Little Kids, Big Emotions: Calm

This series is growing by leaps and bounds and I’m excited to share all the amazing emotions I’ve covered so far – happy, sad, mad, shy, enthusiasm, frustrated, silly! Today’s book list focuses on being calm, mindful, and present. So many kids and adults are managing anxiety and stress and not always in the healthiest ways. Like all emotions, let’s teach kids how to manage feelings of anxiety and worry by teaching the opposite – calmness.

Giving kids the tools to learn how to practice mindful breathing, how to be present in the moment, and how to feel peace is no easy feat, but one that I think is so important. What if kids learn how to manage feelings of overwhelm or anger by tuning into the world around them, rather than reaching for yelling or hitting? I think we could create a generation that is more empathetic, calm, and comfortable with their feelings.

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Little Kids, Big Emotions: Calm

Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown

In Alphabreaths, children learn their ABCs along with the basics of mindfulness through fun exercises and illustrations they’ll want to come back to again and again. Each letter of the alphabet teaches a simple mindfulness or compassion-based practice to help kids focus their thoughts, hold positive feelings for others, express gratitude, and more. It’s as easy as ABC!

Kids will open their arms wide like jaws on Alligator Breath, take a big breath and sing “Laaa” on Voice Breath, and imagine blowing out birthday candles on Cake Breath. With Heart Breath and Wish Breath, they will remember to fill their heart with gratitude and send good wishes to others.

Breathe by Scott Magoon

This simply told story follows a young whale on a journey of discovery as he experiences his first day at sea on his own! He swims, explores, and makes friends in his marine habitat. After a day of independence, this little whale delights in returning home to his mother. Young readers will be drawn to Scott Magoon’s reassuring story of adventure.

Breathe Like a Bear by Kira Willey, illustrated by Anni Betts

Breathe Like a Bear is a beautifully illustrated collection of mindfulness exercises designed to teach kids techniques for managing their bodies, breath, and emotions. Best of all, these 30 simple, short breathing practices and movements can be performed anytime, anywhere: in the car to the grocery store, during heavy homework nights at home, or even at a child’s desk at school.

A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles by Thich Nhat Hanh

Developed by Thich Nhat Hanh as part of the Plum Village community’s practice with children, pebble meditation is a playful, fun activity that kids can complete on their own or do with an adult. Designed for kids ages 4-9, it involves children in a hands-on, creativity way that touches on their interconnection with nature and introduces them to the benefits of meditation. Practicing pebble meditation can help relieve stress, increase concentration, nourish gratitude, and can help children deal with difficult emotions.

Happy by Nicola Edwards, illustrated by Katie Hickey

This poetically-written introduction to mindfulness touches upon the most important aspects of life–feeling, discovering, smelling, listening, and all the things that bring the world to life. With every soothing read and practice, children are better equipped to understand and control their own emotions…and discover an appreciation for the beautiful world around them.

Here and Now by Julia Denos, illustrated by E. B. Goodale

You may be reading a book. But somewhere, a phone is ringing, a baby is growing, and the earth is spinning in space. Even you are changing and growing in remarkable ways.

I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness by Susan Verde, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

Mindfulness means being fully in the present moment. Children can learn how to manage their emotions, make good choices, and balance their busy lives by learning to be mindful, express emotions through speech, find empathy through imagination, and wonder at the beauty of the natural world.

Journey by Aaron Becker

A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it escapes into a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. Red marker in hand, she creates a boat, a balloon, and a flying carpet that carry her on a spectacular journey toward an uncertain destiny. When she is captured by a sinister emperor, only an act of tremendous courage and kindness can set her free. Can it also lead her home and to her heart’s desire? With supple line, luminous color, and nimble flights of fancy, author-illustrator Aaron Becker launches an ordinary child on an extraordinary journey toward her greatest and most exciting adventure of all.

Now by Antoinette Portis

This is my favorite cloud. . .because it’s the one I am watching.
This is my favorite tree. . .because it’s the one where I’m swinging.
This is my favorite tooth. . .because it’s the one that is missing.

Follow a little girl as she takes you on a tour through all of her favorite things, from the holes she digs to the hugs she gives in Now, a clever and poignant picture book by award-winning artist Antoinette Portis.

Quiet by Tomie dePaola

Everything is in such a hurry, busy as busy can be.
The birds are flying so fast, the dragonfly is zooming over the water—even the trees are waving their leaves.

So what if we sit here, you next to me…and we can just be?

Sometimes All I Need Is Me by Juliana Perdomo

I love listening to music, especially samba!
It feels like my heart follows the beat.

Meet a young girl who loves her cozy home. It smells like cinnamon tea and feels like warm pajamas. But even when she’s away from home, and everything is different, she finds a way to become her own home, where she feels calm. At night, when it’s too dark and her feet are cold, her room can be a little scary. But she creates her own light when she closes her eyes and thinks of the sun.

Ten Ways To Hear Snow by Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak

One winter morning, Lina wakes up to silence. It’s the sound of snow — the kind that looks soft and glows bright in the winter sun. But as she walks to her grandmother’s house to help make the family recipe for warak enab, she continues to listen.

As Lina walks past snowmen and across icy sidewalks, she discovers ten ways to pay attention to what might have otherwise gone unnoticed. With stunning illustrations by Kenard Pak and thoughtful representation of a modern Arab American family from Cathy Camper, Ten Ways to Hear Snow is a layered exploration of mindfulness, empathy, and what we realize when the world gets quiet.