Simple and accessible techniques for breathing your way through the alphabet.
Each letter of the alphabet offers an opportunity for mindful breathing.
Much like Teresa Power and Kathleen Rietz’s The ABCs of Yoga for Kids (2009), this text offers instruction in lieu of narrative. Each fully illustrated page presents a letter, the name of a breath that begins with that letter, and a very brief instruction for how to practice the breath. “A [is for] Alligator Breath / Open your arms wide like alligator jaws on the in-breath. Snap them shut on the out-breath.” Most breaths use imagery that draws on familiar animals and everyday experiences most children will recognize, such as blowing out a candle or riding in an elevator. Some are less universal in terms of the background knowledge they draw from, such as “Oatmeal Breath” and “Redwood Breath.” Illustrations are soft and gentle, including kids of varied skin tones. Minus the unfortunate cultural appropriation with the inclusion of “Ninja Breath,” no indicators of children’s ethnicity or culture are present. The book lacks any information or guidance about mindfulness or how to use the specific breaths, which may limit its utility for casual readers. However, for educators and other adults searching for simple, age-appropriate breathing techniques to share with young children, this resource is a treasure trove.
Simple and accessible techniques for breathing your way through the alphabet. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-68364-197-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Sounds True
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children.
Social-equity themes are presented to children in ABC format.
Terms related to intersectional inequality, such as “class,” “gender,” “privilege,” “oppression,” “race,” and “sex,” as well as other topics important to social justice such as “feminism,” “human being,” “immigration,” “justice,” “kindness,” “multicultural,” “transgender,” “understanding,” and “value” are named and explained. There are 26 in all, one for each letter of the alphabet. Colorful two-page spreads with kid-friendly illustrations present each term. First the term is described: “Belief is when you are confident something exists even if you can’t see it. Lots of different beliefs fill the world, and no single belief is right for everyone.” On the facing page it concludes: “B is for BELIEF / Everyone has different beliefs.” It is hard to see who the intended audience for this little board book is. Babies and toddlers are busy learning the names for their body parts, familiar objects around them, and perhaps some basic feelings like happy, hungry, and sad; slightly older preschoolers will probably be bewildered by explanations such as: “A value is an expression of how to live a belief. A value can serve as a guide for how you behave around other human beings. / V is for VALUE / Live your beliefs out loud.”
Adults will do better skipping the book and talking with their children. (Board book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-78603-742-8
Page Count: 52
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2019
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel.
A slow reader gains confidence.
Strongly influenced by Talbott’s own childhood reading journey, a young tot with a mop of brown hair and pale skin loves art, but reading doesn’t come as naturally. Crayons and colored pencils create imaginative worlds, but the words on a page crowd together, forming an impenetrable wall, with the youngster barely able to peer over. The rest of the class seemingly soars ahead, turning page after page, but the books (in the protagonist’s mind) give chase, flying menacingly like a scene from Hitchcock: “And they were coming for me! / So many words! So many pages!” Talbott expertly captures the claustrophobic crush of unknown vocabulary, first as a downpour of squiggles from the sky, then as a gnarled, dark forest with words lining the branches. But reading slowly doesn’t mean not reading at all. The youngster learns to search for familiar words, using them as steppingstones. And there are advantages: “Slow readers savor the story!” There is even a “Slow Readers Hall of Fame” included, featuring Albert Einstein, Sojourner Truth, and many others. Talbott excels at evincing concepts visually, and this talent is in evidence here as his protagonist first struggles then gains mastery, surfing confidently down a wave of words. Patience and curiosity (along with some fierce determination) can unlock incredible stories. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A striking visual representation of how the label “bad reader” can feel. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-399-54871-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2021
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