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A very perceptive youngster has the necessary skills to help his grandmother in this colorfully illustrated children's book. When Randy Tai Chi saves his baby sister from eating "chocolate" (actually dog poo) using agile tai chi moves, he earns the status of "master of the mindful movements and awareness." Then he accompanies Amazing Grandma to a visit with her physician, Dr. B. Better, offering a suggestion for the treatment of her diabetes: tai chi exercises to correct her posture, strength, and balance. Unbeknownst to them, the villain General Diabetes is stalking them, getting increasingly angry because he’d hoped the disease would make the world a terrible place. Randy demonstrates ten tai chi exercises with Amazing Grandma next to him imitating his moves. Amazing Grandma’s condition improves, and General Diabetes’s evil scheme is thwarted.
Olfus is a tai chi teacher who has co-authored a book on the subject. His plan for another adventure with young Randy—this time confronting Dr. Depression—clearly indicates his wish to reach out to young people and the adults in their families with important information, including scientific data, about the efficacy of the tai chi methodology. The exercises are depicted here in large, cartoon fashion, in a manner that will appeal to older children, showing them not only how to do the movements but how to teach them to others. The names given to the exercises are fanciful, again targeted to the youthful sense of humor, with examples being, "Repulse the Monkey Right and Left: To Use In Case There's an Angry Monkey in Your Closet" and "Waves Hands Like Clouds Right and Left: It Is Almost Like Flying." The book also contains footnotes and references for those seeking further corroboration of the beneficial physical and mental effects of tai chi.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review