Books to Help Her Take Care of Herself and Others -- Tweens, Teens, Adults and Younger

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. Some of the links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

Have you ever woken up feeling a bit off? That is how I feel this morning. I knew I wanted to write a review but I didn't sleep well and feel like I might be fighting the cold that is going around. When I looked at my review shelves I didn't turn to the books I was planning on reviewing but looked at books that inspire self care. I added a few that would involve being oneself and health and I created this grouping to share with you today. Most of the books are for tweens through adults but one book which we will start with is for ages 3 to 6. It is It's Okay to Be a Unicorn! by Jason Tharp. This book is not available for sale until February.

Books for Tween and Teen Girls -- Mindfulness and Puberty

Disclosure: Running Press sent me copies of these books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions are my own.

As the start of school is approaching I am seeing Hazel's anxiety level rising. Socializing with other kids can be tough on her and school is probably the toughest place for her since she is with kids all day long. Add on top of it that she is hitting puberty a bit earlier than most of her classmates and she is a bit of a pile of nerves and moods. I have been trying to add relaxing and calming things to our routine although this summer routine has kind of gone out the window. Today I am going to share two amazing resources for kids like Hazel and in particular girls. The first is a book that is really for any child -- girl or boy. It is Just Breathe: Meditation, Mindfulness, Movement and More by Mallika Chopra and illustrated by Breanna Vaughan.

Anna and Her Rainbow Colored Yoga Mats and Sophia's Jungle Adventure Yoga Book Reviews

Make sure you enter the Earth Day Giveaway we are co-hosting!! You have until midnight Tuesday EDT.

 Disclosure: Kid Yoga Stories gave me a copies of these books free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own, and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Have you tried yoga with your children yet? Hazel loves it--though we do not do it often. We have had the pleasure of reviewing three of Giselle Shardlow's books and Hazel loves them all. Thus far we have reviewed The ABC's of Australian Animals, Luke's Beach Day, and Hello Bali! Today we are sharing two more. It was a beautiful day here finally so we tried some yoga outside! The first book is Anna and her Rainbow-Colored Yoga Mats by Giselle Shardlow and illustrated by Paul Wrangles. (Please note that the photos are of Hazel attempting to copy the pose in the books. They are not all correct, but she is on her way to getting them.)

Our New Morning Routine: Imaginations 2 Book Review

Disclosure: Bambino Yoga sent me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

So for the last couple of weeks Hazel and I have a new morning routine thanks to Bambino Yoga. Carolyn Clarke sent us a copy of her newest book, Imaginations 2: Relaxation Stories & Guided Imagery for Kids. 

Book Review: Hello Bali! by Giselle Shardlow

Disclosure: Kids Yoga Stories gave me a copy of this book free of charge. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Multicultural Kids Blog has started a new Multicultural Kids Product Promotional Services. I signed up to help promote an wonderful kids yoga book by Giselle Shardlow. We have already enjoyed two of her books previously and Hazel loves doing yoga along with the book. This book is called Hello, Bali and is about a girl from India visiting Bali with her family. Since Bali is in Indonesia, it ties in perfectly with All About Indonesia that we reviewed last month.

Hello, Sun

Going through this book introduces you to a bit of the Bali culture. The book starts with saying hello to the sun in Bali. Then it goes through some of the sights in Bali from the beach (sailboat, dolphin, sunbathers) to the mountains.

Sailboat

Dolphin

Surfing

Sunbathing

Then you get a bit of the culture with dancing Ganesha.

The book talks about the mountains and the market as well as the waterfalls. The beautiful illustrations help the reader to picture what Bali is like and also models the yoga poses for the child. It goes on with poses for the priests in the temples and the farmers in the fields. As well as the monkeys in the trees.

Farmers Planting in the Muddy Rice Fields

Going through this book gives the reader a wonderful picture of Bali and the yoga motions help the images stick as well as being perfect for the child who has trouble sitting still during a book. 

Excerpts from the Hello, Bali

As with all of Giselle's books, it is available in English or Spanish! The book ends with a list a picture of all the yoga positions as well as a bit of Indonesian language and a map of Bali. We have once again enjoyed this yoga book and loved learning more about Bali. The book and movements gave each of us an image of what it would be like to be on vacation in Bali and what we would see. We highly recommend the book!

For more on yoga for kids and Indonesia, check out:

• Luke's Day at the Beach
• The ABC's of Australian Animals
• All About Indonesia
• The Gift of the Crocodile: An Indonesian Cinderella Tale

The abc's of Australian Animals: An Interactive Kids Yoga Book Review & Giveaway

Have you ever done yoga? I find it so relaxing. Plus there are so many benefits to it. According to Mayo Clinic, "Yoga is considered a mind-body type of complementary and alternative medicine." (Source) One of the biggest benefits is that yoga can reduce stress and anxiety and enhance moods. (Source) For more benefits, Yoga Journal has a great list of 38 ways yoga improves health. I want to pass this wonderful practice on to Hazel. I remember my mother taking yoga classes when I was young and she had a record from the class. My sisters and I would try to do the record by looking at the cover (each pose was pictured on the cover) and listening to the record. This instilled a wonderful practice in my life. When my life gets stressful, I tend to look for a yoga class to take or put a yoga dvd in to relax. Now I have a wonderful way to introduce Hazel to yoga in a fun and meaningful way. You may remember the wonderful book I reviewed in May, Luke's Beach Day by Giselle Shardlow. Well, Giselle has been at it again and has published The abc's of Australian Animals: An Interactive Kids Yoga Book and has been kind enough to send me a copy to review and offer me a copy to giveaway. Disclosure: I received the book free to review, but all opinions are my own.

First I should say this book is available in English as well as Spanish. The book goes through each letter describing an action of an animal found in Australia or Australian waters and gives a picture of a yoga pose. Hazel and I read the sentence on the animal and looked at the picture of the animal. Then we looked at the yoga pose and tried it. We still need to work on some things, but flexibility will come the more we practice.

Hazel's favorite was of course the letter h. She knows that it is the first letter in her name. She also thought the pose was pretty easy.

We really enjoyed doing the yoga together. 

She also wanted Ducky to try it with us,  so you will see him in a few of the pictures. Overall the book is very well written and illustrated. It is a wonderful way to bring a relaxing exercise into a child's life. I know we will be trying it some more.

Giselle Shardlow writes at Kid Yoga Stories.  She is a teacher, traveler and yogi as well as a mom and draws from these experiences to write her books.

I hope reading these yoga books and practicing the poses will help Hazel learn a bit about yoga and develop a love for it like I have. That way she will always have a healthy lifestyle or at least something to fall back to when life gets stressful.








Now it is your turn to try to win a copy of this book. Giselle is willing to ship worldwide!! All you have to do to enter is follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter and follow my giveaway rules except this one is open worldwide!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Luke's Beach Day--Book Review

 

 Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to a wonderful book that will be available to purchase on June 1st. Luke's Beach Day by Giselle Shardlow is a wonderful story about a class visiting the ocean in Australia. You can check out Giselle's blog at http://www.kidsyogastories.com/. The story follows a group of three students as they explore the sea and with each thing they see and do there is a yoga stretch to try. This was Hazel's first exposure to yoga. She has done stretches in both dance and gymnastic classes, but never had to hold the poses or even get in some of the positions. 

Since we have an advanced copy, we have it on the computer. Hazel was so excited to read a book on the computer again. Then we would try all the positions. I pulled my camera out for the first few, but realized Hazel would need more help than I expected to get her body to hold the positions. Here she is doing the sun salute.

There are several different levels to this book. It is a wonderful introduction to yoga. There are also issues of litter on the beach, teasing friends, treating animals, ocean safety, and of course since it takes place in Australia, the differences between an Australian beach to one in your own country (assuming you do not live in Australia). One of the yoga moves was the kangaroo hop. Hazel enjoyed this one, but the only picture I got is horrible of her. (I know some day she will be angry with me for posting it, but here it is.)

So on June 1st, look for this wonderful book. It will be available in both English and Spanish. Also stay tuned for possible giveaways.

Thank you, Giselle, for letting us preview this amazing book.