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Meet the Author of Dinos Don’t Do Yoga

Catherine Bailey — December 4, 2020

The Author
Catherine Bailey is the author of multiple picture books, including Harbor Bound and Mind Your Monsters. For more, please visit catherinebaileybooks.com.

Dinos Don't Do Yoga Cover The Book
Rex is a dinosaur with a rough, tough crew. But when a yoga-loving dinosaur comes to town, Rex and his fierce friends discover there’s more to strength than big muscles and bad attitudes. This fun-filled story features timely themes about kindness, friendship, and being able to see past our differences.

Has your book taken on a new meaning in the world’s current circumstances? Is there anything you would have included in your book if you were writing it now?

Dinos Don’t Do Yoga was written back during the calm and quiet of 2018. At the time, it was simply a funny story about a grumpy T. rex. Today we are living in a very different world. Things have changed dramatically in terms of how people interact with each other—from social distancing to increased activism.

So now when I read Dinos Don’t Do Yoga, the relationships between the characters are more meaningful. I hope my readers see kindness, acceptance, and connection (in addition to a funny story!). I also hope that the book inspires children to explore yoga as a physical means of dealing with the stress of these crazy times. Yoga is a beautiful way to get back to a happy mental space.

After all, if dinos can do it—so can we!

Q&A image

Send us a photo of you and your pet, and let us know if your pet had any role in helping you write your book!

Here we have a snapshot of the world’s most annoyed cat. I decided to share this particular picture because it reminded me of the Dinos Don’t Do Yoga cover. The illustrator of the book, Alex Willmore, brilliantly contrasted the highly disgruntled Rex (complete with eye twitch!) with his blithely happy costar, Sam. I laugh every time I see that artwork!

The same is true for this photograph of myself and our family cat, Chloe. This picture was taken right after her first (and probably last) bath. In my defense, I only bathed her because she had a small flea problem. She still has not forgiven me.

bailey cat

What is something about you that doesn’t make it into your author bio?

bailey 3

My author biography contains all sorts of fun tidbits, but it doesn’t mention this one cool thing about me: I am kid-sized! By which I mean I’m very short for my age. You cannot tell from (most) pictures, but even though I am an official middle-aged grown-up, I am only 4’8” tall. That is about the size of the average second grader!

So why do I mention it? What’s so great about being super small? Well, a lot of things! But best of all is that it makes me empathetic and mindful of other people’s differences. And that makes me a better writer. For example, it was easy for me to create the characters of Rex (challenged by his petite arms) and Sam (a true “outsider”) in Dinos Don’t Do Yoga. It is true what they say—great things come in small packages.

Dinos Don't Do Yoga Cover

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Meet Hello, Moon! Children’s book author Sarah J Hin...

Sarah Jane Hinder — December 4, 2020

The Author
Sarah Jane Hinder is a yoga and mindfulness teacher and the illustrator of several bestselling children’s picture books, including Good Night Yoga and Good Morning Yoga. She is also the author and illustrator of Hello, Sun! and the bestselling yoga board book series that includes Yoga Bug, Yoga Bear, Yoga Whale, and Yoga Bunny for children. Sarah lives in Manchester, England. For more information, visit sarahjanehinder.com.

hello moon book cover The Book
Whimsical and playful, Hello, Moon! is both a celebration of the night sky and an introduction to the joys of yoga, teaching children ages 4–8 to breathe, stretch, and relax through yoga poses to wind down at the end of the day.

What was your favorite book as a child?

Alice in Wonderland, written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel, has to be my favorite book as a child. I loved how the White Rabbit was always late, the hilarious Mad Hatter’s tea party, and how Alice would grow and shrink by eating the Caterpillar’s toadstool.

I loved that Alice was brave and strong, overcoming her fears and solving problems by herself. She meets so many wonderful creatures throughout her imaginative and fantastical journey. I used to dream about meeting the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat and always wanted to save the Dormouse from the teapot. I love a story where the character grows (literally) and learns from her experiences.

Alice in Wonderland

Send us a photo of you and your pet, and let us know if your pet had any role in helping you write your book!

I have two Chihuahuas, who are my artist’s assistants, Paul and Alice. They are always by my side, in front of my face, or standing on my artwork or laptop.

paulie and alice

Paul has actually been a co-illustrator on one of my book covers, Good Night Yoga.

paulie

When my art was propped against the wall, Paul decided to put his paw in my paint palette. He then trotted over to my illustration and pawed paint over it. He likes to get involved, much to my dismay! They also both love to join me during Savasana by standing on my chest and giving me lots of kisses.

good nigh yoga painting

Has your book taken on a new meaning in the world’s current circumstances? Is there anything you would have included in your book if you were writing it now?

There has been more awareness of the importance of mental health in children since the pandemic. Social connection is very important, especially in early childhood, yet children are being isolated from one another. Avoiding each other through fear greatly increases stress in a child.

Yoga and mindfulness can help children develop connections within themselves, using their mind, body, and breath to reduce levels of stress and anxiety.

Hello, Moon! delivers a gentle sequence of yoga poses, moon salutations, to calm and soothe the body before bedtime, a time when fears can appear.

When writing Hello, Moon!, I included a Moon Meditation; however, there wasn’t enough room within the 32 pages of a picture book to include it. I will be adding this as a free resource on my website as a bedtime companion to the picture book.

hello moon book cover

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Meet the Author of Good Morning Yoga

Mariam Gates — December 4, 2020

The Author
Mariam Gates holds a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and is the creator of Kid Power Yoga. She is the author of the bestselling Good Night Yoga and many other yoga-related books for children. Mariam’s favorite yoga pose is Tree. She lives in Northern California. For more, see mariamgates.com.

Good Morning Yoga Book Cover

The Book

Good Morning Yoga is a board book version of the bestselling picture book. Targeted for the littlest yogis, ages 0–4, it is the perfect introduction to simple yoga poses at an early age, encouraging children to enjoy moving their bodies, using their imaginations, and learning a new skill.

The-Monster-at-the-End-of-This-Book

What was your favorite book as a child?

My absolute favorite book as a child was The Monster at the End of This Book by Jon Stone and illustrated by Michael Smollin. (Though on the cover, it really just gives credit to “lovable, furry old Grover.”)

It is the original “interactive” book. As a child, the fact that Grover was speaking directly to me, the reader, and that I was in on (and affecting) the progression of the story was nothing short of magical. It was my first experience of feeling amazed, surprised, and delighted by what could happen in the pages of a book—a feeling that has obviously never left.

All of my books are “interactive,” and my hope is that children feel that kind of connection and magic when they read them. I want young readers to be transported and to feel how each word and each image was created as a gift for them to enjoy.

Has your book taken on a new meaning in the world’s current circumstances? Is there anything you would have included in your book if you were writing it now?

I have loved hearing over the years about how teachers and parents incorporate Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Wake Up Story into morning meetings and family routines. But once we went into shelter-in-place in 2020, I started having daily and weekly emails and messages from people around the country. I’ve had the honor of hearing personal stories from teachers who are still using it, but now on Zoom, and parents who use the flow and the visualization at the end as transitions and breaks in their homeschooling schedules. In the midst of all of this separation, it has been an unbelievable gift to be connected to people through the book.

mishavayner

Photo courtesy of Misha Vayner

moja.yoga

Photo courtesy of MOJA YOGA

What is something that doesn’t make it into your author bio?

In my 20s and 30s I was a hand model! It was an incredibly fun (and lucrative) job. I had always received compliments on my hands, so in graduate school, when I did not have time for a regular employment schedule, I started hand modeling on the side. Mariam hand model

This was back when most things were done in person, so I made an appointment for an interview with Ford Modeling and brought in a set of “handshots.” They signed me on the spot, and I spent several years working in commercials and print.

Good Morning Yoga Book Cover

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Diana Spalding: Let’s Nurture Moms and Birth a New C...

Diana Spalding — September 30, 2020

Diana Spalding is a certified nurse midwife and mother of three young children. She has a master’s degree in midwifery from NYU and has worked as a nursing school professor at Cedar Crest College, as well as a midwifery school advisor at Georgetown University. With Sounds True, Diana Spalding is the author of the book The Motherly Guide to Becoming Mama: Redefining the Pregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum Journey (with Jill Koziol and Liz Tenety). In this podcast, Diana speaks with Sounds True founder Tami Simon about creating a more nurturing society for mothers, redefining motherhood for today’s times, the incredible productivity of moms at home and work, and much more.

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Dr. Britta Bushnell: Transformed by Birth

Dr. Britta Bushnell — February 4, 2020

Dr. Britta Bushnell is a longtime pregnancy educator who has helped countless people prepare for childbirth. With Sounds True, she has published a new book titled Transformed by Birth: Cultivating Openness, Resilience, and Strength for the Life-Changing Journey from Pregnancy to Parenthood. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon and Britta discuss why birth is a momentous rite of passage and the experiences that brought Britta to her life’s calling. They delve into the mythological resonance and cultural significance of childbirth. Britta and Tami also talk about life-affirming rituals that one can establish during pregnancy and the misconceptions many of Britta’s students initially bring to her. Finally, they speak on the spiritually transformative dimension of childbirth, including what we both give up and gain the moment we become parents.(70 minutes)

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This is a new day. A mindful day. Our day.

Deborah Hopkinson — January 30, 2020

It’s still dark
when one small bird
fluffs his feathers
And lifts his voice
To sing up the sun.
Snuggled deep in our dreams,
we hear his clear song.
And we open our eyes
To the gift of a new day.
This day.
Our day.

Years ago, we attended a family meditation retreat with the beloved Buddhist teacher Thich
Nhat Hanh. The children loved him. He showed them how to count their breaths from one to
ten. (The best part was finding ten perfect stones to move from one pile to another.) During
walking meditation, he urged them all ahead with a running meditation. Another time, the
children served tea to the adults, moving carefully and slowly, focused intently on the task at
hand.

Today, there is growing recognition that practicing mindfulness has benefits for children
regardless of religious or spiritual background. From preschools to middle schools, educators
are incorporating mindfulness into their learning communities as a way to help young people
cope with emotions and anxieties.

Mindfulness can also start at home. Here in Oregon, the OPEC (Oregon Parenting Education
Collaborative), a public-private parenting education effort, provides evidence-based parent
resources on mindfulness: “The Benefits of Practicing Mindfulness with Children at Home.”

I hope my new picture book, Mindful Day, with gorgeous illustrations by talented California
artist Shirley Ng-Benitez, will also be helpful to families. Rather than a how-to, the story instead
follows a young girl, along with her mom and little brother, as they go about the simple,
ordinary activities of a day: eating breakfast together, getting dressed, brushing teeth, and
going to the market.

Shirley’s child-friendly artwork makes the characters come to life and examples of how to
practice mindfulness are integrated into the text. As the young girl pops a raspberry into her
mouth she says, “I chew slowly. It tastes sweet as summer.” She also practices being aware of
her breath. “Together we breathe: in out, soft slow. I look and listen. I play.”

Mindful Day was inspired by the time I’ve spent with my toddler grandson. I hope readers will embrace Mindful Day and make mindfulness part of their own family life. In this way, we can better treasure each precious moment—and help our children learn to do the same.

Thank you,
Deborah Hopkinson

Deborah Hopkinson has a master’s degree in Asian Studies from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, where she studied the role of women in thirteenth-century Japanese Buddhism. She lived in Honolulu for 20 years and practiced Zen Buddhism with the late Roshi Robert Aitken, founder of the Diamond Sangha and Buddhist Peace Fellowship. She lives near Portland, Oregon. For more, visit deborahhopkinson.com.

Category: Parenting & Children

Meet the Author of Dinos Don’t Do Yoga

Meet Hello, Moon! Children’s book author Sarah J Hin...

Meet the Author of Good Morning Yoga

Diana Spalding: Let’s Nurture Moms and Birth a New C...

Dr. Britta Bushnell: Transformed by Birth

This is a new day. A mindful day. Our day.

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