"Copy our yoga poses as you follow us through the alphabet, or just pretend you're one of the animals." So begins this colorful and creative board book that guides toddlers through hatha yoga asanas.
Few of them go by names you know if you practice hatha yoga. Here we have Armadillo (Extended Child's Pose), Butterfly (Cobbler Pose), Crocodile (Plank Pose) — and even some like Quack (Dancer's Pose) and Unicorn (Chair Pose) that must have taken a brainstorm to name. But each one represents a traditional pose at a young child's level of mobility and understanding.
The appeal is not only the profusion of adorable animals and children in a variety of bright, inviting natural settings throughout these pages. The rhymes accompanying each pose will also delight young readers:
"Hooty owl in the trees.
Look straight ahead.
Sit on your knees."
In the back of the book, a three page spread sums up the poses and gives the English version of their traditional names. The summary helps adult yoga practitioners put the poses in context and guide children into further yoga explorations based on what they have already learned from this inviting introduction. The ingeniously presented poses could also encourage caregivers who have never tried yoga before to stretch, roll, and rest alongside their young yogis.
