Nine and A Half Fingers (A Tibetan Tale of Karma) (Forward by His Holiness The 17th Karmapa)

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Nestled high in the Himalayas a young princess asks to taste the first apples of the season. While slicing a piece of the ripe fruit her loyal maidservant accidentally chops the princess finger in two. The angry princess sends the maidservant directly to jail. Month’s later demons from the underworld capture the princess. What happens when the demons see the princess has nine and a half fingers? Find out how all the events in the story are connected and the princess learns the meaning of Karma.

Karma the energy of thoughts speech and action from the past in the present and into the future.

Breathing Illustration by award-winning artist Vandana Bist Combine Tibetan images and miniature painting style to bring this magical story to life.

Different Version of this story are found in Tibetan Buddhist teachings and Indian Legends but the main character are always male.

Lauren Alderfer is an American educator who over a decade ago worked with Tibetan children’s Village teachers in Dharmsala, India. She fell in love with Tibetan folk tales proverbs and stories but was saddened when she couldn’t find any Tibetan books for children. Since then she has helped preserve traditional forms of oral language in creative ways. Her other books include how Yak Got his long hair Tibetan proverbs and teaching as a spiritual practice. She lives in new Delhi, where her children grew up.

Vandana Bist is a well-known Indian artist and writer celebrated for her exquisite use of detail and color in her pen and ink drawing. She has won many national and international awards for her artwork. Ms. Bist had illustrated other children’s books including. The princess with the longest Hair, Panchatantra Tales, Awadhi Folk Tales, and Suragini. She lives in Delhi with her husband and two young children.

Stories play an important part in a child’s life and development. I remember how when I was a child I used to love to listen to them and how much I enjoyed leafing through colorfully illustrated storybooks.

Listening to and reading stories develop a child’s intelligence and imagination. Stories teach the child how to distinguish between right and wrong and emphasis values such as honesty, justice and compassion furthermore from stories children can learn about the dilemmas and difficulties that they may face one day. In these ways stories are a preparation for life.

Stories are often the first introduction children have to their own culture history and tradition. Tibet has a rich oral tradition, but it is only in recent times that efforts have been made to preserve this tradition in written form and thus safeguard Tibet’s unique cultural heritage for future generations.

I believe it is important to make these traditional stories available to children and this book will be a valuable addition. I am sure that children will enjoy reading it and I hope that more such storybooks will be produced in future.