IMPERFECTLY PERFECT POSEY

In Brooks’ picture book, a girl learns at a yoga class that it’s OK not to be perfect.

Posey is very good at many things—dancing, drawing, climbing trees—so when she tries a yoga class, she assumes she’ll have the same kind of immediate success. Instead, “her boat pose…sank. She had a sagging…plank. And her fish pose just plain…stank.” Miss Flora, the yoga instructor, tells her, “Perfect’s not the point,” but Posey quits the class anyway. Still, Miss Flora’s advice keeps coming back to her. After her dance class, Posey wiggles around on the floor, becoming aware of her own breathing, and finds that “the jumbly parts of her brain unjumbled a bit.” She decides to give yoga another try but falls when attempting a balancing pose, only to discover that everyone else fell down, too—even Miss Flora. Posey takes a deep breath, smiles, and keeps trying. Brooks’ book ends with some helpful instructions for attempting the story’s yoga poses. Quitting a hobby or activity after not immediately being good at it is something that many kids (and surely some adults) will find relatable. Children’s stories about conquering perfectionism are relatively rare, but this one is told very well: Posey is sweet and sympathetic, and Heikura’s soft, swirly pastel illustrations are the perfect complement.

A bighearted story with a meaningful message of perseverance.