A Dynamic Duo by Whitney Stewart and Christine Engel:

A Dynamic Duo of well written and beautifully illustrated non-fiction books by Whitney Stewart and Christine Engel.

What’s On Your Plate: Exploring the World of Food

This is not simply a book about exploring the world of food; it is actually a book about the world and its varied cultures. The facts are extremely well researched, honest and eye-opening. The wonderful union of author and illustrator is wholly creative and engaging, with just the right amount of pertinent information, each one accompanied by a recipe, opening up the door to explore and be curious about cultures and peoples. I appreciate how it draws lines connecting one place to another through the food and gives voice to our multicultural heritages. I love the mix illustrations of drawings and actual images. Its very eye-catching and really brings life to the information. I think this book will peak even the most finicky eaters interest to explore!

What Do You Celebrate: Holidays and Festivals Around the World

A great introduction to the varied yet similar holidays and festivals across cultures and the world. Even if the celebration is not specific to your culture, the overlying message is that although we are unique, we are all connected by our similarities. It is a very inspiring and accessible book about diversity, acceptance and the human spirit. I highly recommend this book. It is so relevant and full of joy and jubilation. The accompanying illustrations are beautifully detailed and depict a wide range of peoples. I love the mix collage aspect of the art!

Thank you to Whitney Stewart for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Gilly the Giraffe Self Esteem Activity Book by Dr. Karen Treisman

Gilly the Giraffe Self Esteem Activity Book: A Therapeutic Story With Creative Activities to Help Children Aged 5-10 by Dr. Karen Treisman

This book puts the B in Brave! Such a useful and accessible book. Just reading the book is inspiring and has helped me to focus on how I can facilitate a positive learning environment for the students and the teachers by incorporating the story and ideas into my in-school yoga classes. The story is one that flows well by adding yoga poses, breathing activities and short meditations and the added applied practices offer many useful ways of building self-esteem activities into the classroom.

Dr. Treisman brings another part of the world to many readers-with new words and ways. This is a great book about diversity. It is colorful, eye-opening and totally relateable. The story promotes creative problem solving, by offering a view from another angle. It is like a game of Statues, where one person sets themselves up as a statue; the next person walks around, looking at the shape from different angles, and then fits themselves into the structure, which is a fun way of promoting this way of thinking.

I highly recommend incorporating these activities throughout the day. Practicing increases personal growth and strength.

Anther great book by Dr. Triesman is Presley Pug, check out my review here.

Thank you to JK Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. All onions expressed are my own.

16 Picture Books on The Mind for the K-5 Classroom

A Girl Like Tilly: Growing Up With Autism by Helen Bates

Alphabreaths by Christopher Willard & Daniel Rechtchaffen

Angry Octopus by Lori Lite

Angry Octopus: Color Me Happy, Color Me Calm by Lori Lite

Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberley

Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley

I Can Do Hard Things by Gabi Garcia

My Book of Feelings by Tracey Ross

Our Brains Are Like Computers by Joel Shaul

Robin And The White Rabbit: A Story To Hep Children With Autism to Talk About their Feelings and Join In by Åse Brunnström & Emma Lindström

The Adventures of Your Brain by Dan Green

The Brain: Our Nervous System by Seymour Simon

The Girl Who Thought In Pictures: The Story of Dr. Temple Grandin by Julia Finley Mosca

The Rhino Who Swallowed A Storm by LeVar Burton & Susan Schaefer Bernardo

Winston Wallaby Won’t Stop Bouncing: What to Do about Hyperactivity in Children Including Those with ADHD, SPD and ASD by Joy Beaney and Kay Al-Ghani

Your Fantastic Elastic Brain: Stretch It, Shape It by JoAnn Deak, Ph.D.

Titles are linked to reviews that I have written. All opinions are my own.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Presley The Pug Relaxation Activity Book: A Therapeutic Story With Creative Activities to help Children Aged 5-10 to Regulate Their Emotions and to Find Calm by Dr. Karen Treisman; giveaway

Dr Karen Treisman is the prolific author and creator of this wonderful therapeutic story designed to help start conversations with children about coping with big feelings and how to find inner peace and a sense of overall calmness. This therapeutic story about the universal commonness of having feelings and expressing emotions is full of kid friendly examples. At the heart, this story explains, through the eyes of an adorable pug name Presley, that although each person’s experiences are unique that every person has these experiences which makes the journey to finding peace within the turmoil all the more accessible.

This story on one level should be read by caring adults, as it clearly presents a picture of a young child struggling to come in control and it is also a perfect book to be read aloud. It is sweet and interesting and offers many fun and easily reachable activities to help kids cope with their emotions and find calm, especially the idea of a ‘mind retreat’ – an imaginary safe space where he can relax. Even an imaginary place can offer comfort and security a personal space to relax in and find ones calm. The sweet drawings by Sarah Peacock enhance the story and I can see many kids wanting to snuggle up with Presley for comfort!

With the assistance of the creative activities and photocopiable worksheets, children to explore the ideas raised in the story. Growing up takes practice and that is good, because by practicing something, we get better at it. Getting better at something leads to happier feelings and a stronger sense of self-worth.  The book also presents practical tools for parents, teachers, caregivers and other professional who support children aged 5-10.

This book will come in very handy with my in-school yoga and mindfulness program. as having applied practices to bolster learning is extremely useful  and fits in very well with the classroom environment.

I have a copy of this wonderful book to giveaway. Please comment on this post and share on twitter. Be sure to tag @dr_treisman @JKPBooks @alwaysbedancing. Winner will be selected on September 30th. 

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishing for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about me, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com

#bookreviews #children #picturebook #mindfulness #activitybook #therapeutic #worksheets #practicaladvice #parents #caregivers #professionals #supportingchildren #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #story #communication #calm #relaxation #imagination #angermanagement #iameve #pug

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Neon The Ninja: Activity Book For Children Who Struggle With Sleep and Nightmares by Dr. Karen Treisman

Neon The Ninja: Activity Book For Children Who Struggle With Sleep and Nightmares by Dr. Karen Treisman

This book is immediately likable because of Neon, the lovable and trustworthy main character who embodies a heroic persona to bring children struggling with sleep and nightmares a sense of control. Neon is highly engaging and interactive and allows children to feel empowered to be their own super inner-ninja. Neon is the story of a superhero who is emboldened with the power to rid fear, worry and anxiety. This story/activity book is a treasure box of shareable applied practices such as coloring pages, worksheets, art activities, breathing exercises and sentence completion activities. The actives are all very creative and reflective.
Dr. Treisman on accessible creative trauma informed practices for and about children are highly engaging and accessible. I highly recommend this book.
¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Jessica Kingsley Publishing for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
For more information, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com
#bookreviews #children #picturebook #midgrade #mindfulness #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #speedyyogini #speedykundalini #fiction #nonfiction #selfhelp #parentingtip #teachingtip

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: The Mindfulness Skills Activity Book For Children by Chris Willard, PsyD and Mitch Abblett, PhD.

The Mindfulness Skills Activity Book For Children by Chris Willard, PsyD and Mitch Abblett, PhD. (Illustrations by Kimberly Hermesch, M.Ed.; PESI Publishing and Media)

This book is full of fabulous activities that help connect social emotional learning to mindfulness concepts. I have found it immediately applicable and have already used a number of its offerings: Focus Mountain, Square Fence Breathing, SLOW Stream Floating and Fave Flames, to name a few. I have the awesome opportunity of bringing mindful concepts into school communities, K-12, both in classrooms and with professional development, and it is wonderful to have such a great resource to integrate into my programming. I highly recommend this book. The activities are engaging and accessible and they offer a great jumping off point to dig deeper.

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Chris Willard for sending me this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com

#bookreviews #children #picturebook #midgrade #mindfulness #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #speedyyogini #speedykundalini #fiction #nonfiction #selfhelp #parentingtip #teachingtip

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Mindful Me: Mindfulness and Meditation For Kids & Mindful Me Activity Book by Whitney Stewart

Mindful Me: Mindfulness and Meditation For Kids & Mindful Me Activity Book by Whitney Stewart; pictures by Stacy Peterson

This dynamic duo of mindfulness books for the mid-grade reader is the perfect gateway into understanding mindfulness and is just jam-packed with short & simple mindful activities, such as meditation, yoga, short self-focused quizzes and journaling to help the young discover the joys and benefits of mindfulness. The book, Mindful Me, is written in a really nice, kind voice as if a good friend is talking to you; it just makes sense for the the preteen mind. I also really appreciate the the book keeps adults (grown-up figures the youth can turn to) present and reminds the youth to reach out to these adults for help. I would also add that the book is great or teens and adults as well and could easily be incorporated into a yoga program or a classroom to bring up topics and activities to increase mindfulness. The accompanying activity book follows along , highlighting the activities in the book. I really love the little notebook feel and the graph paper background. It just begs to be filled in! The activities bolster creativity while bringing the focus to the present moment. I really enjoyed the thoughtful question & answer sections that are written with maturity for the growing mind but are light enough to not be overwhelming. This book-duo is an awesome addition to the mindfulness for kids book and fills a much needed niche for the preteen reader. I highly recommend them both-they would make a great gift!

Thank you to Whitney Stewart for sending me copies of these books. All opinions expressed are my own.