MY FRIEND BREATH

A costumed child talks about the superpower of breath in this picture book.

Ash, a caped crusader, has a friend, Breath, that can help calm uncomfortable emotions. Ash describes how sad feelings cause Breath to stutter, angry emotions make Breath blow out through the nostrils, and scared feelings can result in Breath being held. But each emotion has a different breathing pattern to use as a superpower, and they all are accompanied by a mantra: “When I change the way I’m breathing, I change the way I’m feeling.” Gillespie and Corey introduce each new type of breath with a mispronunciation, employing “zad flutterbye” to encourage readers to guess “sad butterfly,” among others. Illustrator Bardy changes Ash’s costume for each emotion, giving the garment a separate and distinct color to emphasize the feelings that Ash and the other featured children experience. Each emotion recommends a specific breathing pattern. But rather than the authors explaining the patterns in the text, they are described in the end pages, making the book more useful in repeated readings. The emphasis on accepting emotions—but allowing them to move on by changing breathing patterns—is a positive one, told in simple language so that lap readers can repeat phrases along with the adults and practice the breathing techniques. While Bardy’s images show a diverse group of older children, the tone and practice seem best designed for younger readers—though some older kids would benefit from the method as well.

A helpful lesson about using breathing to direct emotions.