Demi
Demi is the award-winning author and illustrator of over 130 bestselling children’s books, including The Empty Pot, Jesus, Buddha, The Dalai Lama, One Grain of Rice, The Boy Who Painted Dragons, and The Legend of Saint Nicholas. For Wisdom Tales Press, she has written and illustrated Saint Francis of Assisi and The Fantastic Adventures of Krishna and illustrated The Conference of the Birds (retold by Alexis York Lumbard), The Pandas and Their Chopsticks: and Other Animal Stories, Mahavira: The Hero of Nonviolence by Dr. Manoj Jain, and a children’s biography of Abraham Lincoln titled President Lincoln: From Log Cabin to White House. Demi’s most recent books for Wisdom Tales are Gifts of Our Lady of Guadalupe: Patroness of Latin America, and Talking to God: Prayers for Children from the World’s Religions. Her latest, Hildegard of Bingen: Scientist, Composer, Healer & Saint, is another glowing picture-book for children, this time about a multitalented woman who was a mystic, abbess, scientist, doctor, composer, author, linguist, and artist, whose influence has extended throughout the centuries since her death.
Demi’s books have sold over half a million copies and her work has been appreciated by many diverse people across the globe, such as the Dalai Lama and the Pope. The Empty Pot, her best-selling title, was selected by former First Lady Barbara Bush as one of the books to be read on the ABC Radio Network Program Mrs. Bush’s Story Time, sponsored by the Children’s Literacy Initiative. Demi’s book Gandhi was named a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and received an Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award.
Books, Courses & Podcasts
The Illustrated Lotus Sutra
The Lotus Sutra is regarded as one of the world’s great religious scriptures and most influential texts. It’s a seminal work in the development of Buddhism throughout East Asia and, by extension, in the development of Mahayana Buddhism throughout the world. Taking place in a vast and fantastical cosmic setting, the Lotus Sutra places emphasis on skillfully doing whatever is needed to serve and compassionately care for others, on breaking down distinctions between the fully enlightened buddha and the bodhisattva who vows to postpone salvation until all beings may share it, and especially on each and every being’s innate capacity to become a buddha.
This illustrated edition features more than 110 full-page and two-page illustrations by a world-renowned and award-winning artist, and brings the fantastical and image-filled world of the Lotus Sutra vividly to life. Demi’s illustrations are both classical and contemporary in feel, perfectly complementing Reeves’s masterful and modern translation.
I See You, Buddha
An instant classic, this book will help children (and their parents) learn patience and to see the good in everyone—including themselves! It will also help children meet difficult circumstances, such as being sick, doing chores, and not getting everything they want—and help them overcome low self-esteem and negative self-talk.
I See You, Buddha is based on a chapter in the Lotus Sutra, one of the most influential Buddhist texts worldwide—a classical scripture that has inspired a whole genre of works, especially in Japan, known as Lotus Literature. The Lotus Sutra teaches the way of the bodhisattva—a being engaged in compassionate, enlightened activity in the service of all—by offering examples of what this activity might look like in the world. One such model in the text is Bodhisattva Never Disrespectful (or Never Disparaging), who, despite troubling encounters with and even harsh treatment from others, bows down respectfully to everyone, recognizing their Buddha nature and honoring their own journeys along the bodhisattva path to enlightenment—whether they know they’re future buddhas or not!
Listen to author Josh Bartok as he reads I See You, Buddha in this video reading.
I See You, Mara!
Destined to be classic, I See You, Mara! is a beautifully illustrated tale from the Buddhist sutras that will help kids learn how to better relate to their most difficult thoughts and feelings—including fear, self-doubt, and all kinds of insecurities.
The story is told in memorable and engaging rhyming verse in the tradition of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, and illustrated in a traditional and yet light-hearted style by Demi, the renowned and award-winning illustrator of I See You, Buddha, as well as Wisdom’s Illustrated Lotus Sutra and many other books.
Mara is a character from the Buddhist tradition who is the personification of the mind that causes suffering, also known as delusion. I See You, Mara! provides time-tested tools for dispelling the voice of fear, doubt, and inadequacy that arises for all of us.
The Secret of the Sand Castles
The Secret of the Sand Castles is a timeless Buddhist tale about the things that matter most: truth, generosity, compassion, and love.
When a group of children are having a playful day at the beach, the fun of building sand castles is forgotten when they start arguing about whose castle is best. While fighting over “I,” “me,” and “mine,” they end up destroying and abandoning the castles they so carefully constructed.
The timely arrival of a magical wise man teaches the children that unlike the sand castles, it is the things we can’t see that really matter most.
The Brave Little Parrot
Winner of the 2023 NYC Big Book Award for Childrens-Inspirational books!
How can you save a burning forest with just sprinkles of water? This timeless Buddhist tale may just have the answer!
In this ancient tale of one of the Buddha’s past lives, the Buddha is born as a little gray parrot who takes it upon herself to save her beloved forest home from a raging fire.
Even though she can only sprinkle drops of water onto the blaze . . .
. . . her perseverance, courage, and compassion change everything, eventually saving the forest in an unexpected way.
Zen teacher and acclaimed storyteller Rafe Martin is joined by the award-winning illustrator Demi to render this centuries-old classic into a beautiful and timeless tale that will inspire all of us to find our own bravery and to act selflessly for the benefit of all.
Discover Rafe Martin’s other books here.
Explore Demi’s other books here.