Breathing Makes it Better
Authors: Christopher Willard and Wendy O’Leary
Publisher: Bala Kids

Breathing Makes it Better is intended to help children aged 3–6 learn to work with difficult emotions using mindfulness, awareness, and breathing, and inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh and his teachings on breath awareness. As its subtitle states, it is “a book for sad days, mad days, glad days, and all the feelings in-between.” The book takes readers through various challenging situations—“when trouble lurks around every corner,” “when the world feels strange and lonely,” “when life seems unfair and beyond your control”—and in each case reminds readers to “stop and take a breath.” With each situation, the authors also go a step beyond breath and offer an affirmative guided practice, for example, imagining that you’re a tree blowing in the wind, paired with an imaginative illustration. Children of various ethnicities will see themselves represented in the illustrations in Breathing Makes it Better.

Authors Christopher Willard and Wendy O’Leary are both mindfulness professionals. Willard is an adjunct professor at Harvard Medical School, president of the Mindfulness in Education Network, a psychologist and education consultant specializing in mindfulness, and author of many books on mindfulness and children. O’Leary is a holistic health educator, mindfulness teacher, and certified yoga teacher. 

You can purchase Breathing Makes it Better at the website of Shambhala Publications.