Hello, Sun!: A Yoga Sun Salutation to Start Your Day

by Sarah Jane Hinder

An illustrated picture book for children that guides them through a morning sun salutation yoga flow

The latest from the illustrator of the beloved Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga series, Hello, Sun! gives children a great way to connect with their bodies and calm their thoughts before jumping into the adventures of a new day.

Sarah Jane Hinder’s bright color palette and playful illustrations are filled with nature imagery and fun details for children to find. Beginning and ending with Mountain Pose, children follow along with ten classic postures as they learn to breathe, stretch, and greet the day.

For parents, grandparents, teachers, and childcare providers, Hello, Sun! is a heartwarming way to introduce children to the wonders of yoga and help set them up for a happy, mindful day.

The book includes a complete illustrated flow of poses, as well as a brief history of sun salutations and a special sunshine meditation.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cultural, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2019

Reviews

[La Coccinelle]

I'm no expert on yoga, but I still found a lot to like in Hello, Sun!, a picture book that uses rhyming text and vibrant pictures to illustrate the steps involved in the Surya Namaskar, or Sun Salutation. A little girl moves through the various poses, accompanied by her cute animal friends. There's plenty to look at in the pictures (insects have never been so adorable!) and the text is fairly strong. There is a bit of factual information at the back that talks about the tradition of Sun Salutations, along with a short meditation and detailed instructions (with illustrations) on the steps of the Sun Salutation.

There is mention of prayer (it's not Christian prayer), so if yoga or other practices from non-Christian religions offend you, you'll probably want to give this one a pass. But for those who are interested in yoga and would like a book that introduces the Sun Salutation to young children, this is probably a good book to try.

Recommended to fans of books like Meddy Teddy: A Mindful Journey that teach yoga to kids in an easy-to-understand way.

Quotable moment:

[Jahnie]

Beautiful.

[Dee Dee G]

The illustrations are beautiful and colorful.

[Nadina]

This was a good book. It walks through the process of a sun salutation. The pictures are beautiful with color and detail. There is very little text to each page and it is very simple text. It makes it a very soothing book to read. It makes me want to do the yoga sun salutation.
It could work well with a storytime with the right group of kids.

[Jennifer]

Colorful illustrations and simple poses, this book is nice for movement but has no story line. If you're familiar with yoga, or do a good job reading the spread at the back that explains everything, this is a nice addition to story time.

[I _teach_muggles]

Welcome to Hello, Sun. Wake-up and start each day with a Yoga Sun Salutation. Get mind and body connected, relax yourself, calm those thoughts and get ready for the adventures of a brand new day. Stand tall, reach high, gaze forward, be strong, exhale, Namaste…

Hello, Sun is a fully illustrated picture book that guides young readers through a morning yoga routine. It is produced on thick shiny pages and the illustrations that are full of colour are bright and visually appealing. The minimal text is perfect for the book’s purpose - giving the reader simple instructions to create poses and postures to help them achieve inner calm.

A double page spread at the back of the book presents the sun salutation in a circular flow diagram with accompanying images and text. There is also some nice additional information on what sun salutations are and a sunshine meditation exercise.

A lovely picture book that introduces the world of yoga to young readers. Start your day off the right way with a Sun Salutation.

Recommended for 4+.

[Hannah Lewczynski]

This book would be a great addition to even the oldest person's collection. This book, page by page, puts words to movement as the author/illustrator explains the poses associated with Sun Salutations. The last couple pages include a double page spread of the different poses, and their names, used when doing Sun Salutations. She even tells which poses require you to hold your breath, breathe in, or breathe out. I thoroughly enjoyed learning how to do Sun Salutations, as well as learning where they came from and why they were originally done. I WILL be buying this book to have as a part of my personal library for my future children. I would love to wake them up every day with a positive start that requires some physical activity! Yoga is beautiful and this would be a great book to share in P.E. or homeroom to get the class involved in yoga as well as literacy. This book is ageless and I would recommend for ages 3-100! Book deserves its 5 star rating, not only for content, but for the warm and grounding illustrations.

[Katie]

I'm not sure how Good Morning Yoga & Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story are related to Hello, Sun!: A Yoga Sun Salutation to Start Your Day and Hello, Moon!: A Yoga Moon Salutation for Bedtime, but both pairs have the same illustrator, Sarah Jane Hinder.

Both series have sweet and calming pages ending with yoga pose details in the back. Mariam Gates' series includes a repeated relaxation phrase to accompany the "story." I thought Sarah Jane Hinder's illustrations were much nicer in the "Hello" series.

[TammyJo Eckhart]

This is a book about yoga and only about yoga. I was really hoping there would be a story about a little girl learning to do or doing yoga and how it affects her life. It isn't. My little I shared it with was bored with it even though he liked the colors and the images which are wonderfully bold, bright, and have strong fantasy elements.

In terms of learning yoga, the information at the back of the book was more useful but still not as good as learning from a person or with a set of diagrams for how to move.

[Sarah Corrieri]

A story about how to perform the yoga Sun Salutation move. Each step is explained through a short story with colorful pages and a little girl modeling the move.

This book would be a great sequence book. Students could create a book of steps to doing something that they enjoy. Shooting a hockey puck, rollerblading, making a bracelet, or baking a cake. Students could pick their topic and requirements would need to be established. They would need to have a certain amount of steps and detail for each step.

[Sarah]

Perfect book for a yoga storytime.

[Tana]

What a fun way for little ones to start the day!

[Cassandra]

Cute book to get kids into yoga.

[Abigail Stout]

Beautiful artwork.

[Brindi Michele]

Great illustrations to go with the yoga poses! I think any young yogi would enjoy this book :)

[Lacey]

Simple morning yoga instructions with beautiful, straightforward pictures and rhyme scheme.

[Miss Sarah]

Filled with great colorful pictures of Yoga poses as a young girl goes through simple poses and simple words to relax and get great energy for the day. Preschool and up

[cat]

Love. Love. Love. Bright and eye-catching illustrations walking through simple steps for sun salutation. Info at the end with in depth for the motions.

[Christie Authier]

Such a lovely book! I really enjoyed how it could connect with my kids but without being overly childish or silly.

[Winterwhisper]

Great book for story time yoga this morning!

[Anthony]

A look at different yogi poses used by the Yogis, and still practiced today for exercise and meditation.

[zOdAê aKAê]

A really nice book with informative illustrations on how to do sun salutations.

[Amara]

I wish I had liked the illustrations more:(