Meditate with Me: A Step-By-Step Mindfulness Journey

by Mariam Gates, Margarita Surnaite (Illustrator)

Overview

This accessible and fun guide to meditation and mindfulness is the perfect introduction for young children
Meditation does a body good, and can even help kids as young as four or five. This practical guide is gentle, clear, and a pleasure to use. Kids will learn how to focus on their breath, on the sensations in their body, and on the sounds around them to help them relax, settle their busy minds, and understand their emotions. Illustrated with cheerful drawings of five animal friends, the book offers step-by-step directions and a repeating refrain: 

"Breathe in, and fill your whole body. Breathe out, and relax your whole body." 

It's an invigorating first experience of mindfulness that can be shared by parents and children at home, or by teachers and students in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735230224
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Mariam Gates has a master's degree in education from Harvard University and has been teaching children for more than 20 years. The founder of Kid Power Yoga, she now devotes herself to training children and adults in yoga and mindfulness. She is the author of the picture books Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga. She lives with her husband, Rolf Gates, and their two children in Santa Cruz, California.
 
Margarita Surnaite was born and raised in Lithuania, and now lives in Cambridge, England. She holds a bachelor's degree in graphic arts and a master's degree in children's book illustration. Meditate with Me is her first published book.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Meditate with Me

"A jewel-toned palette, sweet animal faces, and soothing landscapes—combined with a text infused with care—ensure that a child or adult can pick up any part of this book to take a needed break from stress. An impressive, thoughtful collaboration." —Kirkus

"A calming introduction to meditation." —School Library Journal 

"Mariam Gates presents the gifts of a powerful spiritual practice with irresistible charm and joy. Meditate with Me is a wonderful offering to parents and children alike, a gentle guidebook pointing the way to presence, mindfulness, and peace as we navigate life’s ups and downs—day by day, moment by moment, and breath by breath.”  —Katrina Kenison, author of Mitten Strings for God: Reflections for Mothers in a Hurry
 
"Mariam Gates's new book, Meditate with Me, is an essential resource for all children! If you want your kids to have more options than melt downs, tantrums, and reactivity, order Meditate with Me today, and give them not only a pretty picture book, but a resource to ground and to reflect on their choices for life. Her language, instruction, and illustrations make learning to resource from within accessible for kids. Parents: this book offers your children the skills of embodiment, deep breathing, and self-regulation, which are empowering and responsible tools for children to be able to access. —Dr. Melody Moore, Ph.D. founder of Embody Love Movement
 
 
"In the all-important effort to have our children learn, grow and love, Mariam Gates has done something extraordinary with her lovely book Meditate With Me. She has laid out a path that will guide parents, educators and children alike into a love affair with the inner world. There can be no greater contribution than to provide this kind of a tool for children to find happiness and joy.” —Tommy Rosen, Yoga Teacher and Founder of Recovery 2.0

"Finally! I couldn't be more excited to see a meditation book geared for children that is as engaging and practical as it is endearing. This is a priceless opportunity for the whole family to experience meditation together. I could not recommend it more highly!" —Melanie Klein, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, co-editor of Yoga and Body Image: 25 Personal Stories about Beauty, Bravery + Loving Your Body, and co-founder of the Yoga and Body Image Coalition.

From the Publisher

08/01/2017
Gr 1–3—In this introduction to meditation, children learn some basic techniques to calm their minds and recognize their emotions. The author, who has also written Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga, includes four steps to meditate, starting with exercises to sit and relax. Others include breathing, listening, and keeping calm. Each practice is demonstrated by a group of cute, friendly anthropomorphized animals, depicted in soft pastel colors. The content is very accessible; for example, in teaching children to settle down, the text uses the analogy that a mind is similar to a snow globe-type object, with glitter representing thoughts. ("You can use your breath and body to set that busy mind down flat. Gently just like that. Swish! You can feel what it's like to be just here, just now.") Each page has about one to five sentences of text, making for a clean, approachable layout. VERDICT A calming introduction to meditation suitable for one-on-one or group use, at home or in the library.—Robin Sofge, Prince William Public Library System, VA

School Library Journal

2017-06-05
A cast of young, cartoon animals in children's clothes follow the narrator's directions about how to "relax, breathe, and listen." The title page shows a pig, an elephant, a rabbit, a bear, and a cat—all in school attire, including brightly colored backpacks—heading toward a large set of stairs. Behind them is an urban skyline, and around them are the flora and fauna of a park. The entire text is composed of simple instructions for relaxation, beginning with the suggestion that readers sit down and clench, then relax, "every part of your body." After the cat follows these commands, the perfect, humorous choice to illustrate noticing the breath is the elephant. The bunny, piglet, and bear show proper placement of paws for feeling breaths. Throughout, the text is straightforward, with a few gentle rhymes. As the animals use visualization, background scenes move from the classroom to an idyllic beach. A jar of glitter is used to help the animals imagine their thoughts settling down. The text moves on to helping children express different emotions with their bodies, always affirming the importance of breathing and, later, listening. A jewel-toned palette, sweet animal faces, and soothing landscapes—combined with a text infused with care—ensure that a child or adult can pick up any part of this book to take a needed break from stress. An impressive, thoughtful collaboration. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews