I’m excited to introduce you to my friend Giselle today. Giselle blogs at Kids Yoga Stories and recently moved to my neck of the woods from Northern California so we are actually able to meet in person! Such a rare and unusual treat for bloggers! You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that she is a yoga instructor, a teacher, and a mom! She was inspired to bring yoga to kids through picture books and hence the Kids Yoga Stories was born!
My own kids have each tried yoga in their own way. Grasshopper and Sensei, age 14, has really tight hamstrings and quads like her mama, so she hated yoga. It was torture for her. But, as a result of injuries related to tight muscles and soccer, she had to do physical therapy and yoga to stay healthy. Now, she takes a Teen Girls Yoga class weekly and actually enjoys it. (The foot massages and lavender sachets for her eyes don’t hurt either!).
PickyKidPix is as flexible as a pretzel but she has trouble sitting still even at 12 years old. Yoga, she says, makes her feel calm. I used to bring her to a Vinyasa Flow class taught by a friend of mine and she would do the entire 75-minute class with me. These days, she uses certain poses like Frog and Half Pigeon to stretch out her groin muscles that get sore from soccer.
My son thinks yoga is just plain fun. He likes me to call out poses for him to hold at bedtime. He will hold them for 2 seconds and topple over in a burst of giggles.
So, do yoga and bedtime stories go together? I think so! Have your kids ever tried yoga before bedtime?
Kids Yoga Stories picture book series.
Yoga Picture Book for Kids
Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story by Giselle Shardlow
Giselle bids us to say good night to different animals around the world. Characters from her picture book series introduce young readers to both the animals and the poses they inspire. Perch like a bald eagle, crouch like a tiger, and curl up like a sloth before drifting off to sleep! [picture book, ages 2 and up]
Good Night, Animal World Picture Book Giveaway
To win a signed copy of Good Night, Animal World: A Kids Yoga Bedtime Story, please enter using the Rafflecopter!
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Love encouraging kids to do yoga!! Such benefits for us, as moms, and them 🙂
Hi Cecily,
Kids are naturally so great at yoga too!! They are flexible and think that holding a pose is a fun game (at least my kids). Now that my kids are older, we use yoga when they are sore from sports to prevent injury. I love that yoga helps for that too and you can use shorthand to get them going. My middle child gets tight in her groin from soccer so I’ll remind her: frog, half-pigeon and that pose where you put your feet together and bend forward. It really does help tremendously!
My favorite pose is child’s pose!
Hi Valerie,
I love child’s pose too!! It always feels so great! Thanks for entering!
This is a very interesting book. I like how it shows how animals and yoga are related.
Hi Erik,
I love how Giselle’s books introduce yoga to kids in a really fun way! Let me know if you want a copy to review! I can contact her for you.
My favorite pose is warrior pose. At a time in my life when I first started yoga, I needed to feel that strength and was surprised by the mind/body change. Now, I have tried to teach some poses to my 2 year old son, and he loves to mimic my poses. How terrific that a series of books exist to incorporate his love of movement!
Hi Melinda,
Your son might really love this book! Warrior pose is such an empowering pose! Thanks for your kind words about Giselle’s series. I’ll be sure to pass them along!!!
I love Giselle’s books! So nicely done!
Hi MaryAnne,
Her books are great! It’s fun that she moved from the West coast to the East coast; the opposite of you, but the nice thing is that we both got to meet her in person! Thanks again for introducing us!
Haven’t tried yoga yet, but would like too.
Hi Barbara,
I love yoga and it’s great for every age. There are many kinds of yoga to choose from so if you do decide to try it, just pick one that appeals to you. My yoga teacher, Om Gal, did a post on Yoga Styles Demystified http://www.pragmaticmom.com/2011/08/yoga-styles-demystified-by-om-gal/ if you want to learn more. Hope you do get to try it!
Giselle’s books are all wonderful! We loved love loved goodnight world! It’s such a great way to relax and fall to sleep.
Plus, we learn great things about other regions of the world. In her Australian book, we learned about some very interesting animals – that we then researched further.
Thanks for the lovely giveaway!
Your son sounds so cute!
My kids went to a preschool where they did yoga. They also occasionally do yoga on TV. It is funny because I think it would be something kids wouldn’t have patience for but in my experience, that is not true. I am a big fan, I know it helped me much more than physical therapy and anything that can calm kids is good.
Thanks for the intro to Giselle and her books!
Hi Ann,
Thanks! We should do more yoga than we do and I think having a bedtime story like Giselle’s series is a good reminder to make it a part of everyday life. My kids could use calming down too, especially at night. Sometimes they are too wound up to go to sleep and yoga would help for that!
We loved this book. We joined their blog tour and had a blast reading this book. It is great before bedtime, although a little too fun some times, he he. Thanks for linking this great giveaway into the Kid Lit Blog Hop
Hi Julie,
I heard the blog tour was great! I’m glad the word is getting out for Kids Yoga Stories!!
Yes, my preschooler and I do yoga together and we love downward dog!
Hi Dawn,
Thanks so much for entering. Downward dog is such a great and versatile pose!
Wow! I love my morning yoga and you have truly got me thinking about how this can be beneficial for my kids! They are still toddlers but it’s never to early to instill healthy habits! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Shana,
I would love to see toddlers doing simple yoga poses. I would imagine that there is nothing cute in the world!!
Mia – thank you so much for sharing our yoga bedtime book! What an honor for the book to be your Picture Book of the Day. Hooray! Hope your readers enjoy this one! I love that your children all practice yoga too. 🙂
Hi Giselle,
Thanks so much for your fabulous book giveaway!! I love the idea of yoga for kids. It’s a fun way for kids to move their bodies and something that the entire family can do together no matter what age!
I used to do it with the kids when they were a little younger but my husband and I would love to get back into it with the kids as well.
Hi Andie,
I used to do yoga a year ago too! It’s so easy to fall out of doing it but it feels soooo good when you get a chance to practice again! I hope you get time but I totally understand how busy it gets with kids. We moms seems to come last!
Obviously I love yoga. It’s hard to pick a favorite pose because different poses are “the best” at different times, but I think down dog might be my favorite. I really like malasana (low squat) too.
Hi Yogamama,
I love your moniker! And you’re so right about different poses being “best” at different times for me as well though I always love Child’s Pose and my kids tease me because I sit in malasana all the time. They think it’s weird but I find it comfortable; more so than to sit on a stool in our kitchen!
I love yoga- my favorite pose depends on the day, but dancer’s pose always leaves me smiling.
Hi Amy G,
That’s such a lovely, poetic pose! It makes me feel graceful!
I have done yoga and my favorite pose is the warrior pose and any variation of it.
Hi Penny,
Warrior pose is such a strengthening and strong pose! So empowering!!
Such a creative idea for a series of children’s books! Both of my grandsons would love this creature book! Thanks for sharing and hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks so much for entering! Yoga is so great for kids and I love the idea that it’s introduced in a picture book for at home use! It makes yoga so accessible and fun for kids at an early age!
Two favorite poses: for strength: warrior pose and for calming: child’s pose.
Hi Leslie,
I like your combination! Thanks so much for entering!
Child’s Pose is always my friend.
Hi Cassandra,
I LOVE child’s pose too, especially after doing ab exercises!!
What a great idea! Yoga for kids. The benefits will last a lifetime. If you can just keep their interest; hope you can find a way to keep them into it….Best of luck!
Hi Randy,
I love yoga for kids too!