Buddhism

K-Gr 3—Explaining Buddhism to young elementary schoolers is a challenge beyond this book's reach. Key concepts such as compassion are missing. The author confusingly says that "enlightenment" (absent from the brief glossary) means that the Buddha "was no longer reborn." The Three Jewels are poorly defined (Brundle states that adherents do not have "belief" in Buddha). "Worship" is misleadingly represented as "respect." Oversimplifications abound; for instance, Sikhism is said to have a similarly "large amount" of followers. The photos are colorful, but children might get the impression that all Buddhists are men with shaved heads who wear orange robes: no female, Korean, Western, or Thai Buddhists are featured. The two images illustrating a "Buddhist temple" or pagoda actually depict two different Shinto shrines (Arakura Sengen and Kumano Nachi Taisha).