My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness

by Georgia Heard, Isabel Roxas (Illustrator)

Overview

A poetry collection that both illustrates what mindfulness is and encourages young, growing minds to be present, from poet and educator Georgia Heard, with art by Isabel Roxas.

Poets have long observed the world in a mindful way. They point out beauty we might have missed, draw our attention to our inner thoughts, and call us to see our society in new ways.

But as daily life become more and more chaotic, children grow distracted. According to the CDC, 9.4% of children have ADHD and 7% have anxiety/depression. And these numbers continue to climb. As treatment doctors recommend healthy eating, physical activity, plenty of sleep, and mindfulness techniques.

Georgia Heard is a poet and educator—and she has long had her own meditation practice. In My Thoughts Are Clouds, she uses poetry to demonstrate what mindfulness is and gives kids—and their parents and teachers—accessible ways to learn mindfulness tools.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250244680
Publisher:	Roaring Brook Press
Publication date:	02/09/2021
Pages:	56
Sales rank:	143,127
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Georgia Heard is a poet, writer, speaker, and educational consultant who teaches and speaks to audiences in the United States and around the world about writing and using poetry with children. She is the author of The Arrow Finds Its Mark and Falling Down the Page. She lives in South Florida.

Isabel Roxas has illustrated several children's books, including Let Me Finish! by Minh Lê, A Day in the Market by May Tobias-Papa, and the 2018 Newbery Medal Winner Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly. When Isabel is not crafting pictures and stories, she is making little creatures out of clay.

Editorial Reviews

In today’s Covid-rattled frenzy of online or hybrid instruction and added strictures on behavior, [here is] Heard's gentle call for mindfulness . . . Therapeutic and accessible: an empowering guide well suited for those growing up in this age of anxiety.” —Kirkus Reviews

“This short collection of poems aims to teach children how to slow down and be aware of their thoughts and environment . . . A good read-aloud option for a classroom or library to teach guided mindfulness or meditation exercises.” —School Library Journal

Praise for Falling Down the Page:

“Accessibility is one of the book’s greatest strengths, since the compact verses focus on familiar aspects of daily kid life.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

“A thoroughly entertaining and distinctive collection.” —BookPage


Praise for The Arrow Finds Its Mark:

“Will have readers seeing inspiration all around them and questioning what turns words into poetry.” —Publishers Weekly

“A welcome addition to every teacher’s writing toolbox.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Intriguing little book offers an appealing down-to-earth entryway into poetry.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

01/01/2021

Gr 2–6—This short collection of poems aims to teach children how to slow down and be aware of their thoughts and environment. The text uses meditation and affirmation techniques to introduce the concept of mindfulness. Simple language explains actions that readers can follow. However, the format and layout of some poems may be difficult to digest for children who experience reading challenges. The variation of fonts within the same poem and the black-on-blue backgrounds may also present reading difficulties. The illustrations are rendered in shades of blue and white, echoing the title and cover imagery of looking up at the sky, but do little to enhance the feeling or meaning of the poems. This volume could serve as a good read-aloud option for a classroom or library to teach guided mindfulness or meditation exercises. VERDICT For libraries that have an established mindfulness initiative.—Elizabeth Speer, Weatherford Coll., TX

School Library Journal

2020-11-18
A middle-grade poetic primer on reflection.

In today’s Covid-rattled frenzy of online or hybrid instruction and added strictures on behavior, Heard’s gentle call for mindfulness offers young readers a window into a reflective realm typically reserved for adults. Here Heard provides the tools for achieving inner peace in 30 mostly free-verse poems accompanied by winsome illustrations by Roxas. Heard admits to suffering from “ ‘monkey mind’…when your mind jumps around, distracting you from whatever you’re doing in the present moment.” She then introduces the alternative, “mindfulness,” being “focused on the present,” and encourages children to be “aware of your thoughts and experience your feelings as they come without being overwhelmed by them.” In one of several poems devoted to breathing techniques, Heard evocatively tells children “your breath / is the translator / of your / heart,” as Roxas’ whimsical double-page spread shows a smiling kid sitting atop an equally happy-looking, charcoal-hued whale spouting cyan-colored water. Heard nicely parses mindfulness into acts of introspection (“I’m learning / to take my inner weather report”) and observation, with poems like “Consider a Raisin” promoting sensory exploration of elements common in the natural world. She also incorporates mindful and meditative concepts from non-Western cultures, like “shinrin-yoku,” the Japanese practice of taking “forest baths,” or “mantra,” from the Sanskrit for “mind tool,” offering an introduction to these worldwide practices.

Therapeutic and accessible: an empowering guide well suited for those growing up in this age of anxiety. (Poetry. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews