Three Zen monks arrive in a Chinese mountain village where hard times have made the people mistrusting and selfish. Undeterred by the villagers' frosty reception, the monks cheerfully start to prepare soup. The food draws the villagers from their homes with ingredients to enrich the pot, and the community is reinvigorated by the communal meal. Beautifully written with enchanting watercolors, Muth's version of a classic fable gently extols the virtues of generosity and harmony.
32p., hc. Scholastic Press.