Far Beyond the Garden Gate: Alexandra David-Neel's Journey to Lhasa - Hardcover

Brown, Don

4

46 ratings by Goodreads

9780618083640: Far Beyond the Garden Gate: Alexandra David-Neel's Journey to Lhasa

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618083642 ISBN 13: 9780618083640

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2002

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

In her time, Alexandra David-Neel was the most famous woman in France. She had traveled extensively in China and Tibet and, in 1924, was the first Western woman ever to enter Tibet’s forbidden capital, Lhasa. Alexandra was a self-taught Buddhist scholar and spoke Tibetan flawlessly. And she did it all as a mature woman—she was in her mid-fifties when she arrived in Lhasa.
Not only is Alexandra David-Neel’s story one of high adventure, of trekking through snow-choked mountain passes and wild encounters on the Tibetan tablelands, but it is also about a prolific writer and passionate advocate of Tibetan culture. Far Beyond the Garden Gate reveals an unforgettable life’s journey with vibrant, graceful prose and stunning illustrations.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Don Brown is the award-winning author and illustrator of many picture book biographies. He has been widely praised for his resonant storytelling and his delicate watercolor paintings that evoke the excitement, humor, pain, and joy of lives lived with passion. School Library Journal has called him “a current pacesetter who has put the finishing touches on the standards for storyographies.” He lives in New York with his family.

From Booklist:

Reviewed with Barbara helen Berger's All the Way to Lhasa.

PreS-Gr. 2. Here are two titles that combine inspiring stories of dreams and challenges with attractive introductions to Tibet's culture and religion for the very young.

Using very different approaches, these two beautifully illustrated books center around journeys to the Tibetan holy city of Lhasa. Berger distills the pilgrim's quest into a simply told, evocative tale, reminiscent of The Tortoise and the Hare, with a familiar message. Basic, rhythmic language describes two young men on their way to Lhasa. The first boy speeds across the difficult terrain on horseback; the second walks slowly, leading a yak, "one foot in front of the other." It's the careful, slower pilgrim who makes it to the holy city. Berger's paint-and-pencil illustrations are gloriously colored and filled with subtle details borrowed from Tibetan Buddhism: horn players, ceremonial chimes, and lotus blossoms, all flowing from rolling pink and gold clouds. An author's note gives some background on Lhasa and points to the story's universal theme.

Far beyond the Garden Gate expands the pilgrim's story in a fascinating picture-book biography of adventurer and Buddhist scholar Alexandra David-Neel--the first Western woman, in 1924, to enter Lhasa. As in his previous biographies, such as Uncommon Traveler (2000), Brown combines succinct language, dramatic storytelling, and beautiful, spare watercolor art to describe his subject's remarkable life. Quotes from David-Neel's own writings are woven into the text, which follows David-Neel from childhood to her death at the age of 101. But the book focuses mostly on her Buddhist studies and on her perilous, groundbreaking journey to Lhasa. Neither the story nor the concluding author's note mentions how the intensely private monks received David-Neel in their sacred city, which would have added an interesting angle, but Brown perfectly balances his atmospheric words and pictures in an exciting account. Gillian Engberg
Copyright � American Library Association. All rights reserved

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.