What is mindfulness and how can it benefit children? Well, many of the practices we associate with mental and emotional health tie into mindfulness. From understanding our emotions to breathing exercises and positive affirmations, there are so many strategies to try!
Reading mindfulness books with kids can provide relatable examples for them to incorporate into their daily life when emotions or situations get overwhelming. We're never too young to improve ourselves, so grab a few of our mindfulness book recommendations and get reading together!
1. What Does It Mean to Be Present?
Award-winning author Rana Diorio and illustrator Eliza Wheeler teach us just what being present looks like. With concrete examples that kids can try in their own lives and beautiful illustrations, this book is a great mindfulness resource.
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2. Puppy Mind
Is your child's mind bouncing from one thing to the next like an excited puppy? Instead of getting mad, help them learn how to train their mind to be in the present moment. Jim Durk illustrates this concept with adorable puppy illustrations, and Andrew Jordan Nance gives poignant advice regarding our attention spans.
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3. My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing
Did you know you have magic breath? If you inhale through your nose reeaalllyy deeply, then exhale out your mouth slowly, you will feel better...like magic! Alison Taylor and Nick Ortner give us this interactive reading and breathing experience kids can use whenever they feel overwhelmed.
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4. Peaceful Piggy Meditation
Double threat Kerry Lee MacLean writes and illustrates multiple books covering different mindfulness practices through the adorable perspective of a piggy. This book is an introduction to mindfulness meditation, showing kids how to be still and clear their minds.
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5. Moody Cow Meditates
Peter is a regular cow having a terrible day. It's one thing after another, and soon he finds himself frustrated and angry, which only makes his classmates make fun of him! When the moody cow gets home, his grandpa helps him learn how to breathe deeply and clear his mind, and slowly the negative emotions melt away.
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6. Meditation Is an Open Sky
This lovely book helps meditation feel simple, because it is! With cute animal friends guiding you along the way, each page brings your kids closer to a peaceful mind.
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7. I Am Peace: A Book of Mindfulness
Susan Verde follows up her other bestselling books for kids, with this one focusing on managing emotions, being present, and finding balance and empathy when life gets hard.
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8. I Can Do Hard Things: Mindful Affirmations for Kids
The perfect picture book to read at home or in the classroom. Positive self-talk is a huge part of becoming a more mindful person, and kids that learn to do this at a young age will understand and be able to practice empathy towards others more easily.
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9. Mindful Games Activity Cards: 55 Fun Ways to Share Mindfulness with Kids
Similar to a deck of cards, and plays like a fun game your kids will get excited about! Susan Kaiser Greenland goes above and beyond to make mindfulness learning fun and engaging for kids.
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10. ABC for Me: ABC Mindful Me
Part of a colorful series by Christiane Engel that uses the alphabet and animals to demonstrate the various mindfulness activities kids can try when they are feeling helpless.
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11. ABC for Me: ABC Yoga
A is for armadillo, B is for butterfly, and C is for a colorful easy-to-follow ABC yoga book that your kids will love reading and trying together. Each pose is described in a fun rhythmic verse accompanied with images and instructions for how to do it!
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12. Breathe Like a Bear
A beautiful picture book filled with 30 different mindfulness practices, such as breathing, yoga, self-talk, and acknowledging emotions prompts.
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13. The Breathing Book
Christopher Willard gives kids a variety of exercises to manage difficult feelings, including practices for becoming more aware and grounded in the present moment. Kids can read along with this interactive book as it takes them on a journey through the sounds, smells, and sensations all around them.
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14. Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing
Another simple book tailored for kids using skills and knowledge they are presently learning, is the alphabet! Follow along with the creative illustrations by Daniel Rechtschaffen to visualize what breathing into your heart feels like, and exhaling as you smile.
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15. Here and Now
E.B. Goodale and Julia Denos created a book for children who struggle to manage their social and emotional anxieties. Teaching kids techniques to acknowledge and overcome difficult emotions will give them tools to stay present in everyday life.
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16. Mindfulness is Your Superpower
Being mindful doesn't mean escaping from reality, it means embracing challenges as they come and knowing how to manage our emotions in various situations. This empowering book provides sample scenarios to give kids concrete methods for dealing with life in a healthy and self-aware way!
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17. Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story
Incorporating two amazing concepts, this delightful book demonstrates bedtime yoga practice for calm minds, partnered with facts and images about how the natural world gets ready to sleep.
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18. Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Wake-Up Story
Mornings can be hard, especially when kids have so many emotions and things to do/learn all day! Some yoga and breathing is the best way to combat anxious feelings and prepare yourself to have the best day.
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19. Happy: A Beginner's Book of Mindfulness
This is a great read aloud book that gives an introduction to mindfulness through emotional awareness prompts and a focus on the senses.
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20. Mindfulness Makes Me Stronger
When we can control our minds, it opens us up to so many wonderful feelings and experiences. Mindfulness for kids looks like deep breaths, being able to name their emotions and understand where they came from, and being active in the present; which can greatly improve their attention skills.
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21. Positive Ninja
Your kids will love these funny books with comic-like characters learning how to understand and manage their emotions. This ninja wants to stop experiencing life with a negative outlook, and decides to harness the amazing power of positive thinking!
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22. Mindfulness Activities for Kids with ADHD
Every child faces their own struggles when it comes to being mindful. Some strategies work differently depending on our strengths and weaknesses. There are three different stories in this book that follow cute forest animals as they discover what makes them unique, and how they can manage their quirks with breathing, movement, and acceptance.
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23. Listening to My Body
We teach mindfulness to kids for many reasons. Such as, how to deal with overwhelming emotions. This wonderful picture book has mindfulness-based practices that focus on fostering an awareness of emotions without judgment.
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24. Find Your Calm
Anxiety and other challenging feelings can be difficult for children to manage when they don't know what's going on. Children in school may face troubling situations, and it can help them to know how to cope with stress, sadness, or fear. This child-friendly resource is a comprehensive guide to help them find their calm.
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25. Be a Tree!
What do you think of when you see a tree: Strong, calm, supported? From roots to branches and biiiiiig brown trunks, trees are an amazing example of being mindful of the present moment. This enchanting story will make your kids want to go out and play in nature, which is a great first step to mindfulness!
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26. Right Now I Am Fine
From stress to anger, and everything in between, this mindfulness book makes anxiety feel manageable, with coping strategies and breathing practices that your kids can try with you or on their own.
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27. Mindful Me: I Am Calm
A board book that is anything but boring! Turn to any page and try a fun activity or positive affirmation with your kids to make mindfulness active and engaging!
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28. The Emotions Book: A Little Story About Big Emotions
Louie is our adorable elephant guide to learning how to manage difficult emotions when they feel too overwhelming. There are many things in life we cannot control. Sometimes we get hurt, or we can't do something we wanted to, but this doesn't mean we have to react compulsively. Follow along and try some practical coping strategies with Louie!
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29. Ruby Finds a Worry
What can we do when worry creeps into our minds? Ruby can feel a little worry starting to take over her thoughts, but through talking with a friend she realizes that everyone has worry, and talking about it makes it seem less scary.
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30. A Handful of Quiet: Happiness in Four Pebbles
Nature is an amazing guide in the practices of mindfulness. This amazing book for kids shares the wonders of pebble meditation and how connecting with nature can help us slow down our thoughts, and better understand our emotions and reactions to life.
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