4 out of 4 stars
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Meditation is a growing trend nowadays. The Ten Story Collection by Patricia May is a cute children's mediation book containing ten interactive stories designed to help kids to unwind and chill out after a stressful day. The author was inspired to create this delightful collection after attending a davidji seminar in Denver.
In the words of the author the book "introduces meditation in the form of a short story rhymes using a seashell as an interactive tool". The kids listen to the story while holding a seashell up to their ear. The soothing music provided through barcodes adds to the relaxing atmosphere. Each story in the book takes place in a different location and enticing illustrations grace its pages. At the end of the collection the author gives ten convincing reasons why kids should mediate. It helps to them relax, decreases aggressiveness, and provides valuable skills to name a few.
The poems are in fact relaxing visualization exercises using a guided imagery technique. The child needs to follow the instructions (i.e. taking a long deep breath, count to three and so on), and picture the scene described in order to relax. It is really sweet and gets the imagination going whilst relaxing him at the same time. Each poem concludes with the word "Namaste", meaning "I bow to you", an expression of greeting in Hindi. Being unfamiliar with it, I had to look it up.
I loved the book and the concept. I have read some of the stories to my nine year old son and he liked them. Our favorite poems were "The stream" which takes the reader to a trip on a wooden boat, and the "Forest" which takes the reader to a magical forest. The book advises to use a seashell for the exercises. It can be a problem since not everyone has an access to one. However, I think one can enjoy the book even without the shell. At one point my son preferred listening to the poems without the help of the shell.
The only issue I had with the book was his small size font. I got this collection as an ebook, but was unable read it on my kindle due to its too small font size. I didn't succeed to enlarge the writing, so ended up reading it on my computer, not a big deal. I suggest getting the book as a paper book for better reading experience. Otherwise the poems were engaging, the music soothing, and the illustrations beautiful.
It is my first meditation book so I can't compare it to other books, but I found it a great introduction to the world of meditation for kids. Actually, it's also a nice introduction for adults unfamiliar with mediation as well. Overall I found the book a great interactive tool, so I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. This book has wonderfully detailed descriptions and great background music. The language is relatively simple so kids can understand it without any hassles. The author put together soothing meditations that are accessible to kids of all ages teaching them to relax. It is best to read it to the kids before bed, since it gives them great things to dream about afterward. I would recommend it to for kids aged
2 – 12 years as it a good start for beginners.
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The Ten Story Collection
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