The Lion in Me

by Andrew Jordan Nance, Jim Durk (Illustrator)

Overview

"When I feel anger start to roar, I take a deep breath and count to four..."

In the latest picture book from educator Andrew Nance, author of the bestselling Puppy Mind, a young boy learns to calm his ferocious anger. Using deep breaths, the lion inside—his growling anger—can be tamed. Written in a rhyming style that will be fun for the whole family, this is the perfect book to introduce basic mindfulness practices for emotional regulation to children. 

With illustrations by Jim Durk, whose work includes Puppy Mind and many of the Clifford the Big Red Dog and Thomas the Steam Engine books.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781946764423
Publisher:	Parallax Press
Publication date:	09/17/2019
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	32 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Andrew Jordan Nance, the author of Puppy Mind, The Lion in Me, and Mindful Arts in the Classroom, has been an educator since 1991. He is the founder of Mindful Arts San Francisco, whose mission is to provide volunteer mindful educators to teach at underserved San Francisco Schools. Nance is also an award-winning actor and director. For almost thirty years he taught performing arts to students from diverse backgrounds, and for eighteen years he was the Conservatory Director at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center. Andrew Jordan Nance lives in San Francisco.

Jim Durk has over thirty years of experience working on children's books. He's drawn iconic characters including Clifford the Big Red Dog, Thomas the Tank Engine, The Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, and many more. He received a BFA from Ohio University in 1983 and currently lives in Bay Village, Ohio.

Read an Excerpt

I have a lion in me!
But it’s not a lion I can see.
It starts in my stomach first,
it feels like I might burst!

When the lion starts to growl,                     
I want to give the biggest howl.
My fists start to clench and knot,
and my face gets really hot!

My body starts to tighten and tense,
and I lose all my common sense.
My heart starts to beat really fast,
I never know how long it will last.

When the lion takes over my mind,
I see red and am no longer kind.
I want to scratch things with my claws,
I want to tear things with my jaws.

I wish I knew the lion’s name,
so I could grab it by its mane.
The lion can get so very wild,
acting like the meanest child!

I know when the lion rears its head:
when my family wants me out of bed.
Another time the lion gets in a huff?
If someone tries to take my stuff!

I think I know the lion’s name,
​​it’s ANGER that I have to tame.
When ANGER starts to growl and rage,
I try to breathe and say, “behave!”

When I feel ANGER start to roar,
I take a deep breath and count to four.
ANGER can calm down that way,
getting tamer every day.

Some other tricks when ANGER shows its face:
I read my favorite book in a special place,
or speak to an adult or take a walk,
which can make it easier to talk.

If I notice ANGER starting to attack,
I stop, I breathe, and it shrinks back.
ANGER just passes right through me.
I can tame it by naming it, and I feel free.

Editorial Reviews

"This charming and contemporary story about the transformation of anger to sweetness is appropriate for everyone between three and 103 years old. Its message is ageless."
—Sylvia Boorstein, Co-founding teacher Spirit Rock Meditation Center and author of Happiness is an Inside Job

"The Lion in Me celebrates a child’s growing mastery of his anger through mindful awareness. Jim Durk’s wonderful illustrations add depth to the story in subtle, whimsical ways. A delightful contribution to the literature on children’s emotion regulation."
—Deborah Sosin, LICSW, author of Charlotte and the Quiet Place

From the Publisher