The Cleverest Thief

When the head of a Buddhist monastery decides to pick a successor, he sends the young monks out to accomplish one task.

The Cleverest Thief is a timeless folktale from India, retold by T. V. Padma, which takes place in a Buddhist monastery. In the story, the head of the monastery falls ill and must choose a successor. To do so, he sends out the young monks and instructs them to steal something, but they must steal it in such a way that no one will know that they have stolen it. The young monks don’t question their leader. In the end, only one monk learns the truth of the saying, ＂To thine own self be true.＂ This Buddhist story will teach readers the importance of responsibility, trustworthiness and resourcefulness.

Padma Venkatraman is a writer and a scientist who lives south of Providence, Rhode Island. She is the author of Growing Gold (A folktale from India also in the Story Cove series), Mathematwist (a collection of mathematical folktales), and Climbing the Stairs (a young adult novel published by Penguin).

Padma Venkatraman Bio: Padma Venkatraman describes herself as a writer by choice and an oceanographer by training. Padma has a doctorate in oceanography and was a researcher for many years before she began writing books. She is a popular Asian-American author, having published several successful, award winning novels and picture books. She currently lives and writes in Rhode Island. Baird Hoffmire Bio: Baird Hoffmire is an animator, illustrator, graphic designer and exhibiting artist. He resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his beautiful wife, Jane and his equally lovely daughters, Sadie and Harper. With a BFA in Illustration from Western Carolina University and a BFA in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta, Baird has been working as a professional artist for over ten years. His illustrations in Story Cove picture books and animated stories have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of children around the world. Besides painting, illustrating books and spending time with his family, Baird loves to play basketball.