Children's Books About Mindful Breath
* This image shows the old name of the ‘Is There a Book for That?’ blog/book list.
Today I am sharing some books that are not specifically about a hospital experience, but instead could be used in many parts of the hospital. These books all teach kids about mindful breath. Some of the titles focus more on why it helps and some just give fun choices for kids to try. For a child in the hospital, both choice/control and understanding how to calm their body and their worries are important. I think these books could be great tools for child life specialists, music therapists, art therapists, caregivers, and all healthcare team members to teach kids about how to move through feelings of worry and discomfort.
How to Train Your Amygdala by Anna Housley Juster
This book is told from the point of view of the reader’s amygdala, in cute monster form. The book is playful and engaging. It teaches readers about the role of the amygdala and how it can react when danger isn’t really there based on a person’s anxiety. It promotes deep breathing and finding calm safe things to think about instead of reacting. This book could be a great conversation starter for a caregiver, counselor, or child life specialist to work with a child who has trouble regulating or staying calm. Good for preschool through middle elementary.
English: https://amzn.to/48LIJTt
English and Spanish: https://amzn.to/3KJZTsT
Alphabreaths: The ABCs of Mindful Breathing by Christopher Willardy PsyD and Daniel Rechtschaffen
This book explains many breathing exercises. This book could be great for groups or individuals. Kids can try the many fun and imaginative visuals and movements to find what works best for them. I can see this being a helpful activity for a grief group or for a caregiver/nurse/child life specialist to offer as a choice a child can make prior to a procedure. I think this book would be good for young children through middle elementary.
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/49ar8Fl
Board Book: https://amzn.to/3YlCnp7
My Magic Breath: Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor
My favorite part of this book is the visuals. The book encourages kids to imagine different parts of their day and then blow them out - the happy and sad. The images on the page show a happy breath and a sad breath. I can’t help but think that this could be a cool activity that helps kids express what they are feeling without having to draw concrete things. The book also encourages deep breathing at the end of the day to process and to calm. This could be important for kids with big feelings or who are going through hard things. Great for young kids through early elementary.
https://amzn.to/4oS77Jo
1-2-3, A Deep Breath for Me by Hillary Harper
This book tells the story of Mack, a big friendly dog, who feels worried all of the time. He makes a new friend, Gertie, a little dog, who teaches him to take big breaths when he is worried. This new trick works well for Mack who realizes that everybody is worried sometimes but that everything will be okay. Great relatable characters for young children. Good for young children through early elementary.
https://amzn.to/4puIZ0i
