Meditation
Station
Author: Susan B. Katz
Illustrator: Anait
Semirdzhyan
Publisher: Bala Kids, 2020
ISBN: 978-1611807912
Reading Level: 4-8 years
Genre: Children's Non-fiction
Topics: mindfulness, meditation, self-control, focus, yoga.
Main Characters: A teddy bear and his thoughts that appear as trains running through a train station.
Plot: The book uses the images of a teddy bear as the train conductor, a train station, and trains zooming through the train station to teach children about meditation and mindful practices.
Settings: Inside the Meditation Station
4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁
Why 4 Roars? I love the comparison the author makes between zooming trains and thoughts zooming through a child's mind. I think this would be a great way to teach children that we can simply watch the trains go by without getting on the trains.
"As thoughts zoom in and out of your brain, stay in the station and just watch each train."
~~Meditation Station
Critical Analysis
Accuracy: The author is a teacher and an educational consultant. She is an award-winning author who has also written eight chapter books and biographies.
“As a seasoned, bilingual educator, I see that kids need specific skills to calm their bodies and minds. In addition to teaching, I’ve been practicing meditation, mindfulness and metta (loving-kindness) for over 25 years.
One dharma talk I heard at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, centered around how to train ourselves to stay with our breath and not get swept up by our racing train of thoughts. Stay in the station, as they say. You can also liken it to passing clouds in the sky. Just letting our thoughts pass, and not going down the rabbit hole of “what ifs” which flood our brains with emotions about hypothetical scenarios, allows us to stay in the present.”
~~ Susan B. Katz, Thrive Global
Organization: The book is organized to read as a simple story.
Design: The
illustrations are simple, clean, and very calming, and the illustrator uses
traditional ink and watercolor, along with new methods.
"Although my favorite tools are traditional Pen & Ink and watercolor, I also work digitally and am always eager to try new media and learn new techniques."
~~ Anait Semirdzhyan
Style: The
book uses calming lyrical passages in many places and gives readers the choice of centering oneself and being an observer in the Meditation Station.
"This delightful book offers children one of the most precious of gifts—an understanding that we are not our thoughts! The evocative theme and beautiful illustrations remind all of us that we can stay balanced and calm instead of being taken for a ride by reactive
stories in our mind."
~~ Tara Brach, author of Radical Compassion
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