Mindful Book Review By Eve: My Sister, Alicia May by Nancy Tupper Ling

In conjunction with the Multicultural Children’s Book Day event 2021, I was gifted My Sister, Alicia May Written by Nancy Tupper Ling; Illustrated by Shennen Bersani (Pleasant St. Press)

When I received this book to review for Multicultural Book Day 2020, I immediately wrote to the author to tell her what a sweet and wonderful book she had written. It just made me feel good and happy to read this story. It is so real, down-to-earth and full of kindness and just shows how a strong sense of being can open you up to a positive focus on life.This is the honest account through the eyes of one child whose older sister has Down Syndrome and she does a beautiful job of sharing her experiences with her and how she comes to a greater sense of self through their connection. We need more books like this, in every library, school and home just to show the pure beauty of the diversity of each life, each family-yet through all our uniqueness it too binds us together when we share our experiences and create a much broader and open sense of normal. The illustrations lovingly portray for us the life for these sisters-you can see their similarities in their faces and gestures. Life is life and it is not always easy but if you can be grateful and appreciative of your life you can spread this joy to others as well as being satisfied and at peace in your skin. I highly recommend this beautiful heartfelt story. 

I was gifted a copy of this book by the author. All opinions expressed are my own. 

#downsyndrome #downsyndromeawareness #readyourworld

Mindful Book reviews By Eve: Thank You, Crow by Michael Minkovitz

Thank You, Crow by Michael Minkovitz; Illustrated by Jose D. Medina

I love the sweet green child and the doe-eyed crow. They make a beautiful couple creating art together. The child is kind-hearted and helps the hurt crow, who in turn brings joy and wonderment to the boy. This is a creative page turner that will elicit many giggles and ooh’s and aah’s.

Thank you to Penny Candy Books for sending me this book as part of a giveaway. 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.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Two beautiful winter themed picture books from Candlewick Press

This is a wonderful seasonal book for preschool aged children that does not contain a holiday theme but instead is based on the time-honored winter pastime of skating on a frozen pond. The rhythmic flow is smooth and hidden in plain site is a lovely book about trying new things, learning that falling down is part of the learning process and that being active is a wonderful way to spend time as a family. Extra kudos for the sweet pencil and watercolor illustrations.

This will pair well with a youth yoga class to prepare the body for skating-figure skating, hockey, speed skating- so many options. Lots of fun balances and even some partner poses! Practicing yoga in a classroom and doing partner and whole group poses is a great way to build community and help harmonize the group energy.

 

I love the color palette for these nostalgic gauche painted illustrations which perfectly compliment the poem that accompanies John Langstaff’s Christmas Revels. Right off the bat, the cover lures you into the book with the with the fiery orange and yellow hues surging out from the surrounding pitch black. This is a holiday book that takes the reader back to earlier times. It ties together the many diverse celebrations of winter with festive tree and candle lighting to the rituals of the solstice in winter, a time of year when light dims early and people feared the impending darkness and wanted to encourage the light to come back. The poem highlights the many similarities of our winter celebrations across the world-removing religion and replacing it with a history of the earth, discovery and the celebration of life. We are not so different is a resounding message.

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

 

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Halloween Picture Books from Candlewick Press

Where’s The Witch? Ingela P. Arrhenius

This is a very sweet, fun baby’s first activity book. It’s a guessing game with fun textural flaps and great introductory words about everyone’s favorite holiday…Halloween. The illustrations are adorable and are created with a bright, pleasing color palette. The “surprise” mirror at the end is crystal clear and the viewer’s image is well reflected-which I think is VERY important. Cuteness abounds!

Pick A Pumpkin by Patricia Toht; Ill. Jarvis

Really fun, quirky rhymes carry the reader from pumpkin patch to Jack O’ Lantern. Pick A Pumpkin offers the true nitty-gritty of the whole pumpkin carving process alongside a loving ode to the beauty and wonderfulness of family fall-time traditions. The adorable wide eyed children are presented in a gorgeous varied fall inspired palette and I love the multi-layering effects. A great book to read aloud as the rhyming just rolls of your tongue and

I highly recommend it and cannot wait to share it with my granddaughter!

Hide and Seek by Katie May Green

This book’s old world appeal is so charming and sets the mood perfectly for this fun and not too scary romp into the night for a game of hide and seek. The lavender-eyed beauties slip out of their picture frames one night and out into the garden for a night of fun and giggle inducing shenanigans. Each page offers the reader a chance to look for the twins and I love the onomatopoeia of the rain storm that sends them all scurrying back inside. The illustrations are beautifully detailed and with simple dark scratchy lines create a pleasant nighttime feel to this wonderful addition too the Halloween book tradition.

I highly recommend it and cannot wait to share it with my granddaughter!

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about Accessible Yoga & Flamenco, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com

#bookreviews #children #picturebook #mindfulness #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #fiction #iameve #theaccidentalkundalini #peacemoji #influencer #halloween #holiday #tradition #pumpkin #whitch #ghost #jackolantern #Readaloud #diversity #juvenileliterature #candlewickpress #nosycrow #books #bookreview

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Firefly Home by Jane Clarke

I was immediately drawn in by the vibrant yellow on the cover and the end sheets. It’s so glowing and alluring, just like a firefly. This book is not merely a book about a firefly; it is a creatively interactive book about curiosity and searching and is full of fun facts and keeps the mind engaged with its cute “follow” directions and is great for hand-eye coordination. The book may seem simple but it is deceptively complex and will engage the reader over and over. The illustrations by Britta Teckentrup are eye-catching with beautiful colors and layering and are reminiscent of Eric Carle’s tissue paper art. I just adore the “electric” bright yellow tail-trails throughout the book-they make me feel happy! Love this book!

I highly recommend it and cannot wait to share it with my granddaughter!

Thank you to Candlewick Press 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 #alwaysbedancing #evecostarelli #fiction #iameve #theaccidentalkundalini #peacemoji #influencer #nonfiction #bugs #firefly #yellow #ispy #juvenileliterature 

Mindful Book Reviews by Eve: You Are Light by Aaron Becker

This book is simply delightful. From the very first turn of the page, which casts a gorgeous mandala shadow onto my hand, I was drawn into its sturdy die-cut frame and stained-glass creativeness. The poetic prose match perfectly with the play of translucent-jewel toned inserts that radiate around a bright yellow sun, together illuminating the story of the sun’s effect on the water cycle while at the same time reflecting the story back onto the reader. You cannot but hold it up to the light at each turn! It’s truly mesmerizing and joy-inducing. This book is very clever and artfully profound. It will certainly delight young children but it has a wider outreach due to its unique and beautiful presentation of both spirituality and natural scientific facts.

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This book is an absolute exuberant celebration of life. With few words, it reminds us to be mindful of our consumption, of our relationship to mother earth and of our connection to every living thing. It is truly an awakening. This book is the full package: creative concept, engaging story; good for young and old…and it is devotedly dedicated to STEAM. I love it!

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Two Adorable Peppa Pig Stories Based on the TV Series Peppa Pig Created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker

Who doesn’t love Peppa? She is a sweet and caring pink piglet who is constantly surrounded by a menagerie of diverse animal friends and family members who show us a slice of life with humor, empathy and appreciation for the small things.

In Peppa Pig and the Career Day, the adult’s in the neighborhood come to school to share about their careers, ranging from everyday workers to artists to specialists, and there is even a sea captain (who everyone needs in their neighborhood!). The wide variety of jobs and careers offer a great outlay of possible aspirations for kids to explore in creative play and then possible what they might become as they grow older.

In Peppa Pig and the Silly Sniffles, offers a sneak peak into the funny ways that kids play and how easily they switch between creative play scenarios. Here they enact a scene when one of the friends is sick and has to go to the doctor’s office and they discover, even though they cannot cure the sniffles, they can make their friend feel much better just by being good friends.

Both books come with a awesome coloring poster that is hidden on the back of the book jacket.

These are lovely hardcover books and will make great gifts this holidays season! I know my granddaughter is going to love them! I highly recommend Peppa Pig: the stories offer great diversity in character and educate about self-esteem, empathy, compassion and acceptance. A wonderful entry into the beauty of all the varied people in this world! They belong in every preschool, home and library! Hooray for Peppa! She’s awesome!

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me these books. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about my accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Mindfully Me 3-Pack (Mindfully Me Series) by Louise Shanagher and Rose Finerty

Mindfully Me Book One: It’s Always There A children’s meditation book for mindfulness, calm and happiness by Louise Shanagher and Rose Finerty is truly one of the best children’s mindfulness books that I have come across. The book is full of thoughts that pique the interest and understanding the art of mindfulness is easily accessible for children and is written into lovely, flowing rhyming sequences. The artwork is adorable. I love the textured painting juxtaposed onto photographic backgrounds and sprinkled with computer-generated flowers. It’s completely endearing!
I am excited to be able to offer a free copy of this book. Please head over to my Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/mindful_boo… for the giveaway; shipping only available in the continental US. Giveaway Ends 12/10/18.

Mindfully Me Book Two: Where Is Happy? by Louise Shanagher and Rose Finerty. The Dynamic Duo Lou Lou Rose is back at it again. They have created a second book and once again have come up with a beautiful children’s mindfulness book, both through its words and its illustrations, that promotes self-compassion, self-confidence and self-esteem in a perfectly suited for children way. Where Is Happy? encourages children to seek inner peace rather than material gain through easily relatable content written into relaxing, flowing rhyming sequences. The book is full of extra content to help teachers and parents integrate the book and its message. This book is a great read and a great social-emotional learning tool for kids!

Mindfully Me Book 3: Look Who’s Here by Louise Shanagher and Rose Finerty. Book 3 of the Mindfully Me Series is another winning title from the creative minds of Lou Lou Rose. Look Who’s Here does a great job of universalizing feelings and emotions by reinforcing the message that everyone has them and if you can take a moment to just notice them in yourself that you will be ok because self knowledge is the key to inner peace. I loved the diverse names used in the book’s lilting rhymes, making for whole lot of fun word play. This book is full of positive ways to notice and address big feelings in an engaging and identifiable way.

This series would make a perfect gift for the holidays and every day. I really enjoyed all of the books and know I will use them in my kids yoga & mindfulness classes. They are very well crafted mindfulness books for kids. They are sweet, educational and totally relatable. I especially like the language used and appreciate that it is not syrupy or cutesy, but sincere words that kids will enjoy reading and will be able to ingest. I highly recommend the whole series!

Check out www.loulourose.net for awesome connected resources

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Lou Lou Rose for sending me this book series. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more information about my accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit alwaysbedancing.com.

Mindful Book Reviews By Eve: Around The World In 80 Puzzles by Aleksandra Artymowska

What a fun book! This book is beautifully designed and each 2-page layout is gorgeously detailed with intricate puzzles and labyrinths that are full of ships in glass bottles, hot air balloons and a host of interlocking pipes, strings and vines that seem endless. This book will surely provide hours of engagement and can entertain and fascinate kids through adults. This is a very creative book!

This book would make a perfect gift for the holidays and every day. I absolutely love the sweet illustrations and the fun and challenging puzzles.

¡Olé Namaste! Eve Costarelli

Thank you to Candlewick Press for sending me a copy of this book.

For more information about my accessible mindfulness/yoga/dance program, please visit alwaysbedancing dot com.