Mindful Tots/Niños Mindful Board Books by Whitney Stewart and Rocío Alejandro

Mindful Tots: Animal Antics…Focus and fun for little ones

This sweet, bright and boldly illustrated board book is a winner in bringing accessible mindfulness to the very young. The dialogue is simple to follow and encourages imaginative play to create a sense of happiness and focus. I found it to be an excellent warm up for tots yoga which led into some wild animal antics of our own. In this day, it transferred very easily as an online activity that I was able to share with my granddaughter,too. I love the straight forward approach using movement and imagination to bring mindfulness and fun to little ones.

Niños Mindful: Rest & Relax/Descansa y relájate

Mindful Tots: Rest & Relax…Sleepy time for little ones

Rituals make bedtime fun and productive. Following a simple routine of relaxing the body, mind and energy patterns can help tots settle down and get ready for sleep. I especially love the bi-lingual version of this story. The simple rhymes in both English and Spanish will assist all children to appreciate diversity and can plant the seeds for a broader worldwide view for peace, love and happiness for all. Three cheers! The illustrations by Rocio Alejandro are so adorable and the children just emanate sensitivity, cooperation and inclusion. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Whitney Stewart for sending me copies of these books. All opinions 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.