My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor, illustrated by Michelle Polizzi

- October 15, 2019

My Magic Breath:

Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing

Written by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor, illustrated by Michelle Polizzi

My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing is more of a bedtime book for kids about breathing and getting in touch with your feelings in connection with your breath than it is a book about mindful breathing, making it a good starting place for the youngest listeners, but one that should be read in conjunction with other books (see below) if mindfulness and experiencing feelings as impermanent is your goal. This interactive book begins by asking listeners if they have the "magic breath" then inviting them to take a deep breath and blow it out. Then, readers learn that the magic breath can help when, "you have too many thoughts running through your mind" and it can, "help push away some of those thoughts." The narrator invites listeners to breathe in and remember something from the day that made them smile while breathing out. Next, listeners are asked if something made them sad or mad and invited to use breath to blow sad thoughts "right off the page." My Magic Breath closes with a reminder to breathe in and out to "help you feel better" and help you "laugh and appreciate happy times" and it can also "help you feel calm when you are not so happy" before sending the listener off to have "sweet dreams." Read with thoughtfulness, read with other books and know that, even if this isn't the best book out there, introducing kids to their breath and feelings is better than nothing.