A gentle, helpful tool for cultivating kid mindfulness.
Yoga instructor Verde and illustrator Reynolds reunite (I Am Yoga, 2015) in this introduction to mindfulness featuring a worried child who focuses on the moment.
Feeling “like a boat with no anchor,” the child announces, “there are times when I worry about what might happen next and what happened before.” Taking a moment to breathe, become grounded, centered, and aware of “the here and the now,” the child’s thoughts settle, and “worries gently pop and disappear.” Through acts of kindness, connecting to nature, and using the senses, the child now feels anchored and at peace within the moment. The spare, seemingly hand-lettered, first-person text and sprightly illustrations, executed in ink, gouache, watercolor, and tea, stand out against pristine white backgrounds. Drawn in loose, black outlines and then washed with rainbow hues, the somewhat androgynous child resembles a young yogi with black hair, light-brown skin, bare feet, turtleneck, cropped pants, and a hat and necklace appropriately adorned with peace symbols. Vignettes of the child in a balance pose, feeding birds, and meditating beneath a tree (magically sprouting from fallen birdseed) reinforce messages of kindness, compassion, and self-awareness as worry melts into bliss. A guided-meditation exercise offers interactive opportunities for readers to create their own mindful time.
A gentle, helpful tool for cultivating kid mindfulness. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-9)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2701-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: July 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2017
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute.
Readers bid farewell to a beloved canine character.
Momo is—or was—an adorable and very photogenic border collie owned by author Knapp. The many readers who loved him in the previous half-dozen books are in for a shock with this one. “Momo had died” is the stark reality—and there are no photographs of him here. Instead, Momo has been replaced by a flat cartoonish pastiche with strange, staring round white eyes, inserted into some of Knapp’s photography (which remains appealing, insofar as it can be discerned under the mixed media). Previous books contained few or no words. Unfortunately, virtuosity behind a lens does not guarantee mastery of verse. The art here is accompanied by words that sometimes rhyme but never find a workable or predictable rhythm (“We’d fetch and we’d catch, / we’d run and we’d jump. Every day we found new / games to play”). It’s a pity, because the subject—a pet’s death—is an important one to address with children. Of course, Momo isn’t gone; he can still be found “everywhere” in memories. But alas, he can be found here only in the crude depictions of the darling dog so well known from the earlier books.
A well-meaning but lackluster tribute. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781683693864
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Quirk Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer.
Rotner follows up her celebrations of spring and autumn with this look at all things winter.
Beginning with the signs that winter is coming—bare trees, shorter days, colder temperatures—Rotner eases readers into the season. People light fires and sing songs on the solstice, trees and plants stop growing, and shadows grow long. Ice starts to form on bodies of water and windows. When the snow flies, the fun begins—bundle up and then build forts, make snowballs and snowmen (with eyebrows!), sled, ski (nordic is pictured), skate, snowshoe, snowboard, drink hot chocolate. Animals adapt to the cold as well. “Birds grow more feathers” (there’s nothing about fluffing and air insulation) and mammals, more hair. They have to search for food, and Rotner discusses how many make or find shelter, slow down, hibernate, or go underground or underwater to stay warm. One page talks about celebrating holidays with lights and decorations. The photos show a lit menorah, an outdoor deciduous tree covered in huge Christmas bulbs, a girl next to a Chinese dragon head, a boy with lit luminarias, and some fireworks. The final spread shows signs of the season’s shift to spring. Rotner’s photos, as always, are a big draw. The children are a marvelous mix of cultures and races, and all show their clear delight with winter.
A solid addition to Rotner’s seasonal series. Bring on summer. (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3976-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
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