My Daddy is a Pretzel

I read this with my daughter, who enjoys how yoga connects to work and play, like her music class. Teaching examples include families, their work, and playful illustrations. Even if there is a surplus of children’s yoga books out there, Baptiste captures the interest of the whole family.

“Today in class, we're going to say what jobs our parents do each day.” Some children have parents who are gardeners, or builders, or even marine biologists. But one little child has a daddy who is sometimes a tree, sometimes a bridge, and sometimes a fish. He can even be a pretzel! My Daddy is a Pretzel is a wonderful book for teaching children about yoga, and gives instructions for nine different postures that they can try. Each is illustrated clearly and accompanied by a short text that explains the deeper lessons – such as believing in ourselves or being both strong and flexible – that underlie each pose. The illustrations of wide-eyed, smiling characters give a welcoming feel to the book and enhance its playful message, helping to encourage children to try some of the poses for themselves.

In these times of rising childhood obesity and increasingly sedentary lifestyles, it's more important than ever for fathers to model good habits of physical fitness and exercise for our children. It does little good to complain about modern trends that have decreased our daily physical activity, or to nostalgically insist that things were somehow better in “the good old days”. Over half the population of the planet lives in cities now, and forms of entertainment like television and the computer are here to stay. Our challenge now as fathers is to teach our children how to incorporate physical fitness into their daily lives, even if they grow up to drive to work and then sit at a desk all day like so many of us. Yoga can be great for both fitness and as a means of relieving the stress of our fast-paced lives, and teaching even basic yoga techniques to children can help them greatly both now and in their later lives, Unfortunately, our children have their own ideas of what they want to learn, and are often especially resistant to things that are “good for them.” My Daddy is a Pretzel, with its warm tone and child-friendly format, is a valuable resource for introducing yoga to children in a way that they will find both educational and fun. Review by Book Dads ( )