The Gift of the Broken Teacup: Poems of Mindfulness, Meditation, and Me

by Allan Wolf, Jade Orlando (Illustrator)

Overview

Warm, witty poems by the acclaimed Allan Wolf bring mindfulness to the younger set—one simple, nurturing practice at a time.

An om is a poem
without any words.
It acts as a voice
so the heart can be heard.

Have you ever let your thoughts just float into the sky? Why is today the very best day of the year? And what does a broken teacup have to do with anything? In fresh, accessible poems about mindfulness and related themes, award-winning poet Allan Wolf takes on subjects from kindness to confidence, from finding peace in nature to letting your own joyful “YAWP!” be heard (thank you, Walt Whitman). Woven throughout are subtle how-to’s on meditation, breathwork, visualization, yoga, journaling, and more, as well as taking in others’ points of view, letting go of anger, and other invaluable elements of social-emotional learning. “Accept the way you feel, and turn / your worry into wonder,” says the poet. This charming collection, animated by Jade Orlando’s bright illustrations, offers the tools and the inspiration to make that happen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536249163
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/01/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	21 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

Allan Wolf is the author of many award-winning books for children and teens, including How to Tantrum Like a Champion, The Blanket Where Violet Sits, Behold Our Magical Garden, No Buddy Like a Book, The Day the Universe Exploded My Head, and The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts. He lives in Roanoke, Virginia.

Jade Orlando’s colorful illustrations are featured in books, apparel, advertising, and licensing, with clients including Hallmark and the ACLU. She lives in the ’burbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, three cats, and a greyhound named Petra.

Allan Wolf is an educator-writer-musician extraordinaire. He has literally hundreds of poems committed to memory. He is a veteran traveler through all the diverse worlds of poetry—from poetry slams to public schools, salons to saloons. He turns classic poetry into acoustic tunes as the drummer for The Dead Poets band. He put the Oh! in poetry as the educational director for national touring company Poetry Alive! Allan Wolf knows poems.

This expertise was exhibited in Allan Wolf’s first book with Candlewick Press, The Blood-Hungry Spleen and Other Poems About Our Parts. A collection of wacky—and anatomically correct—poems about body parts, The Blood-Hungry Spleen is transforming science classes across the country. Before starting the book, Allan Wolf drew on inspiration from his stint as Poet in Residence at a school in Seoul, Korea. “A sixth-grade life science class had displayed their poems about anatomy on a life-size chart of the human body,” explains the author. “There was a poem about the intestines on the intestines. A poem about the brain was written on the brain.” Since then, he says, “the human body has proved to be an infinite universe of poetic inspiration.”

Allan Wolf’s New Found Land: Lewis and Clark’s Voyage of Discovery, also reveals the writer’s poetic roots. The exhilarating tale of Lewis and Clark’s journey is written in poetic form: a medley of lyrical and powerful voices from the surprisingly diverse crew. “During the four years it took to research and write New Found Land, my head was constantly crowded with the novel’s fourteen voices,” Allan Wolf says. “They talked to me as I made breakfast, as I dressed the baby, as I delivered newspapers, and as I brushed my teeth. They talked and talked. Alone in my car I began to talk back. And together all fifteen of us worked out the details of the story. Happily, my head is now quiet, the voices having moved to their permanent home within this book.”

More recently, Allan wrote Zane’s Trace, a coming-of-age road story with a supernatural twist, and The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic, featuring twenty-four haunting voices of the Titanic tragedy, including the iceberg itself, evoked in a stunning tour de force.

Allan Wolf lives in Roanoke, VA with his wife and three children.

Editorial Reviews

In three sections of roughly equal length, oft-rhyming verse scans impeccably, the better to convey messages of perseverance and self-acceptance. . . . Orlando’s pictures beautifully complement Wolf’s poems, with plenty of animals, playful perspectives, and thoughtfully diverse depictions of children. A terrific exposition of mindfulness, perfectly distilled for curious kids.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Through prose and rhythm, these 30 poems explore profound yet accessible themes, such as integrity, perseverance, empathy, and appreciation for life’s small wonders. . . The Gift of the Broken Teacup is a treasure trove of mindfulness where readers can find inspiration and cultivate peace within their lives.
—Booklist

Recommended for elementary collections where mindfulness-based stress reduction and social-emotional learning through yoga and meditation are popular.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2025-04-19
The virtuosic Wolf delivers 30 poems exploring self-actualization.

In three sections of roughly equal length, oft-rhyming verse scans impeccably, the better to convey messages of perseverance and self-acceptance. The first section, “Mindfulness,” ranges the widest, delving into concepts such as integrity and kindness. A young taekwondo student narrates “I’ll Be Back Tomorrow”: “My belt slips down around my knees. / I keep forgetting moves I know! / I’m sore and sort of ill at ease. / I’ll still be back tomorrow, though!” Several entries begin with a quote or definition. “Inconsequential” sensitively lists examples that belie its dictionary definition, encouraging readers to consider the world through others’ eyes. “A breeze inconsequential / keeps a bird aloft in flight. / A cry inconsequential / wakes a mother up at night.” The “Meditation” section introduces practical steps (“Close eyes. / Soft sighs. / Sit tall. / That’s all”) and offers poems about meditating while standing and walking. “The Om Poem” is a delightful introduction to the use of the word: “Anom is a poem / without any words. / It acts as a voice / so the heart can be heard.” The “Me” section examines emotional intelligence and the importance of being present, with several entries lauding writing and journal-keeping as tools for self-discovery. Orlando’s pictures beautifully complement Wolf’s poems, with plenty of animals, playful perspectives, and thoughtfully diverse depictions of children.

A terrific exposition of mindfulness, perfectly distilled for curious kids.(Picture book/poetry. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews