Meditation Is an Open Sky

February 23, 2015
“Meditation won’t take away your problems, but it will help you deal with them,” writes Stewart before walking children through nine meditative exercises that aim to ease feelings of fear, indecisiveness, and anger. Rippin uses a gentle-looking elephant to demonstrate each tactic; as Stewart describes drawing “an object that makes you happy” to improve concentration and clarity, the elephant’s thought balloon contains (what else?) a peanut. Stewart’s peaceful tone is reassuring and calming in itself, and a closing section addresses questions about boredom and sleepiness for meditation newbies. A solid resource for children (and the adults in their lives) who are seeking to get a handle on tricky emotions and situations. Ages 4–7.

February 1, 2015

PreS-Gr 4-Any child who's ever had a bad day and experienced strong emotions that they're not sure how to express will welcome this guide to mindfulness, and perhaps discover a great tool for sorting through emotions. This soothing picture book uses animal characters to show children how to meditate. It covers nine simple exercises that children can practice in various situations, such as "mind drawing" for focus, "protection circle" for security, "special place" for relaxation, and "mind clearing" for clarity. There are also exercises for wisdom, kindness, decision-making, self-control, and openness. The book empowers children with a great set of tools to keep in their "back pocket" as they encounter situations on a daily basis. The playful artwork helps readers envision how each exercise is completed. This book would also be a great manual for teachers to have on hand to help students. The answers to frequently asked questions about meditation at the end of the book are excellent; readers will come away understanding that everyone moves through life and these exercises a little differently-and that's okay. VERDICT Tastefully done. Even skeptics will find useful exercises for classroom management and helping children cope with conflict.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Stewart describes nine mindfulness meditations to help children deal with emotions and stress, increase focus, make decisions, and more. Astute yet kid-friendly language lends approachability to the concepts ("You'll learn to watch your feelings pop up and disappear like soap bubbles"), while soft cartoon illustrations starring a chilled-out elephant and monkey underscore the friendly vibe. Six FAQ are addressed at book's end.

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 15, 2015
This primer on visualization techniques uses a monkey and an elephant to introduce children to mindfulness and meditation. There's no story in this Australian import. Instead, an introduction directly addresses readers, describing meditation as a technique for managing one's feelings. Opening text counsels, "Meditation won't take away your problems, but it will help you deal with them," and appears alongside an illustration of an elephant relaxing in a bathtub and imagining "feelings pop[ping] up and disappear[ing] like soap bubbles." This prescriptive approach to meditation seems a bit reductive, but ensuing spreads that prompt specific visualization exercises move beyond using meditation to help one "deal with" problems. Throughout, the elephant can be seen meditating to relax, achieve focus, feel secure and so on. The monkey appears in some spreads as part of the elephant's visualization exercises. A closing section, "Questions about Meditation," advises readers about what to do if they feel bored, wiggly, sleepy, scared or frustrated, or if they have sore legs when they try to meditate. Ultimately, this will work best as a guide for an adult to use with a child in specific scenarios that might call for mindfulness and meditation. Keep this in mind as a possible introduction to meditation for children. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2015
Grades 1-4 This quirky little book should have real usefulness for the right sort of child. Though the title gives one definition of meditation, the term is never fully explained, and the format gives off a preschooler vibe: simple but cute illustrations introduce a monkey and an elephant as meditation guides. However, the information, written clearly and concisely, would probably be of interest to somewhat older children: how to meditate on a special place for relaxation or on a protection circle for security, or trying to attain wisdom by seeing oneself as a jigsaw puzzle. In the latter example, kids are invited to imagine they are a puzzle made of hundreds of pieces that are ever-changing feelings, moods, and thoughts. The puzzle can be pulled apart and put back together through the use of inner wisdom. Most of the meditations are less complex than the puzzle but require will and ability. Still, this is an intriguing introduction to an ancient art. Stressed parents may find it helpful, too.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)