Step by step, Meyer and Jacobs offer a straightforward and age-appropriate mindfulness meditation practice.This title's greatest asset is its simplicity. Each page invites readers to notice the present moment without judging what is or changing it to something else. This is mindfulness. "Can you hear your breath? Can you feel it? What does it sound like?" The illustration is similarly simple, showing three people diverse in skin tone, gender, and age. They practice along with the text, and the imagery is demonstrative and uncluttered. Ample white space allows the illustration to breathe along with readers. The depiction of meditators at varying points across the life span provides a subtle reminder that mindfulness is a lifelong practice rather than a task to be accomplished or a goal to be achieved. A misstep is the suggestion of how one may feel at the end of meditation: "lighter, more relaxed, maybe a little calmer?" This creates an unnecessary expectation of what one "should" feel, which the rest of the text actively eschews. However, it is a small and forgivable gaffe in an otherwise well-crafted resource.A wonderful read-aloud meditation for the beginner—or the practitioner of beginner's mind—of any age. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10)

Step by step, Meyer and Jacobs offer a straightforward and age-appropriate mindfulness meditation practice.This title's greatest asset is its simplicity. Each page invites readers to notice the present moment without judging what is or changing it to something else. This is mindfulness. "Can you hear your breath? Can you feel it? What does it sound like?" The illustration is similarly simple, showing three people diverse in skin tone, gender, and age. They practice along with the text, and the imagery is demonstrative and uncluttered. Ample white space allows the illustration to breathe along with readers. The depiction of meditators at varying points across the life span provides a subtle reminder that mindfulness is a lifelong practice rather than a task to be accomplished or a goal to be achieved. A misstep is the suggestion of how one may feel at the end of meditation: "lighter, more relaxed, maybe a little calmer?" This creates an unnecessary expectation of what one "should" feel, which the rest of the text actively eschews. However, it is a small and forgivable gaffe in an otherwise well-crafted resource.A wonderful read-aloud meditation for the beginner—or the practitioner of beginner's mind—of any age. (author's note) (Picture book. 6-10)