I am delighted to share a recent review of my “AM I A TIGER?” Below are excerpts from the review.
The Humanistic Psychologist (American Psychological Association Journal)
Seth Zuiho Segall, PhD, USA—Clinical Psychologist & Author
It is no exaggeration to say that our culture is failing at transmitting the virtues and wisdom children need if they are to flourish as individuals and as contributing members of their families and communities. … We transmit virtue and wisdom to the young not only through parental instruction, modeling and reinforcement, and school instruction, but also through immersion in a culture's treasury of fables, sagas, legends, and adages.
Khong's delightful new children's book, “Am I a Tiger?.. is a welcome addition to that treasury. The book, published during the Chinese Lunar Year of the Water Tiger, is the first of a dozen envisioned books-the "Lunar New Year Animal Mindful Adventures for Kids" Series.
Readers of The Humanistic Psychologist are probably familiar with Khong's work as a psychologist. She has been producing academic papers integrating Eastern and Western psychology for the past 25 years … What readers may not know, however, are her prodigious gifts as a children's writer. Her “Am I a Tiger...?” seamlessly integrates whimsy, wisdom, and poetry, happily adorned by Kelsey Roy's charming and beautiful illustrations.
The little tiger cub who is the protagonist of Khong's tale is on a quest all young children will easily identify with…. [H]e is out to discover his identity and the community he properly belongs to. .... The phoenix teaches him about courage born from mindful awareness and counsels him ... to "practice kindness" in all he does.
This is a tale only Khong could tell. Her experiences as a psychologist, mindfulness expert, Buddhist practitioner, mother, and grandmother shine through on every page … . The young tiger cub's final verse ("Differences are labels of the mind. ALL opposites are beautiful…") expresses the fundamental underlying harmony that is a quintessential feature of Chinese thought-and as Khong notes, of many other wisdom traditions as well.
The book offers an important experiential guide for parents to help kids develop resilience and good mental health. The actress Michelle Yeah calls it "a heart warming introduction to positive values." According to Dr Scott D. Churchill, the author "brings her psychotherapeutic ingenuity and intergenerational insight to bear in this beautifully conceived book that is destined to become a classic of children's literature."
The book contains explanatory notes about the Lunar New Year and a delightful zodiac calendar for readers to discover their own Chinese zodiac signs. This is a book that parents will enjoy reading to their children, and That children will cherish… [W]e can all look forward to the next 11 books in this series.