Review by Booklist Review
Illustrated with lightly inked block prints depicting a small group of preschoolers bending and stretching in a serene, woodsy setting with no adults present, this introduction to yoga offers a sketchy but inviting demonstration of seven safe, relatively easy poses. Rather than focusing on finer details of posture or breath control, Yoo has each child demonstrate a basic position and then roar, hop (for the Frog pose), or otherwise express the animal (or in the case of the Mountain pose, the geological feature) after which the pose is named. A suggestion that children Namaste to the morning at the beginning and Namaste to each other at the end adds an important element of formality but will probably require a bit of exegesis. Still, this is otherwise better suited for younger practitioners than Laurent de Brunhoff's more specific and challenging Babar's Yoga for Elephants (2002).--Peters, John Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Yoo goes beyond downward dog to teach children yoga poses that mimic animals like a butterfly, frog, and cat. In alternating spreads, children demonstrate the steps for achieving each pose ("Lie on your stomach/ Hands next to shoulders/ Push up!") while the intervening spreads show the children in the position in natural settings alongside the animal or object they are emulating ("You are a... snake/ In the cool grass/ Slither and glide/ Make a big hiss"). The final spreads lead to a simmer-down in the bright sun: "Lie down and be still/ Slowly breathe in the garden/ Relax in the silence/ Namaste to each other." Yoo gracefully merges the spirit of yoga with children's intuitive sense of play. Ages 3-5. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-The increasing popularity of yoga has even babies practicing asanas, and this picture book is a fun way to get toddlers started. Paired spreads introduce a pose in simple non-rhyming verse, accompanied by an image of a child on a small circle of grass (think yoga mat) in the middle of white pages; the spread that follows reveals the pose in a nature setting along with the creature the pose imitates. The instructions for the poses are extremely basic and appropriate for young children; the illustrations will encourage participation and some rambunctiousness. The sweet, colorful digital illustrations are melded with block prints and pencil and include half a dozen children of various ethnicities demonstrating such poses as a lion, a butterfly, a cobra, a downward-facing dog, and a few others. The soft hues and natural settings convey the spirit of a yoga class while looking like children at play outdoors. The text reads almost like haiku and will be simple to recite during a storytime or a yoga practice. There is no discussion of yoga, no Sanskrit beyond a couple of appropriately placed "Namaste" greetings, and the activities could be used to corral the energy of a rowdy group or an individual child. This is a good choice for introducing yoga into storytime programs, even for librarians who have never practiced a pose.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Stand / With feet flat / Bend and touch ground / Bottom up! / You are a . . . / . . . Dog." Simple language and kid-friendly illustrations demonstrate both poses and related animals such as butterfly, lion, and cat, as well as mountain pose. Limiting the number of poses to seven, this book is appropriately child-centered in delivering its yoga message. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
(Picture book. 2-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
