Secret of the Snow Leopard

Children's Literature

Set in the Himalayan Mountains is a beautiful tale of a young boy's struggle for courage and coming of age. Tsering accompanies Karma, his stepfather, on a three day journey by yak to transport an ailing villager. The boy wanted to take a shorter route through a pass, but Karma said it was too dangerous. After all, it was where Tsering's father fell to his death two years earlier. But on the journey home Tsering slips away from the others. Hearing the words of his grandfather, the boy pushes forward. "When you are faced with two paths, always choose the most difficult." Clamoring over treacherous masses of fallen rock, Tsering is confronted by a snow leopard. The boy manages to conquer his fear and share two secrets with his departed father. The tale is beautifully written and illustrated. Paintings are rendered in earthy tones with black outlines that give them the flavor of a woodcut. Dramatic angles heighten the action and small drawings are included in the text. 2004, Groundwood Books, Ages 6 to 10.
—Laura Hummel

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Isolated, bleak, and beautiful, the Himalaya Mountains are integral to this coming-of-age story about Tsering, a boy from a small Nepali village who was first introduced in Himalaya (Groundwood, 2002). He and his stepfather accompany the village healer, who is gravely ill, on a journey to the monastery where he will seek a cure. For three days, they travel over the mountains. The youngster witnesses a lengthy and successful Tibetan Buddhist healing ceremony conducted at the monastery by the lama Rimpoch . However, on the way home, Tsering and his stepfather exchange angry words and the boy asserts his independence by climbing the dangerous pass where his father, once the chief of their village, lost his life. Up there, alone except for sacred inscriptions on the walls of the cave where he takes shelter, the youngster faces down a snow leopard and proves himself worthy of succeeding his father as a leader. Handsome earth-tone paintings, stylized and carefully composed, portray the people and animals that belong to this stark landscape. Inscriptions in Nepali script, presented without translation, decorate the pages, and an afterword offers a brief biography of the Nepali artist. The quiet authority of the artwork and the drama of the story will engage children emotionally, forging a connection with the fellow humans who make their home in these faraway mountains.-Margaret A. Chang, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A short pilgrimage climaxed by a tense confrontation with a snow leopard eases a Tibetan child's grief and anger in this atmospheric sequel to the book (2002) and film Himalaya (2001). Defying his new stepfather Karma, Tsering sneaks off into the mountain pass where his father died two years before. At nearly the same time, he comes upon a cave painted with strange glyphs, and a snarling leopard; by the time Karma catches up, Tsering has driven the predator away, finished his climb, and planted a prayer flag at the pass's summit. The narrative is laced with cultural information, as characters unselfconsciously undertake both everyday tasks and special rituals; the strong-lined illustrations, done in an amalgam of Tibetan and western styles, add further detail, and also a sense of otherworldliness. This story will have more meaning for readers familiar with its predecessor, but by the end, seeing Tsering lose his sullenness and grow closer to his gentle stepfather, children will appreciate both his inner growth and his exciting brush with death. (Picture book. 8-10)