Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems

by Kate Coombs

Overview

I breathe slowly in,
I breathe slowly out. My breath
is a river of peace.
I am here in the world.
Each moment I can breathe and be.
 
Hear thunder crash, feel your toes touch sand, and watch leaves drift softly away on a quiet stream. The simple poems in Breathe and Be help children learn mindfulness as they connect to the beauty of the natural world.

Mindfulness teaches us how to stay calm, soothe our emotions, and appreciate the world around us. Whether we’re watching tiny colored fish darting in the water or exploring the leaves, branches, and roots of a towering tree, the thoughtful words and the lovely art of Breathe and Be remind us how much joy we can find by simply living with awareness and inner peace.
 
Ages 4–8

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781622039388
Publisher:	Sounds True, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/2017
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	50 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate Coombs
Kate Coombs is the author of numerous books for children, including Water Sings Blue, Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems, and the Little Naturalists board book series. She has taught K–12 as well as college and currently works as a reading specialist for students with dyslexia. Kate loves the trees in Sequoia National Park and the clouds over the valley in the western United States where she lives. For more, visit katecoombs.com.
 

Anna Emilia Laitinen
Anna Emilia Laitinen studied graphic design and illustration in Finland and Iceland. She has illustrated books, stationery, tableware, and textiles. She is the illustrator of many children’s books published in her native Finland, as well as Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems. Anna Emilia’s favorite color is the northern winter sky during sunset, and her favorite sound is waking up in a tent in a forest full of singing birds. For more, visit annaemilia.com.
 

Kate Coombs is the author of many books, including three poetry collections: Breathe and Be: A Book of Mindfulness Poems, Monster School, and Water Sings Blue, which won the national Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and got four-starred reviews. She has also written middle grade books, picture books, and numerous board books. Kate lives in Bountiful, Utah, where she teaches college English and works with struggling readers. Kate loves nature, especially clouds, seashells, and frogs.

Editorial Reviews

Nature provides reassurance in times of trouble and allows disruptive moods and angry thoughts to be moderated and transformed into peaceful mindfulness...A successful introduction to the concept of mindfulness for young children.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A serene collection celebrating nature and the importance of mindfulness, and a swell addition to ­poetry shelves.” —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
K-Gr 3—These 14 original tanka poems introduce children to the concept of mindfulness and incorporate meditation practices. The first poem sets the tone, encouraging readers to breathe in and out for "My breath/is a river of peace." While the poems are independent of each other, their stark beauty and personification of nature unify the work. Each powerful emotion conveyed through figurative language, whether it is anxiety, doubt, fear, or anger, is reinforced with expressive watercolors. When Coombs offers advice for "Thoughts [that] flutter and dart like birds," the illustration reveals a young girl's troubled backward glance at her kite stuck in a tree that is overwhelmed by brightly hued birds. It is a staggering image, to see thoughts made manifest in such numbers, but the scene provides a sense of serenity as the girl leaves her footprints behind in the snow. It is recognizing the words "There is time to breathe and be" within the poem as well as the stillness in the illustration that helps to release the tension inherent in the birds and thoughts. The harmony between children and their environment, along with the inclusion of minute details in the artwork, instills a sense of wonder as each panel challenges readers to dwell in the moment. It is the same message conveyed in the poetry. An author's note explains mindfulness as a concept and provides a definition of the tanka form. Pair with Kerry Lee MacLean's Peaceful Piggy Meditation and Mariam Gates's Good Night Yoga. VERDICT A serene collection celebrating nature and the importance of mindfulness, and a swell addition to poetry shelves.—Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

School Library Journal

2017-09-18
Several ethnically diverse children interact with a northern landscape, closely observing and imagining themselves as various flora and fauna. Each spread depicts the children in relaxed or playful poses, accompanied by meditative, first-person tankas expressing various mindfulness sentiments appropriate to the illustration. Through the poems, the narrator's relationship to the environment is analyzed: thoughts are observed and flow like "little fish. / They shine blue, green, red, yellow." The narrator's breath is "a river of peace." Through the illustrations, the child's relationship with nature is a refuge or a way of moderating harmful or disturbing thoughts and feelings—whatever is going on in nature, the constancy of selfhood shines through: "Sometimes I'm a cloud…a mountain or a stone…but I am always me." Nature provides reassurance in times of trouble and allows disruptive moods and angry thoughts to be moderated and transformed into peaceful mindfulness. Through observing nature, we can learn to be in the moment: "Today is real. Here now, / this minute, the true wings." Finnish artist Laitinen's delicate, detailed pen-and-watercolor illustrations of children in nature are well-suited to the contemplative nature of the poems and will work well in the context of a yoga or meditation group for young children or as a gentle, reassuring bedtime story. A successful introduction to the concept of mindfulness for young children. (Picture book/poetry. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews