The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story

I pre-read this book before reading it to my 4 year old son. I thought it was a wonderful book, but it seemed like it was for a bit older audience and would not hold his attention. So, I didn't read it to him. About a week later, he found the book and asked me to read it. He was transfixed through the entire book. He requested us to do the yoga poses in the book. The story even opened up a great dialogue about how yoga came from India. His godparents are Indian, so this was great conversation and prompted him to want to ask them questions about their native language and culture.

Thank you for your wonderful service as usual. My students loved the book and so did I. I'm very happy that your customers can find beautiful books like thisone and many other ones you have so useful for children. Thanks again

Young Meena is a girl of Indian ancestry who is going through a growth spurt common to many kids her age. As her mom explains, "your arms and leg are growing really fast. That can make you feel clumsy sometimes." When Meena rehearses for the school play (a retelling of "Little Red Riding Hood"), both her balance and self-esteem take a tumble. Her Dad reassures her that she needn't be perfect, "just try your best." Meena dejectedly replies, "I'm perfectly clumsy." The next day Meena and her mom go to the "Auntie" Vohra's Indian grocery story. Snacking on some "matthi," an astonished Meena see legs shooting up, holding still, and lowering again! It's a yoga class, and Auntie encourages her to join. Through yoga practice, Meena improves her coordination, and more importantly, her self-confidence and ability to calm herself. All this comes in handy on the night of the play, especially when things don't go quite as planned. The book is admirable on a number of levels. The richly saturated acrylic illustrations, add drama and intensity to the story. The author sprinkles a few Indian words throughout the book (there's a glossary), and depictions of Meena's home and the market show Indian decorations, and a colorful assortment of foods. The Indian influences add interest and authenticity without overpowering or stereotyping Meena, who is, after all, a child of the West. I thought that one of Ruth Jeyaveeran's pictures (the rehearsal) breaks the fluid narrative; she covers too many story elements in one illustration, but overall text and pictures mesh well. "The Happiest Tree" shows a few yoga poses, and emphasizes the slow progression and the importance of the teacher's help. Luckily for Meena, who plays a tree in the play, Auntie Vohra teaches "Tree Pose" and Meena uses this to calm herself and use imagery during the play itself. After several classes, Meena thins to herself, "I can change my body by how I feel inside...IF I am quiet inside, my body will be still. That's what yoga is really about." Well, yoga is about many more things, and the book tends to deemphasize yoga and the mind, but perhaps the physical is more relevant and understandable for a young reader. It's nice to see a book about yoga for kids, especially one that equally informs and entertains. The author lists three nonfiction books ("Yoga for Children," "Kid Yoga: Fun with a Twist," and "Yoga for Kids") for those who want to pursue the topic.

The Happiest Tree shows how yoga can help children calm down. Meena has a part in the school play. She fears that she may be too clumsy to even stand still enough to play a tree. She learns to control her anxiety at her yoga lessons at her Auntie's place. The story is slightly didactic in that some yoga lessons are cleverly snuck into the narrative, but the insertions are not interruptions to the flow of the story. The artwork is somewhat folksy, but the simplicity of the illustrations are rather appealing.

Menna is one of those kids who walks into a room and things fall over. She can tumble over her own feet. In fact, she's so excited about her class play The New Improved Red Ridinghood, that she trips, falls, and spills the paint while helping build the set. Worse, when she and her mother go to an East Indian grocery store to shop, Meena manages to knock over a bag of rice. Now she's really miserable. Encouraged by the store's owner, whom everyone calls Auntie, Meena signs up for children's yoga. As she works through the various poses, she discovers a mind-body connection she didn't know she had. Then her teacher, Mrs. Jackson tells her she must be a trree in the play. Meena can't stand still, until she realizes she might apply something she she learned in yoga class to her part. Then on opening night, she confronts a disaster with her costume. Can she use yoga principles to overcome the problem? If so, she stands to become THE HAPPIEST TREE in the production. THE HAPPIEST TREE: A YOGA STORY comes from the pen of talented children's author Uma Krishnaswami. Uma has the knack of catching a child's feelings, growth, and discovery as she develops Meena from a shy little girl who wants to hide from the world, to a confidant actress who might just handle the unexpected emergency. Ruth Jeyaveeran's illustrations work well with Uma Krishnaswami's text, presenting Menna's environment in a rich palette of East Indian colors and objects. As a result THE HAPPIEST TREE: A YOGA STORY offers a universal problem for the heroine to solve, by drawing on a solution from a specific cultural background. The combination offers a rich reading and visual experience to anyone who wants it.