Picture Books about Mindfulness
Today I wanted to share some of my favorite books about mindfulness to pair with my lessons and activities.
Mindfulness is such an important strategy for us to teach our students, but it’s equally important that we practice it ourselves.
Mindfulness means the ability to connect with our body and be aware of sensations and feelings. It’s often tied to learning to breathe to manage our big feelings…especially anxiety. Helping our students be mindful of their body and emotions will help them regulate during times of stress and frustration.
Each of these books can probably be found at your local library or read-aloud on Youtube. However, if you’d like your own copy, I’ve linked them all on Amazon.
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My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner is one of the first mindfulness books I found. This book specifically focuses on helping kids notice their breathe, and use their breathe to calm anxiety and other big feelings.
Happy by Nicola Edwards is a fairly new picture book, but it’s definitely one to add to your collection! My favorite page says “Even the darkest storm passes. The sun can’t shine bright every day. We can sit with our feelings and notice how they roll through us, then blow away.”
Alphabreaths by Psy. D. Christopher Willard is a fun alphabet book! Each letter has a different type of breathing exercise for students to try. A great book to add to your collection!
I Am Peace by Susan Verde. This book is illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds…one of my favorites! All of their social emotional books are so beautifully written and illustrated.
Puppy Mind by Andrew Jordan Nance is the very first book I ever found for kids on mindfulness. It will always hold a special place in my heart, because of that. In this book, the narrator’s mind is like a puppy…always running around. They learn to keep their “puppy mind” calm by remembering tro breathe and focus on the present.
Breathe With Me by Mariam Gates is another great book to add to your list. In this book, your students will learn various breathing techniques, like counting breath, dandelion breath, and balloon breath.
Listening to My Body by Gabi Garcia is a great book to help students label and manage their big emotions. It helps students tune into how their body feels during challenging moments, and listen to what their bodies are telling them.
The Lion in Me was also written by Andrew Jordan Nance, who wrote Puppy Mind. This books teaches students to handle their anger, and other big feelings, with breathing.
What other books would you add to this list?
