The Dalai Lama by Demi is a short biography about a great spiritual leader. I thought this book was excellent for two reasons. First, the illustrations were colorful and extremely detailed. The pictures included regional dress, instruments, hair styles, animals, and architecture. For example, in the middle of the book, Demi describes the Dalai Lama's life in the Tebeten palace. This page includes a detailed illustration of the palace, as well as the statues and other art pieces that are found inside. The illustrations are extremely important in this book, because they provide information that is not explicitly written in the text.

Second, Demi did an excellent job of describing the key details of the Dalai Lama's life. The book spent the perfect amount of time describing how the monks searched for the Dalai Lama, his life in the palace, and his eventual exile. This book also contained a letter from the Dalai Lama himself. This letter gave authenticity to the book.
Overall, the theme of this book is to make the world into a peaceful and loving place. ( )

The Dalai Lama tells the life story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama. The book begins with the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the search for the next. It continues on explaining the life of the Dalai Lama, the education he received, and the role he plays in the Buddhist faith. I really enjoyed this book and felt like it was very informative. I felt like it gave an outsider a great look into what Buddhism is like and who the Dalai Lama is. I also liked how the author explained the struggle facing the people of Tibet. ( )

I used this book in my classroom as an example of a children's picture book that explained a world religion. (The students were each assigned a religion native to India for which they will create a children's picture book.)

I chose this book as an example because it focused on one aspect of the Buddhist religion rather than attempting to explain the entire rich history in one short picture book. The illustrations are focused and intriguing;although, they are not as detailed as this author's book on Muhammad. Unfortunately, this text does not include a bibliography. Naturally, the class discussed the value that a works cited or bibliography would have added to the book. ( )

Appropriate grade level for this book would be2nd grade through 5th grade This book hasn't received any awards. This book is about Tibet men who searched throughout the land for the 13th Dalai Lama's successor after her died. They were spiritually guided to the humble dwelling of a loving family high in the Himilayas. Soon enough, they found the 14th Dalai Lama. This book is a tribute to the 14th Dalai Lama and and his remarkable life, capturing the beauty of the Tibetan culture as well as charm, talent and vision. Uses in the classroom for this book would be to have the students do a project on religious figures in our world. They will then provide a list of their potential figures that they may want to use. They will then make a poster including pictures, dates and important facts about the person.

Demi outlines the story of the fourteenth Dalai Lama, or spiritual leader, of Tibet. Tibetans believe that the new Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of the previous. Therefore, the story begins with the death of the thirteenth Dalai Lama and the search for his predecessor. Once the new child was discovered, the monks put him through several tests to determine if he was in fact the reincarnated Tibetan leader. Beautifully written and illustrated, the book chronicles his early life and exile in India. Additionally, it includes a letter from the Dalai Lama which reinforces his dream for Tibet of freedom, peace and happiness. Overall, the book is very informative, yet easy to read and understand. ( )