Yoga Bunny: An Easter And Springtime Book For Kids

by Brian Russo, Brian Russo (Illustrator)

Overview

Share this gentle picture book with your little bunnies to help them relax and unwind. Great in the classroom for groups of yoga bunnies or at home.

Yoga Bunny helps readers wind down as they learn beginning yoga poses, from downward dog to tree pose. Brilliant author-illustrator Brian Russo shows readers just how relaxing yoga can be.

It's a perfect day for yoga, and Bunny is practicing his poses and wishes his friends would do yoga with him! But Lizard is too tired, Fox is in a rush, and Bird has the hiccups. Will Bunny ever be able to get his friends to slow down and realize that yoga just might be a solution to their problems?

Relax and unwind with Yoga Bunny! This approachable and sweet book about yoga for kids is a fun way to introduce kids to child's pose and other basic moves.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062429520
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/06/2016
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,113,049
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Brian Russo has been drawing since he can remember. He grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey, then moved to New York, where he earned a degree in film from NYU. Afterward, he discovered something he loved just as much as drawing and making films: doing yoga. He earned a teaching certificate from Yoga to the People in 2010, during which time he developed the Yoga Bunny illustrations. Since then, he’s received hundreds of emails from people all over the world, praising his illustrations of a bunny doing yoga. Brian is thrilled that his artwork has reached so many people and is excited about where he and the bunny will go next. Yoga Bunny is Brian’s first book. Visit him online at www.bunnyoga.com.

Brian Russo has been drawing since he can remember. He grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey, then moved to New York, where he earned a degree in film from NYU. Afterward, he discovered something he loved just as much as drawing and making films: doing yoga. He earned a teaching certificate from Yoga to the People in 2010, during which time he developed the Yoga Bunny illustrations. Since then, he’s received hundreds of emails from people all over the world, praising his illustrations of a bunny doing yoga. Brian is thrilled that his artwork has reached so many people and is excited about where he and the bunny will go next. Yoga Bunny is Brian’s first book. Visit him online at www.bunnyoga.com.

Editorial Reviews

The sweetly simple illustrations, along with Bunny doing a wide range of poses on the endpapers, make yoga look like fun. ” — Booklist

“Pair it with Lauren Alderfer’s Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda and Susan Verde’s I Am Yoga.... a serviceable addition for those looking to expand their collection of titles about yoga and mindfulness.” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

The sweetly simple illustrations, along with Bunny doing a wide range of poses on the endpapers, make yoga look like fun.

Booklist

The sweetly simple illustrations, along with Bunny doing a wide range of poses on the endpapers, make yoga look like fun.

Booklist

12/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Bunny likes to practice yoga outside his woodland home. As he performs his poses, he tries to get his friends Lizard, Fox, and Bird to join, but everyone is too tired, angry, or busy. Eventually, led by the mice, the other animals decide to join Bunny, and they find that yoga helps lessen the negative feelings they had at the beginning of the tale. The illustrations are made from colored pencil and watercolor and are based on the author's existing Yoga Bunny illustrations and website. They show Bunny doing different yoga poses and are intricately drawn to match real-life poses. Unfortunately, the plot is thin and has an overly simplistic conclusion. The endpapers include drawings of Bunny doing additional poses that aren't featured in the story. The use of yoga and mindfulness practices in classrooms has grown in recent years, so there may be an audience for this book. Pair it with Lauren Alderfer's Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda and Susan Verde's I Am Yoga. VERDICT A serviceable addition for those looking to expand their collection of titles about yoga and mindfulness.—Celia Dillon, The Brearley School, New York

School Library Journal

2016-09-19
The popularity of yoga for kids guarantees a market for this lesson book, based on the author’s website of the same name. The premise is simple, but it’s also a bit didactic. Like first-time author Russo, Bunny wants to share the joy of yoga with his friends. Alas, Lizard is too angry and tired, Fox is too busy, and Bird has the hiccups. None will try yoga. Sadly, Bunny tells himself that “doing yoga alone is better than not doing yoga at all.” Two little mice imitate Bunny's warrior pose, which inexplicably prompts a change of heart for Bird and Fox. Even Lizard joins them for the resting pose. Russo's animals are drawn with spare simplicity but lack expression. The uncluttered white pages with just a hint of grass and little pink flowers under each animal's feet ground the images and mirror Bunny's inner calm. The 32 illustrations that decorate the endpapers show Bunny in rather un-rabbitlike postures. Though they are undeniably cute, it’s peculiar to think of a rabbit doing “happy baby” or “butterfly,” much less a “bound side angle.” The chubbiness of the rabbit makes that last pose and others very difficult to parse visually. Russo also calls the plank posture a “pushup,” which implies effort—which is counter to yoga philosophy. This may inspire little yogis, but for accurate examples of the asanas, consult an actual instruction book. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews