"Quietly life changing..."
--The New York Times

Young Nikolai is searching for the answers to his three questions:
When is the best time to do things?
Who is the most important one?
What is the right thing to do?
But it is his own response to a stranger's cry for help that leads him directly to the answers he is looking for.
This profound and inspiring book is about compassion and being engaged in each moment.
With his stunning watercolors -- and text that resounds with universal truths, Jon J Muth has transformed a story by Leo Tolstoy into a timeless fable for readers of every age!

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Booksellers' Choice Award. It was recognised in the Picture Book category by the Georgia Children's Book Award. It also was recognised in the Illustrated category by the Book Sense Book of the Year Award. It was recognised in the Illustrated category by the Nautilus Book Award.

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2002 by Scholastic US .

Jon J Muth is the award-winning creator of several children's books, including STONE SOUP and THE THREE QUESTIONS. He illustrated COME ON, RAIN! by Karen Hesse and OLD TURTLE AND THE BROKEN TRUTH by Douglas Wood. His highly acclaimed comic books are published in Japan and the United States.