion, Picture Books, Zen

80 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 1996

About the author

Chris Riddell was born in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was an Anglican priest and a member of the ANC. The family moved to England in 1963, when Riddell was one year old, and he spent his childhood in a number of different locations, as his father moved between parishes. Both of Riddell's parents continued to be active in the anti-apartheid movement.

Chris Riddell is an internationally acclaimed writer and illustrator whose many awards include the Nestlé Gold Award and two Kate Greenaway Medals—the most prestigious prize for illustration in the UK. He is the creator of more than one hundred books for all ages, including the immensely popular series the Edge Chronicles and his latest chapter book series, starring the irrepressible Ottoline Brown, which School Library Journal called "exceptional." Chris lives in Brighton, England, with his wife and three children where he invents his amazing characters in a very tidy shed in his yard.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Created by 2 English shepherds, these are cartoons with quips based (loosely) on Buddhist thought. Probably best appreciated by people who know sheep well.

[Lewis Isbell]

i'm gonna be real with you reader. this ones a picture book

[lexi · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boyfriend bought this for me while I was away in Scotland. It’s filled with cute and crazy illustrations that remind me all too much of Shaun the Sheep!! Loved this!!🐑🐏

[Lígia · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO CUTE

[Michael Jandrok · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very simplistic overview of Buddhism with a focus on Zen, accompanied by humorous illustrations of sheep in various situations and guises. You can read this book in less than 10 minutes, but you're really not going to gain much real insight into Buddhism unless you are already familiar with at least the basic precepts.

If you DO understand the basics of Buddhism, then this is a really cool little read. The illustrations are cute and fit the mood of the book. The text is VERY basic and reinforces some of the main ideas and themes that define Buddhism.

In short: fun book if you have some knowledge of Buddhism, strange and confusing if you are new to any of the concepts.

[Sanja_Sanjalica · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Of course, the illustrations are superb...The text is ok, uplifting at times, but not so much in the end. Still, it made me think.

[Vinay Keerthi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adorable book. Chris Riddell is an amazing artist. Read this and heard a nice, Attenborough-esque voice while I read it.

[The Sporty Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livre d'illustrations de moutons avec une légende philosophique sur le Bouddhisme. C'est agréable à lire et les illustrations sont bien faites. Cela ne démérite pas.

[Mariann · Rating 4 out of 5]

(olvasói ajándékkötet)
Chris Riddell rajzai százcsillagosak, de a koncepció annyira a fogyasztói kultúrára épít, hogy mind a buddhizmustól, mind a Zentől oly távol van, mint a Föld a Marstól!
:((

[Prakash Yadav · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the illustrations !!! Adorable pictures to go with meaningful text, as a fan of everything unconventional, i quite admired this ovine spin with a philosophical context. It makes for a beautiful gift ... so I gifted it to myself :-)

[Nawid Adelyar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the French version of this short book, ‘Bouddhisme pour les moutons’ by Claire Lumière.

It was a quick read in a hostel in Thailand which I picked up from the bookshelf to practise some French. There were some really cool phrases such as:

‘Le malheur n’est pas loin du bonheur’

‘Ce n‘est pas par la haine qu’on triomphe de la haine’

‘Ne te laisse pas aller à la paresse quand le devoir t’attend.’

‘Relève le défi d’une plus haute destinée ‘

[Blake Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good teachings, sometimes applicable or even totally unrelated illustrations.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auch wenn Chris Riddell wirklich ein talentierter Illustrator ist, hat mich das Buch nicht überzeugt. Es hat 80 Illustrationen, von denen ich 8 tatsächlich gut fand, da sie sowohl amüsant als auch durchdacht waren.

Gesamt: 2,5

[Chloé · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick read with fun illustrations

[Lewis Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

imagine how nice it would be to be a buddhist sheep

[Rhino Moses Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my view, every library should have a copy of this.

[Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun little picture book that summarises some aspects of Buddhist thought. It can be quite poignant though given the very real nature of farmed animal exploitation. It jokes about being reborn whilst picturing a slaughterhouse lorry etc.

[sanaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love it. thats an amazing book!!! how simple exmlain the reality of life...which seems hard in first look!!!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute pictures with pearls of wisdom attached.

[Bert Edens]

Simple pearls of Buddhist wisdom, one on a page with cute sheep graphics... Simple but very straight-forward.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A re-read, and although the pictures are cute I didn't connect with them.

[Perri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after a weekend filled with tedious required reading. It was the perfect antidote.

[Gem · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice book. humorous images, short but to the point snippets of wisdom. a good little book :-)

[Paul · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you're looking for something inspiring, don't read this.

[Catherine Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! Always loved Chris Riddell's illustrations!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very silly book.

[Sara Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very wise book, with fantastic drawings!

[Danita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cute, with adorable drawings

[Jennifer Gunn]

This is one of the cutest and funniest short little reads I have read in a long time. Though I read it straight through and laughed my head off at the illustrations I will keep the book on my desk to flip open to random pages for a laugh when needed!