What do you think?
Rate this book
The "Big Messy" Book Series #1
Zara's Big Messy Day (That Turned Out Okay)
An excellent Social Emotional Learning (SEL) tool for grownups and little readers. You'll join Zara, a clever, responsible, and sometimes anxious seven-year-old girl, in learning a fun and simple breathing exercise to help them mindfully manage their big messy emotions and find peace and calm in any situation.
Like a lot of kids her age, Zara sometimes struggles with managing her emotions when confronted with stressful situations.
Written by a mother-of-five and celebrated meditation guide Rebekah Borucki, Zara's Big Messy Day will help your child deal with everyday stress in simple but impactful way.
Guided by Zara’s mother, both Zara and the reader will learn a kid-friendly breathing technique—a short visualization meditation—that will help them find peace and calm in any moment.
And the best they'll learn to do it on their own after reading the book just one time!
Zara’s Big Messy Day is used by teachers, guidance counselors, and social workers in elementary school cirriculum nationwide to teach students mindfulness and self-regulation.
Get free You'll also get free access to downloadable coloring pages, an exclusive guided meditation for kids, and more! Just use the website link found inside the book to download your exclusive gifts.
Praise for Zara's Big Messy
“Zara beautifully offers mindfulness for kids and adults alike.” — Rachel Ricketts, activist and author of Do Better
“Friends, I cannot recommend these books enough. Get Zara for you, your kids, your nieces, your nephews... They’re just so beatitful!” — Jennifer Pastiloff, author of the National Bestseller, On Being Human
Like a lot of kids her age, Zara sometimes struggles with managing her emotions when confronted with stressful situations.
Written by a mother-of-five and celebrated meditation guide Rebekah Borucki, Zara's Big Messy Day will help your child deal with everyday stress in simple but impactful way.
Guided by Zara’s mother, both Zara and the reader will learn a kid-friendly breathing technique—a short visualization meditation—that will help them find peace and calm in any moment.
And the best they'll learn to do it on their own after reading the book just one time!
Zara’s Big Messy Day is used by teachers, guidance counselors, and social workers in elementary school cirriculum nationwide to teach students mindfulness and self-regulation.
Get free You'll also get free access to downloadable coloring pages, an exclusive guided meditation for kids, and more! Just use the website link found inside the book to download your exclusive gifts.
Praise for Zara's Big Messy
“Zara beautifully offers mindfulness for kids and adults alike.” — Rachel Ricketts, activist and author of Do Better
“Friends, I cannot recommend these books enough. Get Zara for you, your kids, your nieces, your nephews... They’re just so beatitful!” — Jennifer Pastiloff, author of the National Bestseller, On Being Human
48 pages, Hardcover
Published February 22, 2022
10 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Rebekah Borucki
13 books21 followersRebekah “Bex” Borucki (she/they) is a mother-to-five, grandmother-to-one, self-help and children’s author, and the Founder and President of Row House, Wheat Penny Press (Row House’s children’s imprint), and the WPP Little Readers Big Change Initiative. Since 2009, Rebekah has run an online wellness advocacy space through her BexLife platform. She has also served on the Yoga Alliance Equity Task Force and as a mentor for Hay House’s Diverse Wisdom Initiative. Rebekah is driven by a commitment to make wellness tools available to all and to help others recover the liberation stolen from them by white supremacy. She lives with her family in New Jersey.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
June 28, 2023
Title- Zara's Big Messy Day (That Turned Out Okay)
Author- Rebekah Borucki
Illustration- Danielle Pioli
Genre- Children's
Rating- 5 Stars Across the Board
Favorite Character- Zara
Thoughts:
Zara's Big Messy Day is a book that my daughter received from Virtual PA School last year. My daughter still adores this book today and will forever be a classic to my family. Our favorite quote in the book is a super cool technique that teaches children how to handle their emotions. We love this book, it's super adorable and hilarious. It is a great book to bond with your child while reading. My daughter and I love reenacting the scenes between Zara and her sibling. I gave this book five stars for many reasons such as the creativity, the inclusion of ethnic characters, the illustration that pops out and grabs your attention, it's age appropriate, and can appeal to all nationalities. I'm trying to tell you, this book is AMAZING!
Author- Rebekah Borucki
Illustration- Danielle Pioli
Genre- Children's
Rating- 5 Stars Across the Board
Favorite Character- Zara
Thoughts:
Zara's Big Messy Day is a book that my daughter received from Virtual PA School last year. My daughter still adores this book today and will forever be a classic to my family. Our favorite quote in the book is a super cool technique that teaches children how to handle their emotions. We love this book, it's super adorable and hilarious. It is a great book to bond with your child while reading. My daughter and I love reenacting the scenes between Zara and her sibling. I gave this book five stars for many reasons such as the creativity, the inclusion of ethnic characters, the illustration that pops out and grabs your attention, it's age appropriate, and can appeal to all nationalities. I'm trying to tell you, this book is AMAZING!
April 1, 2020
A really wonderful book about a subject that most parents may find a little difficult discussing with their kids; meditation. It's not a hard sell either, just an easy story about a young girl having a tough day and one simple lesson to help her feel better, a lesson we can all benefit from. The book is filled with big, vibrant illustrations. Easy and fun to read, great for a bedtime story or any time honestly. Hopefully, afterwards, parents and kids alike will remember this book when they are feeling a bit overwhelmed or stressed. I'm looking forward to more of Zara's adventures.
October 2, 2020
I love this book!
Finally there is a book that can teach my kids about mindfulness that feels real and accessible to them. I just fell in love with Zara - she reminds me so much of my daughter. I highly recommend this to anyone with kids - but especially if you have a sensitive kid who feels things deeply.
Finally there is a book that can teach my kids about mindfulness that feels real and accessible to them. I just fell in love with Zara - she reminds me so much of my daughter. I highly recommend this to anyone with kids - but especially if you have a sensitive kid who feels things deeply.
October 3, 2020
Great kid advice
I love that the characters were brown. I love that real child based worries and problems are addressed. I love the strategy to deal with the problem was child centered. I love that she reported the problem to the teacher even after she dealt with her feelings. Recommend this book.
I love that the characters were brown. I love that real child based worries and problems are addressed. I love the strategy to deal with the problem was child centered. I love that she reported the problem to the teacher even after she dealt with her feelings. Recommend this book.
Read
December 8, 2025This book is all about Zara and how she deals with the big emotions she’s feeling. She gets great advice from her mom on how to calm herself down in stressful situations. I would use this in my classroom to demonstrate different strategies to calm our big emotions by ourselves. I would use this in a Pre-K classroom.
August 23, 2021
I just read this to my son kor his k12 school and I am impressed. I love that the family was biracial. My children were able to relate to it and it was good. Absolutely loved the book and I'm so happy my children get to grow up with books like these.
June 7, 2020
I highly recommend this book, especially for kids who have big feelings. Deep breathing and mindfulness are such powerful tools for kids! This was a great book with a practical application!
October 3, 2020
Wonderful Book
Beautiful pictures and a great message. Kids can use all the help they can get to deal with their emotions and this would be a good book to add to their toolbox.
Beautiful pictures and a great message. Kids can use all the help they can get to deal with their emotions and this would be a good book to add to their toolbox.
October 4, 2020
A wonderful teaching tool
Mediation is a tool we all can use. Adults and children can both learn from the story. It’s a great way to approach mediation with children.
Mediation is a tool we all can use. Adults and children can both learn from the story. It’s a great way to approach mediation with children.
October 30, 2020
Cute story and beautiful book. Bonus points for donating books for books bought.
December 14, 2020
This one gave us great tools during the most stressful year ever
June 19, 2021
A delightful book teaching a child a meditation technique, to help her cope with some stressful moments through out her day.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I highly recommend this book to everyone.
October 8, 2021
This book teaches children how to handle messy emotions.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews