Pause, Breathe, Be
Megan Borgert-Spaniol and Lauren Kukla, illustrated by Aruna Rangarajan
Beaming Books

Subtitled ‘A kid’s 30-day guide to peace and presence’, this handbook comprises thirty challenges divided into three sections – first Pause, then Breathe and third, Be. The authors intend readers to take the challenges one per day, in an order that most suits each individual.
The Pause section has reflective activities to help personal reconnection including sitting sans phone for ten minutes looking through a window with a good view, staying alert and silent to let deeper thoughts become conscious ones.

One Breathe challenge is to try and spend an entire day without using a screen of any kind. I really like the idea (in part two) of spending a day trying to ‘see beauty and humanity in the ordinary and imperfect.’ as well as the ‘Today choose generosity over judgement’ in the final section; it’s all too easy to slip into that ‘he’s so weird’ , ‘how stupid is she’ way of thinking.

Each section has quotes from famous people; the Dalai Lama speaks in the final one,

and several authors in the previous two.

I’ve seen what happens when primary schools put enormous pressure on year six children to achieve good SATS scores, seeming to be much more interested in their statistics than the mental well-being of their pupils: children in a constant state of anxiety unable to relax and enjoy themselves. This mindfulness book could make a lot of difference for those undergoing that enormous stress; better still if they got a copy at the start of Y6. it should assuredly help users build their self-esteem