The Prince Who Ran Away: The Story Of Gautama Buddha

By Anne Rockwell

Book Overview

On a night more than two thousand years ago, a prince was born in India. He could have been the most powerful rajah in all the world. But instead, the prince chose to become a common beggar, seeking a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679891889
• ISBN13: 9780679891888
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.4" x 0.3" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

World Religion with Gorgeous Pictures

I got this for my two early school-aged boys to help them learn about other religions in the world, and I wasn't sure what to expect. The artwork is lovely, and they enjoy taking their time studying the pictures, particularly the demons (as are shown in the cover). The story is one that is a bit hard to fully "get" for my kindergartener, but makes more sense to my second-grader. That being said, my younger son was able to learn about Buddha and some of the key ideas. It's not written as a religious book, but as a biography for children, which is just what I wanted.

Wonderful picture book

This is a wonderful, simple story about the life of Gautama Buddha with beautiful illustrations. It covers all the basic "facts" of the story of Prince Siddhartha. The images (and story) are strong and I worried my 5 year old might be frightened as she is easily upset. However, she LOVES this book and is fascinated by both the story and illustrations.

Excellent Book!

This is one of the most moving and best books for children about Buddha's life. There are many other good books, but this one is really straight forward and clear in his life's details. I would use this books with others to teach about Buddha, but this book would be the cornerstone while teaching about his life on Earth.

Siddhartha for the Grade School Set

This is the first children's picture book I've seen about the life of the Buddha, so I find it interesting for that alone. It is beautifully, though at times a bit garishly, illustrated but with the Mara depicted in it, this might have been what illustrator Fahimeh Amiri was going for. Regardless of subject, however, I sometimes think there are simply too many colors in a few illustrations when I believe a subject demands subtler colorings, but this is likely just a matter of personal taste. Besides that, the illustrations are fine except for the one of Siddhartha in his ascetic phase when he, in this picture, resembles one of those extra terrestrials I've seen in movies before. Also, in the illustration of the prophet looking at baby Gautama's feet, the feet look to be half the length of the baby's body. I say these things not to be picky but because they distracted me from the story, which I think is relevant. There are some perfectly beautiful illustrations too, that do not distract with either too much color or with distortions. One is of the Buddha meditating under the Bo Tree, when Mara is sending down fierce rains and the king of the cobras shelters Gautama from the rain. There's a color theme at work here, too, rather than the clash visible on other pages.The story proceeds as is known--prince is born, mother dies, prophecy induces king to shelter prince from sorrow and pain, prince finds out anyway and, after a brief marriage, sets out to find the cure of suffering becoming, ultimately, the Buddha. No surprises here. Suffice it to say, however, that my 7 year old son is mad about this book, stares with wonder at the illustrations and listens intently to the story. As an introduction to the Buddha for elementary school kids, it's a good choice.