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Zen and Chan | Tibetan Buddhism | More in Buddhism
Yoga | Kids Books
We are very happy to share with you a look back at our 2023 books for kids
Weather Any Storm
By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, illustrated by Paddy Donnelly
A playful rhyming meditation story to help kids ages 4-8 be the captain of their own ship and navigate emotional highs and lows.
Learn to breathe through storms of emotions in this nautical meditation adventure.
Whether you’re grouchy or grumpy, gloomy or grey,
the Wildering Billies cannot get their way.
They yell and they shout and they cry and they weep
but your breath holds you steady way down in the deep.
When sailing through the open seas of life, the waters are not always calm. From out of nowhere waves of stress, worry, and anxiety known as Wildering Billies can rock our boat. Step by step, this story shows us how to calm the dreaded and colorful Wildering Billies, and send them on their way. By imagining yourself as a ship, anchored by your breath, you can learn to ride through the storms of life to smoother waters.
Inspired by Zuisei’s years of Zen practice and working with kids, she has created this delightful introduction to the world of meditation. The book ends with a helpful recap of concrete steps such as stop, imagine, breathe, and anchor, so kids can remember how to tame the Billies whenever emotions are overwhelming.
Don't Kill the Bugs
By Berthe Jansen, illustrated by Victoria Coles
Follow Bu and his new friends through the park as they encounter creatures who crawl and buzz all around us—bugs! From spiders and ladybugs to bees and beetles, this lively story shows kids that every living creature deserves our kindness and compassion and that we can all be everyday heroes.
For ages 3–7.
Share Your Love
By Susan B. Katz, illustrated by Jennie Poh
A playful, rhyming book for kids ages 3-7 on how to send loving, kind thoughts to yourself and others to make the world a better place.
Keep sharing your love
from morning till night.
See the change you can make
with a love that shines bright.
Worried or sad, grateful or glad, you can send good wishes to yourself, others, and the whole world with your thoughts! Just repeat these simple phrases: “May you be protected and safe. May you feel happy and pleased. May your body be healthy, and may you live with ease.”
This book teaches young readers that even from far away, you can wish others happiness, good health, peace, and safety. Starting with the individual child and extending outward to the whole universe, the rhyming couplets and beautiful art carry the reader through the thoughtful process of extending love and kindness to yourself and all those around you. The book makes a great daily ritual to increase lovingkindness, and if a child is having a rough time or witnessing outside struggles, they can use the repeated phrases in the book to find peace and calm.
Mai and the Missing Melon
By Sonoko Sakai, illustrated by Keiko Brodeur
An exploration of Japanese food, culture, and history that celebrates the special relationship between a child, her grandmother, and the power of kindness, for kids 3-7, by the author of Japanese Home Cooking, Sonoko Sakai.
This charming story invites the reader on a journey through rural 1960s Japan following a little girl named Mai on the Enoden train, past the oceanside populated with fishers, and to the classic shrine-like home of her grandmother, or obachama.
Loosely based on an event in Sonoko’s childhood, Mai wishes to share the gift of a sweet muskmelon with her grandmother but loses it on the train along the way. Obachama shares the Japanese folktale of The Stone Buddhas as an example of the power of good intentions to cheer Mai up.
After the story, Mai hears from the train station master that the melon has been found, and she and her obachama are able to enjoy the sweet muskmelon together.
This sweet story explores the cherished relationship between a young girl and her grandmother–two great friends despite the age gap–while the expressive art takes the reader through the Japanese countryside, past the sea, bamboo forests, and temples, drawn from the author’s own childhood memories.
Hardcover | Ebook
$21.95 - Hardcover
The Magical Life of the Lotus-Born
By Sherab Kohn
Explore a fresh telling of the inspiring, mysterious, and magical life of the great master Padmasambhava—the Lotus-Born—who planted the seed of Buddhism in Tibet that is still blossoming today, beautifully illustrated for ages 10+.
The Lotus-Born is one of the most iconic and important figures in Tibetan history. Here, his magical life story is outlined in colorful and captivating detail, offering young readers a rare glimpse into his fierce adventures and battles that transformed Tibet, a land of malevolent spirits and wild folk, into a fertile ground for Buddhism. The rich and vibrant spiritual tradition that resulted in Tibet has thrived for over one thousand years. This timeless tale is sure to capture the imagination of future generations, just as the oral, theatrical, and written accounts of it have in the Himalayas for centuries.
Paperback | Ebook
$18.95 - Paperback
Zen-inspired activities and stories to help kids learn about patience, kindness, honesty, sharing, and forgiveness.
Have you ever heard the word Zen? It’s what happens when you sit quietly, noticing your breath and what it feels like to just be alive. Zen is a way of closely looking at our life and the world around us so that we can share love and compassion with everyone and everything!
Each chapter has a new story to explore, with themed discussion questions, meditations, journal prompts, and hands-on projects.
Make Zen a part of your everyday life with this fun and friendly guide!
How Do You Know What You Know?
By Noa Jones
A charming and inquisitive story that celebrates tracing the origin of ideas, language, and every day objects, for children 4–8.
Where does snow come from? What language did the word thermos come from? And who was the Buddha's teacher?
So many problems in the world come from accepting information at face value without looking into where it comes from. How Do You Know What You Know? follows a child and their father on a cozy, snowy day outing. The child asks questions about how things came to be the way they are. The questions range from how the father knows how to tie a shoe to why it’s not a good idea to eat yellow snow. These queries are met by the father with patience and humor that weave a delightful narrative of intergenerational knowledge sharing. In this exchange, respectful inquiry is beautifully modeled for young learners.
The journey includes an amble in the park, a trip to the library, a bus ride, and a visit to a local Buddhist temple where the father is a student. The teacher there introduces the child to the idea of lineage, that wisdom and understanding comes from generations of knowledge passed down from person to person. With a quaint and welcoming simplicity, the illustrations bring this beautiful story to life, and every spread has a subtle nod to the progression of how things come to be the way they are. The story encourages children’s natural curiosity and shows them that everywhere they look there is a story to be told if we just ask.
The Life of a Crayon: A Colorful Story of Never-Ending Beginnings
By Christopher Willard and Tara Wosiski, illustrated by Holly Clifton-Brown
When Green arrives in a crayon box as a present to a little girl, he has no idea of the impact he will have on her life in small but profound and meaningful ways.
The Life of a Crayon is a colorful story (ages 4–8) about a girl and her crayon who grow up together and draw the world around them. When a little girl receives a box of crayons for her birthday, Green becomes her favorite.
Over the years, as the girl creates art and projects and greeting cards, Green learns new skills and important lessons alongside her. Perhaps most importantly, Green fills her—and others’—worlds with color and the emotions it evokes, and in doing so leaves a legacy that is vast and meaningful.
The story can just be an engaging and thought-provoking adventure on its own, or it can help kids and families cope with change, the challenges of growing up, and even loss as this book touches on themes like life cycles, impermanence, and connection.
It's OK: Being Kind to Yourself When Things Feel Hard
By Wendy O'Leary, illustrated by Sandra Eide
Afterword by Christopher Germer
This sweet book teaches children 3–7 the simple and profound power of self-compassion through simple affirmations that can be repeated when things are hard.
All too often kids get down on themselves when they experience things that make them sad, angry, guilty, or jealous. It’s amazing how powerful it can be to move past a difficult emotion when we think about all the other people feeling that same way and show ourselves some much need kindness.
Sometimes I have to do something I don’t want to do.
I feel really angry. . . .
Then I remember that everyone feels angry sometimes.
I put my hand on my heart, and here’s what I say:
“It’s OK—I love you. I’m with you today.”
The main story is followed by 10 exercises focused on ways to develop self-compassion, such as Kind Voice, Kind Body, Kind Touch, and Hugging Breath.
Paperback | Ebook
$16.95 - Paperback
Feeling All the Feelings Workbook: A Kids’ Guide to Exploring Emotions
By Brad Petersen
Illustrated by Betsy Petersen
2023 NAPPA Award winner
Feeling happy, sad, brave, or frustrated? Whatever you're feeling, this book is here to help!
Feel all your feelings and better understand them with activities and ideas to help you grow. The more you know about feelings, the more feelings you can feel—and the more you can help yourself and others on your journey through life.
Organized by types of feelings, this book includes activities, illustrations, journal ideas, and hands-on projects.
Make feelings an important part of each day with this amazing activity book!
Hardcover | Ebook
$17.95 - Hardcover
Goodnight Love: A Bedtime Meditation Story
By Sumi Loundon Kim
Illustrated by Laura Watkins
"Every night the moon rises, the stars come out, and we get ready for bed. We snuggle together, and before we sleep, we send our love into the world . . ."
Children will sleep as soundly as sloths after breathing along with this big-hearted meditation that embraces the ritual of bedtime and connects to their capacity for kindness.
Card Deck
$19.95 - MixedMedia
The Get Movin’ Activity Deck for Kids: 48 Creative Movement Ideas for Little Bodies
By Jennifer D. Hutton
Illustrated by Addy Rivera Sonda
2023 National Parenting Product Award Winner
Mom’s Choice Awards® Gold Recipient
Let’s get movin’!
Jump over lava, zoom like a racecar driver, and balance like a flamingo with this inclusive activity deck that inspires kids’ big imaginations and gets their little bodies moving. These 48 cards—for all levels of ability—celebrate movement diversity and explore fun categories of creative movement including:
- Breath
- Stretch, Mobility, and Stability
- Balance and Coordination
- Strength and Endurance
- and Wacky Fun “Wild Cards”
Hardcover | Ebook
$18.95 - Hardcover
I Am an Antiracist Superhero: With Activities to Help You Be One Too!
By Jennifer Nicole Bacon
Illustrated by Letícia Moreno
This empowering story inspires kids from all backgrounds to Look, Listen, Feel, and Act like antiracist superheroes, even in times of adversity (ages 5–9).
This book tells the story of 6-year-old Malik, who after learning about racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, decides to change the world by becoming an antiracist superhero. With the help of his parents, and inspiration from historical figures like Rosa Parks and James Baldwin, Malik learns that even when he feels scared, he can still be a superhero by Looking, Listening, Feeling, and Acting!
Join Malik and his friends as they help other children feel safe, included, and empowered. Inviting children from all backgrounds to become superheroes, this touching story provides inspiration for children when faced with adversity.
The book also includes a practical section including a glossary of of relevant terms, as well as hands-on guided activities and practices (like creating a vision board and drawing their superpowers) that kids can do so that they can change the world around them by Looking, Listening, Feeling, and Acting like an antiracist superhero too!