cover image You Are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses

You Are a Lion! And Other Fun Yoga Poses

Taeeun Yoo. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-399-25602-8

Yoo goes beyond downward dog to teach children yoga poses that mimic animals like a butterfly, frog, and cat. In alternating spreads, children demonstrate the steps for achieving each pose (“Lie on your stomach/ Hands next to shoulders/ Push up!”) while the intervening spreads show the children in the position in natural settings alongside the animal or object they are emulating (“You are a... snake/ In the cool grass/ Slither and glide/ Make a big hiss”). The final spreads lead to a simmer-down in the bright sun: “Lie down and be still/ Slowly breathe in the garden/ Relax in the silence/ Namaste to each other.” Yoo gracefully merges the spirit of yoga with children’s intuitive sense of play. Ages 3–5. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Mar.)