National Library Week

Breathe Like a Bear By Kira Willey; Illustrated by Anni Betts

Get your kids ready to conquer back  to school anxiety with this collection of 30 mindfulness meditations and exercises to help kids feel calm, focused, and energized wherever they are.

Breathe Like a Bear is a beautifully illustrated collection of mindfulness exercises designed to teach kids techniques for managing their bodies, breath, and emotions. Best of all, these 30 simple, short breathing practices and movements can be performed anytime, anywhere: in the car to the grocery store, during heavy homework nights at home, or even at a child’s desk at school.

Based on Kira Willey’s Parents’ Choice GOLD Award-winning CD, Mindful Moments for Kids, this one-of-a-kind book is sure to help kids find calm, gain focus, and feel energized during the day, and encourage families to establish a fun and consistent mindfulness practice, whether at home or on the go.

Breathe Like a Bear: First Day of School Worries By Kira Wiley; illustrated by Anni Betts

A companion picture book to Breathe Like a Bear that helps kids feel calm and ready to meet new classmates!

Bear can't wait to go to her first day of school. But she and a few of her friends are also feeling a little anxious. Luckily, Owl has the perfect words for them all to say to calm the jitters and help them recognize the similarities we share under the trappings of our uniqueness. 

Introducing a mantra for first-day—and any-day—worries, Breathe Like a Bear: First-Day-of-School Worries uses an easy-to-follow breathing exercise, mindful prompts, and a soothing mantra that will help kids navigate their anxiety long after the final page. This prescriptive and teachable picture book is an invaluable tool for every child's early social-emotional education.

Stickler Loves the World By Lane Smith

From award-winning author/illustrator Lane Smith comes Stickler, a woodland creature who reminds us to appreciate the everyday wonders we often ignore. In a picture book that’s both silly and sweet, readers will find Stickler’s enthusiasm irresistible and see the world anew.

A Junior Library Guild selection • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY People Magazine • Kirkus Reviews • The Boston Globe • The Evanston Public Library

And just think of the wonders we must pass every day without even noticing!

Stickler, an original character covered in sticks and with multiple ever-changing eyes, loves its little world. With best friend Crow, it shares the wonders of all the amazing things the world has to offer.  Stickler is astonished by the ordinary, such as the sun and the stars, as well as fascinated by those things in nature that are often overlooked, such as swirling seed pods falling from the sky. The two pals wander about the world, stopping to appreciate the many marvels along the way, especially its beloved sticks, each one unique. 

Stickler Loves the World encourages awareness and mindfulness with a joyous and lighthearted touch. The award-winning illustrator of bestsellers including Penguin Problems and Giraffe Problems brings imagination and humor to a story that features a delightful and original character.

By

The Cat on the Mat: All About Mindfulness By Bonnie Worth; illustrated by Aristides Ruiz and Joe Mathieu

Laugh and learn with fun facts about how meditation helps the mind and body—all told in Dr. Seuss’s beloved rhyming style and starring the Cat in the Hat!

“I’m the Cat on the mat, and what I plan to do is talk about mindfulness meditation with you.”

The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series combines beloved characters, engaging rhymes, and Seussian illustrations to introduce children to non-fiction topics from the real world! Find inner peace and learn how meditation helps you:

•       understand your feelings
•       notice the world around you
•       become a better listener
•       and much more!

Perfect for story time and for the youngest readers, The Cat on the Mat: All About Mindfulness also includes an index, glossary, and suggestions for further learning.

Look for more books in the Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library series!
If I Ran the Horse Show: All About Horses
Clam-I-Am! All About the Beach
Miles and Miles of Reptiles: All About Reptiles
A Whale of a Tale! All About Porpoises, Dolphins, and Whales
Safari, So Good! All About African Wildlife
There's a Map on My Lap! All About Maps
Oh, the Lavas That Flow! All About Volcanoes
Out of Sight Till Tonight! All About Nocturnal Animals
What Cat Is That? All About Cats
Once upon a Mastodon: All About Prehistoric Mammals
Oh Say Can You Say What's the Weather Today? All About Weather

By

Grumpy Monkey By Suzanne Lang; illustrated by Max Lang

The hilarious #1 New York Times bestselling picture book about a chimpanzee in a very bad mood--perfect for young children learning how to deal with confusing feelings.

Jim the chimpanzee is in a terrible mood for no good reason. His friends can't understand it--how can he be in a bad mood when it's SUCH a beautiful day? They have lots of suggestions for how to make him feel better. But Jim can't take all the advice...and has a BIT of a meltdown. Could it be that he just needs a day to feel grumpy?

Suzanne and Max Lang bring hilarity and levity to this very important lesson on emotional literacy, demonstrating to kids that they are allowed to feel their feelings.

Grumpy Monkey is the first title in a series of books targeted at different ages that encourage kids to feel their feelings.

Duck & Goose By Written and illustrated by Tad Hills

Honk and quack with these unlikely feathered friends as they explore the highs and lows of friendship! Now an animated series, available to stream on Apple TV+!

Meet Duck and Goose, two young birds who mistake a polka-dot ball for an egg and have to master the art of cooperation—and sharing—to take care of it. But friendship is not always easy, as proved in this funny, accessible story. Young readers will instantly recognize themselves in these adorable and eternally optimistic characters. And this beautiful keepsake edition features extra content from the author on how to draw Duck & Goose.

“Charming, funny, simple, and surprising. . . . Hills is master of the light comic touch.”—The Boston Globe

Just Like Me By Vanessa Brantley-Newton

An ode to the girl with scrapes on her knees and flowers in her hair, and every girl in between, this exquisite treasury will appeal to readers of Dear Girl and I Am Enough and have kids poring over it to find a poem that's just for them.

I am a canvas
Being painted on
By the words of my family
Friends
And community

From Vanessa Brantley-Newton, the author of Grandma's Purse, comes a collection of poetry filled with engaging mini-stories about girls of all kinds: girls who feel happy, sad, scared, powerful; girls who love their bodies and girls who don't; country girls, city girls; girls who love their mother and girls who wish they had a father. With bright portraits in Vanessa's signature style of vibrant colors and unique patterns and fabrics, this book invites readers to find themselves and each other within its pages.

"A dynamic, uplifting, and welcoming world of girls."--Kirkus 

"Thoughtful, inclusive, and celebratory"--Publishers Weekly

"Bursting with positivity, this would be a great book to use in primary school classrooms when discussing issues of friendship, diversity, and self-esteem."--Booklist

KINDergarten By Vera Ahiyya; illustrated by Joey Chou

Written by kindergarten teacher and Instagram influencer affectionately known as the Tutu Teacher, comes a picture book about a class that creates a kindness pledge to ensure that their class is the kindest it can possibly be.

It’s the first day of Kindergarten and Leo isn’t at all ready. Leo is a quiet kid and would prefer to stay home. Over the summer, his new teacher, Ms. Perry sent a letter asking her students to think about how to show kindness in school. She explained that they would be making a kindness pledge, and each student should bring one way to show kindness on the first day.
 
As it turns out, Leo’s classmates have lots of ideas about kindness: like raising your hand, never leaving anyone out, and apologizing if you hurt someone’s feelings. At the end of the first day, Ms. Perry asks if anyone witnessed something they’d like her to add to the kindness pledge? Lots of hands shoot up in the air. Several classmates say they noticed Leo returning crayons to the box, holding the door for everyone, and helping a friend who fell. Leo smiles as he realizes he really does know a lot about kindness after all. 
 
A story reassuringly told by Vera Ahiyya and brought to exuberant life by illustrator Joey Chou, this story about a classroom coming together to make a kindergarten into a KINDergarten is sure to calm the nerves—and offer inspiration—to new kindergartners and the adults in their lives.