A Friend for Yoga Bunny: An Easter And Springtime Book For Kids – A Sweet Mindful Picture Book for Kids

by Brian Russo

Yoga Bunny returns in this adorable, mindful, and meditative friendship story! Great for finding calm and practicing easy fun-to-do yoga poses in the classroom or at home. Yoga Bunny loves doing yoga, and loves teaching others how to do it, too. When he bumps into a bear who is anxious about celebrating her birthday, Yoga Bunny knows exactly what do to. The two friends learn a variety of poses, meditation warm-ups, and the importance of deep breathing together.  But will it be enough for Bear to enjoy her big day? Relax and unwind with Yoga Bunny and friends! This approachable and sweet book about yoga for kids is a fun way to introduce kids to child's pose and other basic moves. A perfect match for the first book, Yoga Bunny.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Mental Health, Friendship, Juvenile

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 22, 2022

Reviews

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

love the pose visuals on the end papers :)

[Baby Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!

Hello, friends! Our book today is A Friend for Yoga Bunny by Brian Russo, a sweet and serene follow up to the author’s first Yoga Bunny story.

Bunny’s favorite way to start the morning is by doing yoga. Sometimes he’ll do it with his group of similarly yoga-inclined forest pals, but sometimes he’ll take the morning to practice alone – or, mostly alone! Opening his eyes during his leaf pose, he is surprised to find a bear hiding behind a tree nearby. He finds that the bear’s birthday is tomorrow, and she is nervous about the big party her family is throwing her (she doesn’t like being the center of attention). Bunny offers to instruct her in a few yoga poses, promising that they might help with her anxiety. The two practice their poses and have a few laughs, and Bunny invites her to join him and his friends the next day, even knowing she is nervous in groups. The next day dawns, and Bear is nowhere to be found; Bunny is disappointed. However, as he breathes through his morning routine with his friends, he may be surprised with how effective his gesture of friendship (and yoga) has been.

Lovely! Russo has created a new story with his gentle, yoga-loving bunny character that explores themes of kindness, courage, and yes, yoga. A story centered around yoga’s ability to help with anxieties is reminiscent of the first Yoga Bunny, but this time Bunny plays a less passive role in helping his new friend by proactively reaching out to Bear to show kindness and acceptance, and it works all the better. The digital illustrations are suitably soft-edged and calming, and the character design is rudimentary, but still very adorable; Yoga Bunny showing off different labeled yoga poses on the endpapers – a element continued from the first book – is particularly fun. The length is perfect for a quick storytime, and JJ really enjoyed it, especially a cute “yoga poses with accompanying animal sounds” moment. Overall, a very enjoyable read, and we absolutely recommend it. Baby Bookworm approved!

(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the author in exchange for an honest review.)

Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, I'll be honest. I really liked the message(s) in this book: it's okay to be nervous. Small things can help big things. Yoga is a nice, safe, predictable subject. Still, it was missing magic and whimsy. The messages were predictable. The spreads were boring and the illustrations didn't vary much at all from page to page. For a picture book to be truly great, it cannot merely convey an adult's ideas and ideologies to children. It must also tap into a primal element of a child's world. This book does a wonderful job of meeting kids halfway, and sharing useful adult ideas with them, but it fails to enter the domain of childhood. Admittedly, this is very difficult to achieve, and while this book misses that mark, it doesn't do so by much. In fact, when read aloud, the adult reader and child can have fun practicing yoga poses and making animal sounds (something I would do all day every day, were it acceptable for a 50 year old man to do so)--but that kind of fun is a clever byproduct of this book and not the book itself. I think this author/illustrator is a competent storyteller and may have the potential to surpass his efforts here.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a follow-on to Yoga Bunny. I didn't know bunnies do yoga, do you? This is a sweet story and a lovely way to bring the practice of yoga to young children. I don't know if meditation works with young children however they certainly can be taught about the calming benefits of deep breathing. Yoga can certainly be practiced alone but practicing with others adds so much more. This is what Bunny's friend, Bear, learns, when she agrees to join in with Bunny's other friends to practice yoga. It helps her to relax, and then truly enjoy her birthday party, without being nervous or having sweaty paws.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not someone who regularly practices yoga, but I know that kids usually enjoy it. I think younger students could benefit from the lessons about how to calm down when you're feeling anxious or nervous.

This could be a fun library lesson with a small kindergarten or 1st grade class. I would want to wear comfy clothes and have the kids do the yoga poses along with the story. (It could also be a disaster, depending on the class!)

Story: 4
Illustrations: 4
Read-aloud: 4

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear is nervous because many friends are coming to his birthday party tomorrow and he hates being the center of attention. But Bunny shows him several yoga poses and how to let thoughts come and go and how to breathe.

This would be good to use in my classroom early in the year to talk about the benefits of yoga and mindfulness and how they can help us.

[Susan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE. PERFECT. BOOK. to introduce mindfulness and meditation to young children. Fun and thoughtful and very effective without being pedantic. I want to do all of these yoga poses with Bunny and Bear!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

While performing her daily yoga exercises, Yoga Bunny meets a bear who is worried about her birthday party. Yoga Bunny helps Bear ease her anxiety by teaching Bear different poses, and makes a new friend in the process.

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story about bear who tries yoga, with the help of bunny, to address his nerves before a birthday party! The characters are likeable and expressions of emotions are beautifully drawn. A great pick for a preschool or early grade storytime to pair with a yoga pose!

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book if doing a yoga storytime or if someone is wanting to teach aspects of yoga to kiddos. In the current political climate of my state, I can see adults hating it. Too in tune with emotions they would say. Teaching demonic ways they would say.

Good grief.

[Nadina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I would call this an "easter and springtime" book, but it is a cute story anyway. I like the simple illustrations and the text. It is well paced and has a good plot. There is just the right amount of text on each page.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The message is great: it's natural to be nervous and things like yoga can help you manage those feelings. The execution is just okay, it didn't really grab me like Yoga Bunny did and it doesn't have nearly as many poses as part of the story. A solid, but not outstanding, story time read.

[Leova Manbhat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for children who may be feeling anxious.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have nothing against yoga, but this book felt like nothing more to me than yoga propoganda. There was no actual story, no quality to the writing, no nothing.

[Owen and Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great sequel

[SamSamSam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man, I'm just tired of books about animals doing yoga. There's gotta be a better way.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friendship and mindfulness.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable sequel to Yoga Bunny, and this time, bunny makes a friend with a bear, who is nervous and anxious about an upcoming birthday party and needs some tips on calming down

[Veronica Manthei · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friendship, meditation, diversity, yoga, kindness

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yoga, social anxiety, friendship, positive thinking

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute introduction to yoga/meditation. My child enjoyed this picture book and attempted to follow along with the yoga poses. A good read for kids with stress/anxiety.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sweet. Not a heavy story here, other than we can all use a friend to boost us up.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mindfulness, calming down. Springtime & the bears birthday.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yoga Bunny helps Bear to become mindful and less anxious on her birthday with yoga.