Mariam Gates

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I’m not a huge yoga fan but the poses presented seem easy and appropriate for all ages.

This seems like a great bedtime book and a great relaxation book, though there needs to be a reader for the listener to get full benefit. Independent readers can both read and do but not as well as if someone is reading aloud. This would be a great audio book; I don’t know if there is an audio edition.

I appreciate that various kids are shown in the show more illustrations. The pictures fit the book and the colors are interesting. The art style would not be my favorite if out of context but I like it well enough here, and I think that most kids will enjoy the illustrations.

I appreciate the included illustrated additional pages at the end that have a “The Good Night Yoga Flow” and the “Cloud Journey Visualization” instructions.

For achieving a state of calm and especially for being ready for sleep at bedtime, this book is worth a try! Recommended for children (and adults) for helping be ready for sleep and for relaxation. Great idea for a picture book! show less

In a Nutshell: A sweet picture book that explains how having multiple emotions at once is perfectly okay. Great idea, good execution.

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Olive is a little girl with a lot of feelings. When she was a baby, her feelings were neatly compartmentalized. But now, she feels multiple feelings at once, and she knows that it is perfectly okay.

This picture book tackles the complicated concept of experiencing diverse emotions at once. When Olive says that her feelings are jumbled show more up, we see that she always has at least two dominant feelings. But these are never from the same side of the emotional spectrum, such as happy excited, or nervous upset. Rather, her sentiments are usually opposite, being a combination of a positive and a negative mood. This contradiction shows children how it is perfectly normal to feel opposite emotions at once.

So many situations in life generate contrary feelings, whether the first day of school or having a new sibling or going on stage. This book will hopefully help kids understand that there is nothing wrong if a negative emotion rears its head alongside a positive feeling.

The narrative pattern of the story is interesting. There is no story as such here. An unidentified narrator introduces us to Olive and tells us about her feelings. At the same time, Olive responds to the narrator’s comments from the illustrations, and clarifies or rectifies the remarks made about her feelings. This approach makes it fun to read Olive’s interjections in between the main narrative.

However, this also means that Olive explores her feelings over multiple events, and we have to follow her train of thought. There is no sequence to the events. The structure might be confusing for kids to follow.

Moreover, the focus is only on information about contrary emotions, but the story doesn’t tackle the quantum of emotions. What I mean is, a child might experience two opposite feelings at once, but they both needn’t be at the same level of intensity. For instance, a child’s stage fright might be more than their excitement at performing before an audience. How does the child harness the positive energy rather than allowing the negative emotions to dominate? This goes beyond the purview of the book.

There are a couple of difficult words in this book, plus the story pattern is also not conventional. Some of the pages have a lot of text, though the layout makes them appear clutter-free. As the book is aimed at little ones aged 4-8, the younger ones of this age range might find their comprehension impeded by these factors. Adult guidance will be beneficial.

The illustrations are cute and colourful. I loved Olive’s gravity-defying plaits! show less

Impulse grab at the library. I like picture-books, and I like the ideas of yoga. This is a charmer for the right audience, but not for me, as it turns out. I can't flow, but have to work to get into the poses, of which I can do only about 2/3. Now, you-all who are younger, not handicapped, see how many you can do.

Good book to get from the library, at least, maybe to buy. Sweet vibrant pictures and rhythmic text.

Since I am very much not the intended audience, I won't rate.

I definitely think that this would be helpful to the hurricane child. A diverse bunch of children demonstrate the key position of each pose, while a verse describes the flow and the recommended thoughts to accompany each. I like the connections to nature as different animals, clouds, etc. also got ready for sleep.

I like the kids, and the fact that they could be as young as 3 or as old as 10, so any youngster can enjoy the book. I like the bonus meditation exercise to do after being tucked show more in. And I like the summary of the poses at the end (I'd love to buy a poster of them).

This is like [b:Yoga Frog|35959897|Yoga Frog|Nora Shalaway Carpenter|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516369172l/35959897._SX50_.jpg|57517932] only in some ways even better. show less