Electronic Resources to Complement Contemporary Children’s Picture Books that Feature Mindfulness Elements

BY KATHRYN CAPRINO

Teachers have been thinking about how to incorporate mindfulness into the elementary school classroom for a bit now. During the fall semester, I completed a study about how children’s picture books that featured mindfulness affected preservice teachers’ mindfulness and how they were thinking about incorporating mindfulness into their classrooms.

And the recent global pandemic has only underscored the importance of having children’s picture books that feature mindfulness. We, as parents, teachers, and teacher educators, need them for ourselves. And we need them for our students.

In this post, I share a few contemporary picture books that feature mindfulness elements, and include electronic resources that complement each book - perfect during this time of remote learning. It is my hope that these titles might help us all get through these trying times and propel us into a more mindful approach to what normal looks like on the other side of all this.

Eric Carle's Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar

I start with the iconic Eric Carle. Carle’s title Calm with the Very Hungry Caterpillar was recommended to me by one of my students. With its beautiful illustrations of natural images that are quintessential Carle, Calm is a perfect read-aloud text that starts with an invitation that seems appropriate for what many of us are experiencing right now: “When your monkey mind feels too busy …” Young children and those who are reading the book to them will close the book with a renewed sense of calmness.

Quick side note: I had the opportunity of seeing a traveling Carle exhibit in Norfolk, Virginia, last summer. With pieces from The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art , the exhibit provided visitors with an opportunity to learn more about Carle’s artistic process and to see some of the most iconic images from his books. One of my favorites was one of his owls! I encourage all of you to visit the museum once things return to normal. You can ask your students to take a virtual tour of the museum.

ECM Virtual Tour 2011-Large web movie from The Eric Carle Museum on Vimeo.

Tomie dePaola's Quiet

Tomie dePaola’s passing in March was upsetting to so many of us. His Quiet has a poignant message for all (both during the quarantine and after): “Let’s not be so busy.” Taking readers along on a walk with a grandfather and his grandchildren, Quiet begs us to contemplate and admire birds, dragonflies, and other natural elements that we see. This book could inspire many walks with the intention of finding objects or creatures that amaze. If you want to hear Tomie dePaola talk about what he wants readers to gain from Quiet, you can view the video below.

Susan Verde and Peter H. Reynolds' I am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness

This book starts with a young person feeling as though they are on a boat without an anchor. The book then shows how one can breathe and take actions to reach a sense of peace that can then be shared with others. The gorgeous, colorful illustrations complement the calming text, perfect for a read-aloud. If you want to hear Susan Verde read her book or have your students engage with it during this time of remote learning, you can watch the video below.

​​Mariam Gates' Good Morning Yoga

This is the perfect book to start out the day! Clear, kid-friendly directions and colorful illustrations help young children - and adults - progress through a series of yoga poses. If you want to hear Mariam Gates read her book or have your students and their parents engage with it during this time of remote learning, view the video below.

​Kira Willey and Anni Betts' Breathe Like a Bear

Kira Willey and Anni Betts’ Breathe Like a Bear offers thirty exercises for kids, including breathing like a bear, pretending to hold a cup of hot chocolate, and stretching like a kitty cat. Breathe Like a Bear is broken up into five major sections: Be calm, focus, imagine, make some energy, and relax. The way the book is arranged makes it perfect for those moments when you just want a short, poignant mindfulness activity. Kira Wiley’s website offers information for free and fee-based yoga events for children.

​It is my hope that these five titles will be added to your physical or electronic libraries, especially during this time when it seems that all of us could benefit from mindfulness practice.

Want to hear a little about my process for selecting texts? My recommendations are informed by Shapiro, Carlson, Astin, & Freedman’s (2006) three mindfulness axioms: intention, attention, and attitude.

• Intention relates to having a personal vision.
  
• Attention relates to focusing on moments in our lives.
  
• And attitude relates to the approach one takes to attention.
  

At least one of these axioms are featured in each of the books shared above.

Reference

Shapiro, S. L. Carlson, L. E., Astin, J.A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness.
Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373-388.

Kathryn Caprino is a CLA member and is an Assistant Professor of PK-12 New Literacies at Elizabethtown College. She blogs frequently at Katie Reviews Books