Fine for what it is; thankfully, young aspiring yogis have better options in this growing genre.
A slim child yogi named Kika and her monkey sidekick, Yazoo, introduce readers to 14 yoga poses and four guided meditations.
The book divides the poses by mood for quick access to suit distinct needs. The featured poses are age appropriate in terms of their blend of accessibility and challenge. Pose instructions are direct and succinct, with the accompanying illustration clearly depicting the end shape. The book concludes with notes for adults who may be assisting children in their practice. Varying privileges are assumed—for example, that readers will have access to a quiet space, a yoga mat, and adults able to assist them by reading the guided meditations aloud. No modifications are offered for varying body types or abilities. The inclusion of Yazoo, with his dark-brown and skin-smooth fur and large, white eyes, seems meant to be silly, but it’s at best unnecessary and borders on uncomfortable, particularly when there are comments made in the text such as the light-skinned Kika’s reference to him as “my little banana muncher.” Overall, the book fails to honor the intellect and curiosity of the independent readers who may be drawn to it and is too reduced to instruction for the very young who may enjoy playing with yoga through story.
Fine for what it is; thankfully, young aspiring yogis have better options in this growing genre. (Nonfiction. 4-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61180-439-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Bala Kids/Shambhala
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2019
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40.
From two Nobel Peace Prize winners, an invitation to look past sadness and loneliness to the joy that surrounds us.
Bobbing in the wake of 2016’s heavyweight Book of Joy (2016), this brief but buoyant address to young readers offers an earnest insight: “If you just focus on the thing that is making / you sad, then the sadness is all you see. / But if you look around, you will / see that joy is everywhere.” López expands the simply delivered proposal in fresh and lyrical ways—beginning with paired scenes of the authors as solitary children growing up in very different circumstances on (as they put it) “opposite sides of the world,” then meeting as young friends bonded by streams of rainbow bunting and going on to share their exuberantly hued joy with a group of dancers diverse in terms of age, race, culture, and locale while urging readers to do the same. Though on the whole this comes off as a bit bland (the banter and hilarity that characterized the authors’ recorded interchanges are absent here) and their advice just to look away from the sad things may seem facile in view of what too many children are inescapably faced with, still, it’s hard to imagine anyone in the world more qualified to deliver such a message than these two. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Hundreds of pages of unbridled uplift boiled down to 40. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-48423-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
A poem about the pandemic with vivid illustrations and a strong environmental message.
During a period of quarantine, people discover new ways to live—and new lessons about how to care for the planet—in this debut picture book.
In this work’s poem, O’Meara describes lockdowns experienced by many across the world during the first days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Beginning with the title phrase, the author discusses quiet activities of solitude and togetherness as well as more boisterous ways of interacting. These times of being apart give people a new perspective, and when they reunite, “they grieved their losses, / and made new choices” to restore the planet. The spare verse allows the illustrations by Di Cristofaro and Pereda to take center stage. The colorful, slightly abstract cartoons depict a rainbow of people and pets, many of them living in apartments but some residing in larger, greener spaces. Images of nature healing show the author’s vision of hope for the future. While this was written in March and originally published as an online poem, the lack of an explicit mention of the reason behind the lockdowns (and the omission of the experiences of essential workers) could offer readers an opportunity to imagine a planetary healing beyond the pandemic that inspired the piece. The accessible prose and beautiful images make this a natural selection for young readers, but older ones may appreciate the work’s deeper meaning.
A poem about the pandemic with vivid illustrations and a strong environmental message.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73476-178-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tra Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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