20 Mindfulness Books To Help Kids Feel Calm & Focused
Mindfulness has been quite the buzzword lately, and for good reason. Studies have shown that practicing mindfulness can have positive benefits for children, such as increased self-control, decreased depression and anxiety, and even higher levels of academic achievement.
While this is wonderful news, there is just one problem - mindfulness can be confusing for kids. When things are confusing, or when kids don’t understand why something is important, they are less likely to do it, or at least to really buy into it. The truth is that if we want kids to reap the many benefits of mindfulness, we need to help them understand it.
Thankfully, there are so many wonderful authors who have done the heavy lifting for us - they have put together beautiful and well-written books that will help students better grasp this abstract concept. These 20 mindfulness books for kids will help your elementary students learn about what mindfulness is, and will help them practice it through deep breathing, yoga and other techniques.
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Picture Books That Explain Mindfulness
The Lemonade Hurricane by Licia Morelli
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Henry is wild. He likes to run and jump and drink lemonade, so his sister calls him the lemonade hurricane. She decides to try to help her brother calm down, because he’s more fun when he’s not a hurricane. She helps him learn mindfulness strategies like breathing and noticing his surroundings. This is a great book to help students see the tangible benefits of practicing mindfulness.
Puppy Mind by Andrew Jordan Nance
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Your “puppy mind” is a mind that wanders into the past or the future. Just as you can train a puppy, you can also train your mind! Readers will learn to train their mind to stay in the present through deep breathing exercises.
I Am Peace: A Book Of Mindfulness by Susan Verde
Recommended Grades: K to 4
When your thoughts start to wander, and you feel like they are carrying you away, there are things you can do! This book introduces mindfulness techniques such as positive self talk, grounding, and deep breathing to help readers feel in the present and at peace.
Mind Bubbles by Heather Krantz
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
In this book, students will learn that their thoughts and feelings are like bubbles in their minds and can sometimes feel overwhelming. Kids are encouraged to notice their “mind bubbles” but to focus on their breathing. This book gives the powerful reminder that our mind bubbles always pop - our thoughts and feelings come and go and aren’t forever.
What Does It Mean To Be Present? by Rana DiOrio
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
This book explains various ways to be present in the moment, such as listening, noticing, and observing. It gives tangible examples of how children (and adults!) can practice mindfulness every day.
Books To Help Kids Practice Mindfulness
Monster Meditation: Being Patient With Cookie Monster by Random House
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to K
Cookie Monster is having a hard time waiting for his cookies to finish baking. His friend, Mr. Andy, helps him play a game of "I Sense." During the game, Cookie Monster uses his 5 senses to notice what's around him, which helps him to be patient while he waits. This is a great way to introduce mindfulness to your young students and give them a tangible way to practice it. Plus, it's a great excuse to bring cookies to a lesson!
Moody Cow Meditates by Kerry Lee MacLean
Recommended Grades: K to 3
Peter has an awful day. Everything goes wrong and he gets so mad that everyone starts calling him “Moody Cow.” Peter’s grandpa comes over and helps him use mindfulness techniques to slow down and let go of his anger.
Listening To My Body by Gabi Garcia
Recommended Grades: 1 to 5
This book helps kids learn to pay attention to the feelings they are experiencing. It walks kids through different exercises that help them to notice the sensations in their bodies. It also helps kids understand different situations when this might be helpful and assists them in identifying other positive coping skills. The language is very kid-friendly and will help your students understand a concept that can feel complicated!
Wild Mindfulness by Laura Larson
Recommended Grades: 2 to 5
In this book, readers will follow along as the character goes camping and spends time in nature. They will learn what it looks like to be present in the moment, and there are mindful moments scattered throughout the book that readers can participate in. This is a great nature-themed book to help kids understand and explore mindfulness.
My Body Is A Rainbow by Mallika Chopra
Recommended Grades: 3 to 6
This book is the perfect mix of emotional awareness, mindfulness and positive self talk. There are small guided meditations on each page that describe a color, a feeling and a body part. Each section ends with a positive affirmation such as “I am safe.” This is a great book to help students with emotional regulation and to help them become more aware of their feelings and their bodies!
Kids Mindfulness Books Focused On Deep Breathing
Belly Breathe by Leslie Kimmelman
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to 1
In this book, kids will learn the deep breathing strategy of belly breathing. Kids will love to see the illustrations of the different animals and follow along as even the animals take belly breaths!
My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to 3
Readers are invited to use their “magic breath” to help calm their minds, and blow away their sadness and anger. This is a great book for helping kids learn about, and practice, deep breathing.
Too Many Bubbles by Christine Peck and Mags Deroma
Recommended Grades: K to 2
Izzy had a grumpy thought. Then, she had another one, and another one. She had so many that they got in the way of her doing the things she wanted to do. Finally, she had to go to a space where there was room for all of her thought bubbles, and breathe them away. This book illustrates how deep breathing can help us manage our uncomfortable thoughts and see things more clearly.
Breathing Makes It Better by Christopher Willard and Wendy O’Leary
Recommended Grades: K to 4
Use this book to encourage your students to use breathing as a strategy to cope with whatever feeling they are experiencing. The book goes through different emotions that we face, and encourages us to breathe through them as we wait for them to pass. It’s a great book for helping kids learn to notice their feelings, as well as practice deep breathing.
Alphabreaths by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen
Recommended Grades: K to 5
This book includes a breathing technique for each letter of the alphabet. The instructions for each technique are simple and easy to follow and are sure to give students a lot of great options for using this strategy. Plus, they are fun for the kids and easy to remember!
Yoga-Focused Mindfulness Books For Kids
Peppa Loves Yoga Adapted by Lauren Holowaty
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to K
Miss Rabbit visits Peppa Pig and her friend at playgroup to teach them about yoga. She explains that it is a great way to calm down when you are feeling stressed, and walks the friends through a few poses. This is a great introductory book for your little learners with the characters they know and love!
You Are A Lion! by Taeeun Yoo
Recommended Grades: Pre-K to 1
Students will practice various poses to represent different animals. The book simply explains different poses, and then likens them to a certain animal. Kids love to guess which animal the pose is describing. This is a great book for young learners who love animals.
Rachel’s Day In The Garden by Giselle Shardlow
Recommended Grades: K to 3
This fun book outlines Rachel’s day outside, encouraging students to use yoga poses to act out what Rachel is doing. This is the perfect book to use in the spring, as kids get to use poses to act out things such as caterpillars, bees, butterflies and flowers!
ABC Yoga by Christiene Engel
Recommended Grades: K to 4
In this yoga book, you’ll find animal themed poses for each letter of the alphabet. This is a great book to use when helping elementary kids practice yoga, or you can go through a few poses at a time to open or close your lessons with students!
The Happiest Tree by Uma Krishnaswami
Recommended Grades: 1 to 4
Meena is nervous about being a tree in her school play because she is afraid that she’ll do something clumsy to mess it up. When she joins a yoga class, she struggles because she is clumsy there too. However, as the classes continue, she learns to control her body. On the night of the play, things don’t go quite as planned. However, Meena discovers that she can use the strategies she learned in her yoga class to be a happy and confident tree.
These mindfulness books for kids are a simple way to make your social emotional learning and school counseling lessons more impactful. They are sure to help your students learn what mindfulness is and help them practice different mindfulness strategies. Looking for activities to use alongside the books? Check these out!
