This Caldecott Honor book occupied a place of pride on the New York Times Bestseller list for almost all of 2006. According to the 2005 New York Times review -

“In ”Zen Shorts,” Muth’s watercolor illustrations of the children and their panda friend are serene, airy and grounded in ethereal washes of gentle color. The children are satisfyingly childlike in their bearing, and Stillwater’s every pose is marked with balance, geometry and lighthearted visual pleasures, ranging from his endearing teddy-bear posture to the broadcloth boxer shorts he wears, contributing to the title pun. In contrast, the anecdotal interludes feature monochrome caricatures and landscapes rendered in a stark brush-and-ink style reminiscent of Japanese ink painting, and serve as a vivid complement to the softness of the surrounding narrative frame.

The story is quiet and direct, simple to the point of occasional awkwardness, with moments of understated humor. It’s worth noting that only two of the anecdotes are actually from the Zen tradition (generally attributed to the Zen masters Ryokan and Tanzan). “