Two sisters discover the power of love and the true meaning of compassion in this princess-adventure story based on an ancient Chinese tale.

Miao Shan isn't your typical princess. She likes to spend her time quietly meditating with the creatures of the forest or having adventures with dragons and tigers. Miao Shan's heart is so full of love that her dream is to spread happiness throughout the land and help people endlessly. But her father has other plans for her--he intends to have her married and remain in the palace. With the help of her little sister Ling, Miao Shan escapes and begins her journey to discover the true meaning of compassion.

During their adventure, Ling and Miao Shan are eventually separated. Ling must overcome doubts, fears, and loneliness in order to realize what her sister had told her all along--that love is the greatest power in the world. After the sisters' reunion, Miao Shan realizes her true calling as Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion. A princess-adventure story like none other, this ancient Chinese tale of the world's most beloved Buddhist hero is a story of sisterhood, strength, and following your own path.
Kuan Yin: The Princess Who Became the Goddess of Compassion, Maya van der Meer, Bala Kids, Hardcover (10.5 x 12 inches), 32 pp, $17.95

Maya van der Meer is an author, educator, environmentalist and long-time Buddhist practitioner. She is the founder of the online education platform Bodhi Kids and assists Buddhist communities in establishing or enhancing their children's programming for over a decade. Maya has run children's programs at meditation retreats and was an instructor at the Middle Way School in Woodstock, New York, where she currently lives with her life partner and their children.