You Are a Lion!: And Other Fun Yoga Poses

by Taeeun Yoo

With simple instructions and bright, clear illustrations, award-winning artist Taeeun Yoo invites children to enjoy yoga by assuming playful animal poses. And she sparks their imagination further by encouraging them to pretend to be the animal - to flutter like a butterfly, hiss like a snake, roar like a lion and more. Yoga is great for kids because it promotes flexibility and focus - and it's relaxing good fun! The charming pictures of children and animals and the lyrical text make this gentle introduction to yoga a book to be treasured.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Childrens, Nonfiction, Juvenile, Health

34 pages, Board Book

First published March 15, 2012

About the author

Taeeun Yoo was born in Korea and grew up in Seoul in her grandfather's beautiful garden-house. She was raised in a large traditional family with nine members and remembers many fun stories. Growing up, she watched her great-grandmother make traditional Korean costumes, and watched her grandfather carefully observe his orchids and bonsai. Now her grandfather often appears in her illustrations.

She studied Korean brush painting at Hong Ik University in Korea, and moved to New York to attend graduate school in illustration at The School of Visual Arts. While she studied in graduate school, she was influenced by one of her teachers, Bruce Waldman, a famous etcher. She made her first children's book using etching. Her work has appeared in Cricket, Ladybug, and The New York Times. Her first picture book, The Little Red Fish will be published by Dial Books for Young Readers in 2007. She is currently working on The Umbrella Queen by Shirin Yim Bridges, to be published by Greenwillow Books, and Only a Witch Can Fly by Alison McGhee, forthcoming from Feiwel & Friends. Taeeun lives in New York City and enjoys walking on the streets, listening to street musicians, and drawing on location.

Reviews

[Sheri]

Animal inspired poses encourage children to move and stretch. A fun and playful introduction to yoga that adults and children can do together.

[Christine Turner]

With simple instructions and bright, clear illustrations, award-winning artist Taeeun Yoo invites children to enjoy yoga by assuming playful animal poses. And she sparks their imagination further by encouraging them to pretend to be the animal - to flutter like a butterfly, hiss like a snake, roar like a lion and more. Yoga is great for kids because it promotes flexibility and focus - and it's relaxing good fun! The charming pictures of children and animals and the lyrical text make this gentle introduction to yoga a book to be treasured.

Subject:
Yoga -- Fiction.
Imagination -- Fiction

P.s. I need to buy this for BEAN.

[Amy Formanski Duffy]

Just saw this at the library and I want to buy it for my son when he gets a bit older. So cute.

[Kathryn]

Filled with several of the most common yoga poses that are child-friendly, this book makes each move come alive as it first shows a child doing the yoga pose (snake, cat, dog, lion, butterfly, frog) then shows the child and animals themselves in that pose in the wild. (I'm not describing this well, but you can get an idea of it from the cover art.) I really enjoyed this book and think that, for what it does, it is excellent. It does a good job conveying the feeling and "essence" of yoga in a playful and engaging way for children. I think it would probably be most enjoyable/useful paired with some in-person yoga instruction (though one could try the moves as they are shown in the book).

[K]

This book is adorable! It walks children through an entire yoga sequence and has them imagine themselves as animals as they do the yoga poses. First, children pretend they are a lion, then a butterfly, a frog, a dog, and a snake. Finally before resting, they become a mountain as they do a sun salutation.

I was struck at how rarely some of the words used would appear in a children's book. For example, words like heels, squat, kneel, mew, and palms. There is unusual vocabulary, and just enough. I predict children would immediately want to get into position and roar like the king of the jungle, and slither and glide, making a big hiss.

This would be fun to combine with Mariam Gates' yoga picture books, or Flora and the Flamingo, another book that inspires children try to copy the poses in the book.

[Amy Seto]

This book of simple yoga poses features a multicultural cast of children who gather to practice yoga together, “Namaste to the morning.” Each child models a different pose and then imagines themselves transformed into that animal, from a playful dog to a hopping frog. The children gather together to be mountains, soaring high. As the sun climbs high into the sky, the children finish by relaxing on the ground in corpse pose.

Yoo created her illustrations with a combination of linoleum block prints, pencil drawings, and Photoshop. The color palate is grounded by two shades of green, a yellow-ish, lime-ish green and a darker, cooler, jungle green. The greens surround the colorfully dressed children in a calming, natural atmosphere. The non-rhyming text is simultaneously poetic and instructive. After explaining each pose, Yoo includes a few descriptive lines that will help children as they imagine each animal.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Diane]

A fun way to introduce introductory yoga to students. Might even help to get the wiggles out during story times.

[Kathleen]

This was a fun one to use in storytime. It got us up and moving and we were able to talk about the animals.

[KC]

A cute, imaginative, and wonderful introduction to the practice of yoga for beginners.

[Angelina]

Fun a simple yoga poses for kids.

[Clive]

"Shoes on??"
"No they don't have their shoes on! They are doing yoga."
*next page*
"Shoes on!?"
"No they don't have shoes on, either..."

[Liz]

Have not used this one in storytime yet, but it would certainly be a big hit!

[Fatima Seraj Alam]

Kids will enjoy imitating animal yoga poses from this fun rhyme scheme book.

[Courtney]

Bright, cheerful illustrations make this book a great choice for teachers and parents of young children who want to encourage their charges to be physically active.

The book shows and describes a variety of fun yoga poses based on different animals. Young readers are encouraged to try the poses for themselves and to use their imaginations by pretending they are the animals who inspire the poses.

All of the poses described seem fairly easy to do, and are ones that many of the adult readers might be familiar with, such as the dog, snake and cat poses. The lion pose (sitting on your heels, and sticking out your tongue) and frog pose (squatting down then jumping) are poses that I can see being particular favourites with young readers due to their fun and somewhat silly nature.

The only real negative point I can think of is that twice in the text, the author uses the word "Namaste" , but at no point is there a definition for the word or explanation as to what it means. Even a footnote in with the publisher info would have been nice.

Illustrations are Linoleum block prints, pencil drawings & photoshop.

[Jessica]

I feel bad admitting this, but at first I thought this book was a joke. I mean do they really make you stick your tongue out during yoga?

But I changed my mind. This probably is a great way to introduce children to yoga or trying something new. I looks relaxing, easy enough that a child can follow along and the pictures illustrate how to do the poses correctly. I've never tried yoga, and this book didn't make a lasting impression on my life, but if my children brought it home from the school library, I'd think it was great educational material! Enjoy!

[Sharon]

I thought this was a cute picture book for ages 3 to 5. It has a gentle introduction to several basic yoga poses. The illustrator did a great job, with bright colors and soothing, yet playful animal poses that mimic the butterfly, dog, cat, snake, frog, and lion. The illustrations and prose will inspire kids to try the poses, promoting focus and flexibility. A fun read to bring out the best in a child, in a calm and joyful manner.

[Stephanie Croaning]

This is a different kind of interactive picture book. It is meant to introduce children to some basic yoga poses. It reads like a story, and the illustrations show how the child should position their body, and then it provides an animal name for each pose. It's a fun and different idea! This would make an interesting read-aloud for younger grades, I'm thinking kindergarten. It gets them moving and is a fun way to read!

[Britta]

Lovely illustrations of children and animals in nature accompany simple instructions on making yoga poses. My 2 year old loves following along. I think the animals are especially compelling. It's wonderful to introduce her to yoga this way, at home. I think she'll now really enjoy a kids' yoga class!

[Theresa]

Beautiful and charming illustrations of children in poses and the animals that inspired them are paired with short rhyming text explaining the poses and inviting kids to imagine themselves as various animals. There are no detailed instructions for the poses, but the ones chosen are simple enough that the pictures and text should be enough to get kids going. Recommended for ages 2-5.

[Tara]

I was really skeptical that I would even like this book. I got it from the library anyway to read to my 3 year old that has a hard time sitting still during stories and he loved it! He had fun doing the poses and pretending he was the animal. The first time we read it he would try and guess what animal he was before I turned the page.

[Tracy]

This was recommended as a good picture book for yoga poses. It is fun, and reminds me of Eric Carle's From Head to Toe. Not for yoga poses, but for a story that you could use with movement in storytimes.

[Carol]

This is a wonderful dual purpose book. Not only is it a good read with outstanding illustrations, but kids also can learn some Yoga along the way. I loved it and I think young children will love it too!

[Cheryl Annie Doucette]

I LOVE this book. The illustrations and teh text together make for a jolly good time! Storytime is fun while the children act out the Yoga poses. I have also heard of children using this in school to destress!! Awesome!

[Eva_Amaré]

Any book that asks us to stick our tongues out and roar like a lion or makes us wiggle around on the ground like a snake is a 5 star no brainer. Mama said we're doing an exercise called yoga. If all exercise is this much fun, sign us up. Namaste. 🦁🐍🦋

[Christy]

With simple instructions and bright, clear illustrations, award-winning artist Yoo invites children to enjoy yoga by assuming playful animal poses. And she sparks their imagination further by encouraging them to pretend to be the animal. Full color.

[Stephanie]

What a cute book to introduce children to yoga. Definitely read to do this regularly.

[Elizabeth☮]

What a great introduction for young kids to yoga. The pictures are easy to imitate and the language simple.

[Pamela Richey]

Fantastic introduction to yoga for pre-schoolers!

[Lori]

Absolutely one of our favorites. My nephew and I love doing yoga along with this charming story.

[Yakking Yogini]

Nicely illustrated easy nonfiction book with basic intro to the basic poses (asanas) of hatha yoga.