Little Monk Writes Rain

"Spirited children meet Eastern visual traditions that have a life of their own....Hsu-Kung Liu paints with a light touch…[a] feathery fable.” —The New York Times

A Buddhist monk practices calligraphy every single day—calming his heart and bringing an unexpected gift to a nearby city.

As rain falls, 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 twenty 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, hoping to do his part. But will a pile of calligraphy sheets make any difference? 

This stunning book is horizontally bound, creating a vertical reading experience inspired by Chinese ink paintings and calligraphy hung on scrolls. With poetic text and watercolor art from Taiwanese author-illustrator Hsu-Kung Liu, Little Monk Writes Rain is an evocative tale of mindfulness, self-expression, and compassion. The simple, resonant story is sure to start conversations about how to find—and share—a sense of calm amid the storms of life. Translated from Chinese by Rachel Wang Yung-Hsin.