Calm Monsters, Kind Monsters: A Sesame Street Guide to Mindfulness

by Karen Latchana Kenney

Overview

Breathing, positive self talk, and calming down—mindfulness includes all this and more. Sesame Street characters present big emotions readers have likely faced alongside simple solutions like belly breathing to help kids cope with what they're feeling.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728413754
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	445,493
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Karen Latchana Kenney was born near the rainforests of Guyana, but moved far north to Minnesota at a young age. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in English and has been writing and editing since. She has worked as an editor at an educational publishing company, but is now a full-time freelance writer and editor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has written more than 70 books on all kinds of subjects: from arts and crafts to biographies of famous people. Her books have received positive reviews from Booklist, Library Media Connection, and School Library Journal. When she's not busy writing, she loves biking and hiking with her husband and young son in the many beautiful parks of the state. Visit her online at http://latchanakenney.wordpress.com/.

Editorial Reviews

"Kenney provides a simple, friendly introduction to the practice of mindfulness. The opening editors' note promises to show 'easy ways to grow calmer, kinder, and more mindful,' which is far more likely to resonate with adults than young children. However, preschoolers will easily identify with the brief, two-part scenarios demonstrating these ideas. Familiar Sesame Street characters and children engage with troublesome feelings of frustration, sadness, loneliness, embarrassment, and worry. For instance, Telly Monster 'is worried about the first day of music class.' First, he breathes, and then 'he focuses all of his attention on a fun triangle.' Once the spotlighted character responds to the dilemma, readers are invited to be mindful. 'You try! Look at something you really like. Breathe slowly and focus on that one thing.' Photos depict children who follow the instructions; the images include youngsters and adults who are BIPOC. Adults will find that this useful compendium offers realistic situations and simple advice for talking with children about feelings. Those conversations and the suggested approaches might not spur quick change in kids who are prone to tantrums or other behavior issues. The text seems to imply they are the monsters: 'Being a mindful monster is easy. And mindful monsters are happy monsters.' The book ends with advice to 'stop and smell the flowers.' A short glossary, a bibliography, and an invitation to download a free Sesame Street app on breathing and thinking are included. VERDICT Platitudes abound in this title, but the text is carefully constructed, appealing, and practical."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

11/01/2020

K-Gr 2—Kenney provides a simple, friendly introduction to the practice of mindfulness. The opening editors' note promises to show "easy ways to grow calmer, kinder, and more mindful," which is far more likely to resonate with adults than young children. However, preschoolers will easily identify with the brief, two-part scenarios demonstrating these ideas. Familiar Sesame Street characters and children engage with troublesome feelings of frustration, sadness, loneliness, embarrassment, and worry. For instance, Telly Monster "is worried about the first day of music class." First, he breathes, and then "he focuses all of his attention on a fun triangle." Once the spotlighted character responds to the dilemma, readers are invited to be mindful. "You try! Look at something you really like. Breathe slowly and focus on that one thing." Photos depict children who follow the instructions; the images include youngsters and adults who are BIPOC. Adults will find that this useful compendium offers realistic situations and simple advice for talking with children about feelings. Those conversations and the suggested approaches might not spur quick change in kids who are prone to tantrums or other behavior issues. The text seems to imply they are the monsters: "Being a mindful monster is easy. And mindful monsters are happy monsters." The book ends with advice to "stop and smell the flowers." A short glossary, a bibliography, and an invitation to download a free Sesame Street app on breathing and thinking are included. VERDICT Platitudes abound in this title, but the text is carefully constructed, appealing, and practical.—Margaret Bush, Simmons Coll., Boston

School Library Journal

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