An easy introduction to yoga for the very young.
This picture-book tie-in with the Cosmic Kids Yoga YouTube channel offers children some guidance on coping with stress.
After a bad day at school, Alex worries that tomorrow might be worse. With these thoughts swirling around his mind, he can’t sleep, so he heads to the kitchen for a snack. His mother comes in and offers him a glass of warm milk. Back in his room, Alex tells his mother what has been troubling him, and she suggests “deep, centering breaths.” After a couple of tries, he gets the hang of it and finally drops off to sleep. Throughout the story, the illustrations show Alex assuming different yoga poses that will be easily missed if readers are not familiar with the practice. But not to worry—the book closes by showing all of the poses and their names. Young readers may enjoy going back over the story to identify each pose. Caregivers will appreciate the suggestion of centered breathing as an easy but effective way to help their young charges relax. Colorful, kid-friendly, cartoonish illustrations depict Alex and his mother with light skin, pink cheeks, and red hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An easy introduction to yoga for the very young. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38685-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
Echoes of Runaway Bunny color this exchange between a bath-averse piglet and his patient mother. Using a strategy that would probably be a nonstarter in real life, the mother deflects her stubborn offspring’s string of bath-free occupational conceits with appeals to reason: “Pirates NEVER EVER take baths!” “Pirates don’t get seasick either. But you do.” “Yeesh. I’m an astronaut, okay?” “Well, it is hard to bathe in zero gravity. It’s hard to poop and pee in zero gravity too!” And so on, until Mom’s enticing promise of treasure in the deep sea persuades her little Treasure Hunter to take a dive. Chunky figures surrounded by lots of bright white space in Segal’s minimally detailed watercolors keep the visuals as simple as the plotline. The language isn’t quite as basic, though, and as it rendered entirely in dialogue—Mother Pig’s lines are italicized—adult readers will have to work hard at their vocal characterizations for it to make any sense. Moreover, younger audiences (any audiences, come to that) may wonder what the piggy’s watery closing “EUREKA!!!” is all about too. Not particularly persuasive, but this might coax a few young porkers to get their trotters into the tub. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25425-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Philomel
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An interesting premise but the execution is underwhelming.
Stella hates going to bed, so she and her best buddy attempt to prevent the sun from setting.
Imaginative Stella, a young Black girl with Afro puffs, misses her friend Kamrynn, a light-skinned, straight-haired girl who has moved to “the other side of the world.” Luckily, Stella still has her best pal Roger, a blue hippo stuffie. Neither Stella nor Roger like sleeping: “Why do we have to miss all the fun and go to bed just because it gets dark?” Deciding that “if it never gets dark, then we can stay awake forever,” the duo work tirelessly to “keep the sun awake.” They play loud music, shine flashlights at the sun, and even make various attempts to launch a cup of coffee up to the celestial orb in hopes that caffeine will keep it alert. Eventually, the pair quit when they realize that if the sun never sets for them, morning can never come for Kamrynn, who wakes up when they go to bed. Despite the book’s sweet touches, the narrative is weakened by some meandering irrelevancies that make the plot feel disconnected. Also, at the beginning of the story, Stella seems enamored of the moon—she wishes she could jump high enough to kiss it—yet she and Roger spend the bulk of the book trying to prevent nightfall; this discrepancy may give some readers pause. The digital, cartoonlike illustrations are bright, colorful, and cheerful but don’t make up for the shaky plotting.
An interesting premise but the execution is underwhelming. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 8, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5344-8785-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Denene Millner Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
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