Down the Sleepy River: A Mindful Bedtime Book

Down the Sleepy River takes you along as the animals in the story are getting ready for bed. The book provides the reader with a mindful breathing exercise as you copy the animals. 

What I liked: 
The minute that I saw this book, I knew that it was something that I was going to cherish and love sharing with others. I love how books are moving to social-emotional learning topics for children and that this one aims to teach mindfulness to a young audience. 

This book reminded me to slow down and let go of the anxiety of tomorrow. This book helped me transition my brain from frantically running around trying to do everything to sitting in my body and allowing myself just to be. 

The pictures included throughout the book are relaxing. I love the variety of animals the author and illustrator chose to include. I love that we can watch different animals get ready for bed, and the author tells us how they relax their bodies for bedtime. 

Final Verdict: This book is a great introduction to mindfulness for young children as it explains what mindfulness is for adults and gives children examples. This book is great to read aloud with young children as they get ready for bed and have them follow along with each instruction. Then, the reader can watch and enjoy the silence as they slowly fall asleep.