Tag: mindfulness

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads, Toddler Reads

Good advice for daily living: Don’t Forget

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Don’t Forget, by Jane Godwin/Illustrated by Anna Walker, (Aug. 2022, Kane Miller), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684644360

Ages 3-7

A diverse group of children move through the day together as the overall narrative gently reminds readers of important things, both practical and esoteric, to remember in order to live a happy, fulfilling life: “Don’t forget to make your bed, / and wear socks that fit your feet”; “Don’t forget to try new things, / to smell the flowers, / watch the ocean, / and listen to the music / of the trees”. The story is a reminder of the important things in life: taking time to play; to be mindful; to reflect. Soft watercolors add to this gently profound meditation on living a meaningful life. Soothing endpapers show a nature scene. Don’t Forget will soothe readers with its upbeat look at the day-to-day. A nice additional purchase for storytime collections.

 

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Calm your hurly-burly hullabaloo! Meena’s Mindful Moment

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Meena’s Mindful Moment, by Tina Athaide/Illustrated by Åsa Gilland, (Nov. 2021, Page Street Kids), $17.99, ISBN: 9781645672869

Ages 4-8

Meena is a little girl who is excited to visit her Dada (her grandfather) – and so is her hurly-burly hullabaloo, the imaginary character that takes on the excited, can’t-sit-still feelings that Meena feels. Once she arrives in her Dada’s South Asian village, she runs rampant, cartwheeling and causing a ruckus. Dada’s neighbors aren’t happy, but he quietly sends them away and teaches Meena how to quiet her hullabaloo through mindfulness and meditation: and introduces Meena to his hullabaloo, too! Meena’s Mindful Moment is a sweet intergenerational story about mindfulness; that moment when excitement and new experiences just take over and can get a little out of control, and empowers kids to take back that control while letting kids know that we adults get the hullabaloos, too. Set in Goa, India, characters are shades of brown. The digital illustrations have texture and movement, with vibrant colors and lively fonts to denote action. The hullabaloos take on playful imaginary monster personas; Meena’s is turquoise with black and pink striped arms and legs; Dada’s is white with pink and white striped arms and legs. Endpapers show colorful mango plants, which ties into the story’s opening. A fun story about embracing your hullabaloo, but letting them know when there’s a time to be calm. A nice addition to yoga and mindfulness storytimes.

Author Tina Athaide’s website has links to educator guides for her books, including Meena’s Mindful Moment.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Blog Tour for The Grumpy, Frumpy Croissant

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Sometimes, what you need is a sip of milk and 10 deep breaths: that’s the calming message for kids reading The Grumpy, Frumpy Croissant, a lesson in anger management for readers. Croissant and his friends Toast, Scone, and Milk live happily on a kitchen table until the morning that Croissant sees Toast and Scone have reached the breakfast plate first! Croissant is in a terrible mood and takes it out on his friends until Milk steps in and tells everyone to have a sip and calm down. Taking that time to count and get back to thinking clearly, the friends are happy again! Author Mona K. offers some insight into her creative process… read on!

 

The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant, by Mona K/Illustrated by Korey Scott,
(Jan. 2021, Canoe Tree Press), $7.99, ISBN: 9781735930824

Ages 3-7

 

“It was a Sunday afternoon in December 2019. My son and I had a ritual to stop by our favorite coffee shop before his tennis class to grab drinks and our most beloved croissant. My son got chocolate milk and I made my regular order. We both devour our croissants. I love to bake them from time to time, however the recipe does call for a lot of love and patience. As we were getting ready to sit down, I accidentally spilled some coffee over my son’s croissant. A big volcano of anger erupted, and he squeezed the croissant really hard. Poor croissant lost a few pounds instantly. I enjoy meditating and try to share some techniques here and there with my son. I realized he was extremely upset, so I suggested that he leave the croissant alone and take some long deep breaths. He did that a few times and then took a big sip of the milk. He suddenly felt calm. In the meantime, Mr. Croissant seemed to have gained some of his plumpness back. That spur of the moment was Grumpy Frumpy Croissants’ birthday. My son also loves toast and scones with a lot of red jelly. I thought Croissant needed friends and so Toast and Scone were invited to the party along with Milk. I wrote the story that same day and narrated it to my son the next morning. He absolutely fell in love with the characters. In February 2020, I started looking for illustrators for the book. I interviewed and did test runs with at least eight illustrators before selecting Korey Scott. He was able to bring my story to life just as I would if I were an artist. In March, covid-19 knocked us all on our heels. The illustrations took four long months and finally I published the book in November.  I presented the book to my son on his seventh birthday in December 2020. His reaction was priceless, and he was an instant celebrity in school  the next day.”

Filled with colorful, bold illustrations and with extra coloring pages available for download, readers will get a kick out of breakfast time, anytime, with The Grumpy Frumpy Croissant. There’s a croissant recipe at the end: make sure you have an adult to help!

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Posted in picture books

Celebrate World Meditation Day with Already a Butterfly

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

It’s World Meditation Day, and to relax and ease yourself into a meaningful day, I’ve got a gorgeous book to share with you, by Julia Alvarez and Raúl Colón.

Already a Butterfly: A Meditation Story, by Julia Alvarez/Illustrated by Raúl Colón,
(June 2021, Henry Holt), $18.99, ISBN: 9781627799324

Ages 5-9

Mari Posa is a young butterfly who has way too much to do and not enough time to do it: she has to gulp down nectar, pollinate a whole field, do her wing exercises, and then she has her future to think about! There’s just no time to enjoy being a butterfly, or take in the beautiful flowers she meets through her day… Luckily, a flower bud named Bud is there to teach Mari the secret with feeling happy “being just who I am”. Raúl Colón’s watercolor, pencil, and crayon artwork is dreamlike, with gorgeous images of nature and person-butterfly hybrids cascading across the pages. Together, Julia Alvarex and Raúl Colón have created an story with purpose, where a child of color is not only the star of the book, but one who experiences joy simply by acknowledging her own existence. Her name, Mari Posa itself, is a lovely nod to Latinx culture; mariposa is a Spanish term for butterfly. Helpful meditation techniques help lead kids and caregivers through the process, from breathing, to visualization, to being aware of one’s surroundings. I love this beautiful story. Perfect for a yoga and/or mindfulness storytime, before bedtime, or celebrating the beautiful beginning to a new day.

An author’s note on author Julia Alvarez’s own experience with meditation and her granddaughters, while volunteering at the Marisposa DR Foundation, describes her inspiration for Already a Butterfly and includes photos of Ms. Alvarez with her Mariposas in training. Colorful endpapers sprout flowers that readers will want to stop and enjoy again and again.

Print out some copies of the author’s Tips for Meditation, and make them available to your families! If there was ever a time to encourage our kids to practice mindfulness and meditation, this is it.

 

Julia Alvarez (@writerjalvarez) is the author of numerous bestselling and award-winning novels including How the García Girls Lost Their Accents and In the Time of Butterflies, collections of poems, and works of nonfiction as well as picture books. She has won the Pura Belpré Award, the Américas Award, the Hispanic Heritage Award in Literature, the F. Scott Fitzgerald Award for Outstanding Achievement in American Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

Raúl Colón (@raul.colon.7140) has illustrated several highly acclaimed picture books, including Draw!; the New York Times-bestselling Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt; Susanna Reich’s José! Born to Dance; and Jill Biden’s Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops. Mr. Colón lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New City, New York, with his family.

Posted in picture books

Mop Rides the Waves of Life: A mindfulness story for kids

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Mop Rides the Waves of Life: A Story of Mindfulness and Surfing, by Jaimal Yogis/Illustrated by Matt Allen (June 2020, Plum Blossom), $16.95, ISBN: 9781946764607

Ages 5-8

A friend of mine passed this book on to me, and I knew I had to write about it, because who couldn’t use a little more mindfulness these days? Mop is a kid with a wild mop of hair. He loves to surf, and he has a bit of a temper and a tendency to act out when he’s angry. His mom takes him to the beach and explains that he has to learn to surf life, too: “Breathing mindfully helps you notice the emotional waves inside”. She explains that he has to learn to surf those waves of fear and anger, because they will pass; when the good feelings come, to enjoy them, and when they start to ebb, keep paddling, because there are always good waves coming. Armed with this new information and linking it to his love of surfing, Mop is able to get through school interactions and enjoy his friends while being present and mindful. It’s a simply stated premise that makes for a good readaloud, and lets readers practice breathing and visualizing waves to surf during the storytime. Illustrations are soft, gently colored beach scenes and classroom scenes, a mixture of peaceful mindfulness with surfing movement. Waves take on the aggressive emotions of fear, anger, and sadness both in the water and atop Mop’s head when he’s learning to control his emotions, and he visualizes those waves turning to love, joy, and gratitude. A good book to add to your mindfulness readalouds and collections.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

A Little Space for Me addresses kids’ need for their own space

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

A Little Space for Me, by Jennifer Gray Olson, (July 2020, Roaring Brook Press), $18.99, ISBN: 9781250206268

Ages 3-6

In a story that speaks to all of us, but especially young children, A Little Space for Me is a relatable story of a little girl who needs a little space of her own from time to time. The opening sentence says it all: “Sometimes my life feels very crowded”: the art depicts a young girl sitting on a window seat of a living room, along with five other family members and a pet cat. The child’s life is crowded; her space gets too loud, messy, scratchy, bright – you get the idea. After seven months of quarantine and living in the age of the Coronavirus, this an unbelievably relatable observation. The artwork speaks volumes, showing the girl, curled into herself against the white space of the page, with a riot of color swirling around her as becomes “too much for no reason at all”. She needs space, and claims it for herself: in the story, she physically grabs the page and pulls it down, revealing a black and midnight blue stretch of our space that she puts into a bottle around her neck and claims more and more, as her need for space grows. When she decides to share her space, we see members of her family all have a piece of the space in their heads; their hair revealing the calming cosmos of space as the main character sits in a cross-legged meditation pose with her fingers in a meditation mudra.

Artwork and simple text really reaches readers in this story, made even more relevant by current events. When I first read this, pre-pandemic, I thought of many of my library families, many of whom live with extended family, which can make for crowded spaces. Reading it now, it takes on even greater relevance, as many of us are still sheltering in place, remote learning, with several family members working and attending school together in the same space. The book brings home the importance of meditation and mindfulness and the need to give kids their own space, and, even more important, to help kids understand how to recognize their need for space and ways they can claim that space. This is an excellent book to read at storytime, and an excellent companion read to Charlotte and the Quiet Place (2016) by Deborah Sosin and Leyla by Galia Bernstein (2019).

Posted in Intermediate, Non-Fiction

I Speak Peace talks mindfulness and respect for all

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I Speak Peace, by Kate Carroll/Illustrated by Rainer M. Osinger, (March 2016, Ferne Press), $10.95, ISBN: 978-1-938326-46-2

Ages 6-8

I Speak Peace is a message to all from a first grade teacher who promotes peace, respect, and understanding in her classroom and wants to see that good in the world. The story is narrated by a young blond girl who talks about what peace means, and emphasizes that peace starts from within – “a feeling we have when we are calm and happy” – and how those feelings affect our outlook and how we work with others. Letting go of angry thoughts and mindful breathing come up here, teaching kids the importance of staying in touch with their own feelings. We live in a world where we may look different, speak different languages, and hold different beliefs, but we have just as much in common: we all need love; we all want to be happy; we all live on this planet, and we all need to work together to make it a better place. Kate Carroll promotes different ways of spreading peace that kids will easily recognize: smiling and listening to others; standing up for others; and being considerate are messages kids learn in their homes and classrooms, and go a long way toward making the world a better place. It’s an upbeat, positive message and it’s not that hard a message to spread. An author’s note explains how author Kate Carroll promotes peace in her classroom, and how she was moved to share her message in this contentious, high-strife society today. Kids can take a Peacemaker Pledge (nice library or classroom idea) and an original song, Peace Begins with Me, rounds out the book.

The artwork features children from different cultures and with different abilities working and playing together. The art is bright and positive, with primary colors and full-bleed pages.

I Speak Peace emphasizes an important message and makes for a good classroom, storytime, or cuddle time readaloud. I really like the Peacemaker Pledge and may put that up in my children’s room at the library at the start of the school year. You can visit Kate Carroll’s I Speak Peace page to learn more about the author and contribute your own I Speak Peace stories.

Posted in picture books, Preschool Reads

Ahmed’s Journey is a study in mindfulness

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Ahmed’s Journey: A Journey of Self-Discovery, by Jill Apperson Manly, (Jan. 2019, Jabu Books), $16.95, ISBN: 978-0-9980220-0-0

Ages 4-7

Yogi, author, teacher, and award-winning author Jill Apperson Manly creates a quietly eloquent tale of mindfulness against a backdrop of the Arabian peninsula. A boy named Amend and his family have traveled across the desert to race their camel in the famous camel races. As Ahmed feeds the camels, he start to feel anxious about the race. As he meditatively rubs his favorite camel’s ear, he stands still, in the moment, and senses his surroundings, and his place within his surroundings. He senses a sandstorm building, and notices that his anxiety is causing a storm within him, too. He breathes, he takes an inventory of himself and his emotions, and rides out both the inner and outer storms. At the story’s conclusion, Ahmed feels strong, peaceful, patient, and wise; he’s confident that everything he needs within him.

Ahmed’s Journey uses techniques to walk readers through the process of mindfulness and being present. Ms. Manly uses visual and verbal cues to help readers get in touch with all of their senses, even bringing the tactile to life as she describes the grittiness of the sand, the discomfort of anxiety, and the warmth of love. The title refers to both the outer journey Ahmed and his family make to the races, and his internal journey to inner awareness. Gentle, earth-toned watercolor illustrations create a desert landscape and present a calming influence on readers. The text is brief and impactful, making this a wonderful story to read during a yoga or mindfulness storytime. A nice add to multicultural and yoga/mindfulness collections.

 

Award-winning author of Nothando’s Journey, Jill Apperson Manly’s second book, Ahmed’s Journey, deepens the themes of exploring thoughts, emotions and sensations. Manly uses international cultural festivals to educate the reader and teach the importance of  self-love. Jill is a certified iRest® teacher and Somatic Yoga Therapist and loves sharing yoga and meditation with children and adults, coaching girls’ high school basketball, and being a mom to her four children. She lives with her husband and children in Newport Beach, CA.

 

Some questions for Jill, courtesy of JKS Communications:

How important is it for kids to explore and know their own emotions?

Jill: There is nothing more important.  It is essential to learn and value who you are.

Do you think that emotional lessons can be integrated into school studies?

Jill: Yes, Absolutely! Globally and in the U.S. we are seeing this done right now. My first book, Nothando’s Journey, is part of part of an SEL curricula created by Think Equal (www.thinkequal.com) currently in 147 schools across 15 countries. The pilot program is being evaluated by Yale Center for Emotional Learning. Kids live in present. There is no better time to discuss how a child is feeling then when  it is occuring. Of course, you cannot disrupt the class to deal with each emotion so therefore, it is better to have a set time within a lesson, for example in social science, to include a SEL lesson.

How did your experience teaching and studying in Saudi Arabia affect the writing of Ahmed’s Journey?

Jill: My overseas teaching experiences with children gave me great joy. Picking stories from “far-away places” gives a different perspective and we all benefit by learning about others. It’s fun to think about riding a camel. Kids in America don’t get to do that. It is even more fun to think about racing one!

 

 

What aspects of yoga do you bring to writing children’s books?

Jill: Yoga is seen in mainstream America as primarily a form of exercise, in my books, some of the deeper benefits of yoga or any mindful (peaceful) practice are explored.

How were the emotions and sensations that Ahmed experienced in the book reflections of your experiences traveling abroad or those of your own children?

Jill: I hope my experiences do not create experiences for others. I hope they are only a springboard for a discussion of everyone’s self potential. There is SO MUCH in our kids and in ourselves that gets stuffed down or swallowed up or is undervalued. I hope my books encourage and support kids and adults to value who they are on the inside.

Why is it important for kids to experience cultures different from their own?

Jill: We are more alike than different. As we see others, we see ourselves.

What is some advice you can give to parents who have children experiencing fear and anxiety like Ahmed?

Jill: The best advice is to have the conversation around these topics. Our children have lots of anxiety and being able to help them address their anxiety around their fears is very empowering. My website has additional resources both for the child and adult on this topic.

 

How is Ahmed’s Journey a continuation of your first book, Nothando’s Journey?

Jill: It takes kids and parents to another place in the world to learn about others and, at the same time, to learn about themselves.

Posted in picture books

Henry is Kind encourages acts of kindness

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Henry is Kind: A Story of Mindfulness, by Linda Ryden/Illustrated by Shearry Malone, (Oct. 2018, Tilbury House Publishers), $16.95, ISBN: 9780884486619

Ages 5-8

Henry is a young boy whose teacher, Mrs. Snowden, assigns a Kindness Project. The students have to illustrate a kind act they’ve done for someone – or something – that week. Henry’s friends all do wonderful things, like cleaning up litter, setting the table, and giving balloons to siblings, but Henry is upset because he can’t think of a single kind thing he’s done. Luckily, his friends are all there to remind him about the kind things he’s done for them, like reaching books on high shelves, sharing snacks, and talking to a new student. Mindfulness and heartfulness educator Linda Ryden’s story speaks to younger kids that may not always recognize the everyday ways they demonstrate kindness to one another. Henry is Kind encourages kids to seek out ways to be mindful and kind to one another while recognizing that even the seemingly smallest acts are meaningful, remembered, and appreciated.

Shearry Malone’s illustrations are soft and expressive, featuring a comfortable classroom decorated with encouraging slogans like, “You could play with someone who looks lonely”, “Plant kindness and gather love”, and my favorite, “Don’t believe everything you think”. There is diversity among the kids and teacher.

An author note at the end offers ways to encourage mindfulness and heartfulness, and includes a list of additional resources to explore. It’s a bit word-heavy for younger independent readers, but this would be a nice mindfulness/kindness storytime selection or book discussion choice for a school-wide reading. Author Linda Ryden’s Peace of Mind website offers training for educators and caregivers and a Peace of Mind curriculum series. Videos help show kids how to engage in mindful breathing. Kiddie Matters has a free kindness scavenger hunt printable that lets kids check off acts of kindness as they complete them. With World Kindness Day happening on November 13, this is a great book and activity to keep in mind.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized

Just Breathe… Mallika Chopra brings meditation to kids

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Just Breathe, by Mallika Chopra/Illustrated by Brenna Vaughan, (Aug. 2018, Running Press Kids), $12.99, ISBN: 978-0-7264-9158-2

Ages 7-12

Self-help guru Deepak Chopra’s daughter, Mallika, began meditating at age 9. In Just Breathe, she introduces mindful meditation practices to a younger audience. She discusses stress, how stress affects the body, and how meditation can help in her introduction; she ends her introduction with a baseline meditation; something to allow readers to create a “safe, happy place” inside them. Other practices in the book build on this base. Divided into subsequent sections on breathing, moving, being silent, noticing, asking, and creating, she leads readers through breathing and meditation exercises that help reduce stress and anxiety, cope with pain, and get them moving. There are sections on walking meditations, and on yoga, with each breathing exercise lasting anywhere fromn one to five minutes (the introductory exercise is the longest at 15 minutes, but she emphasizes that even one minute of meditation can greatly help).

The artwork is calming, featuring kids of all colors and genders in various stages of mindfulness, from yoga to walking to laying down. The muted colors and gentle expressions add to the calm, meditative feel of the text. Chopra provides prompts for thought throughout the book, which could be really helpful in a guided session where a reader can gently prompt meditative thoughts. Chopra encourages face-to-face interaction and disconnecting from devices, even for a little while; she also brings attention to our inner voices, the power of journaling, and the joy that comes with creativity. She applies these lessons to everyday stressors kids encounter, including bullying or test jitters, providing solid context.

Just Breathe is a solid introduction to mindfulness and meditative practices for kids. I’m looking forward to adding it to my yoga collection, and want to see how a meditation program for school-age kids will go over at my library. I miss my yoga storytime!