Yoga Bunny

December 1, 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

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2016
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)

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November 1, 2016
Preschool-K A little white bunny, outlined in thin black ink, finds the sunny morning an excellent time for yoga. As Bunny goes into yoga poses, snippy Lizard turns down Bunny's invitation to join him. Ditto for Fox, who is in too much of a hurry, and Bird, who has the hiccups. But two little mice see Bunny reaching for the sky and decide there must be something up there worth the stretch. One by one, the other animals return and join in doing a variety of yoga poses. Besides feeling good, yoga solves their problems, erasing irritation, anxietyand even hiccups. An afterword offers a little more about yoga and its history, but this book, created by a yoga teacher, is most likely to be of interest to children who already have someone in their lives who practices the discipline. Still, the sweetly simple illustrations, along with Bunny doing a wide range of poses on the endpapers, make yoga look like fun. Story-hour leaders could easily incorporate a few downward dogs and happy babies into the festivities.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)