Miss Jen's picture book intervention

I can't quite remember how I stumbled across this book, whether it was from something I read, something I heard about, or just discovered on the shelf of the library.  My brain has been in scramble mode since March 13, A.K.A. "The day all hell broke loose because of Covid19."  Since then my anxiety has been off the charts, more than it usually is.  Normalcy is a long lost memory.  I have spent the last four months feeling completely untethered, yet having to put on a brave face to keep my family going and household running smoothly.  Of course it takes a children's book to make me slow down, refocus, and breath.  It's almost like it found me.

The book My Magic Breath Finding Calm Through Mindful Breathing is written by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor and illustrated by Michelle Polizzi.  Now I know the concept is nothing new, and that this is something I could already be doing.  What really connected with me were the illustrations.  I have always been a visual learner.  The various emotions that are experienced by the girl in this book come out in a break of colorful swirls going every which way.  From the very start of this pandemic madness I often said that I felt "swirly" when trying to explain things to my children (ages 7 & 8.)  It helps me to envision blowing out all of my negativity and watching the wind take hold and carry it all away.  This is probably a better solution than wine and White Claws!  I also like the idea of breath being magical.  Another thing I have been saying is that I feel like I am losing my sparkle.  As a children's librarian my unique zaniness is given a place to shine.  While I am chronologically an adult, I have the soul of a child.  I love to use my imagination, and I love when books can take me places.  A lot of my kiddos have told me that I am magical when I do silly things in storytime.  This is my identity.  Hence, why I feel like I have lost my magic and my sparkle these past months.  If my breaths are magical, then I must have some of that left in me!  I look forward to sharing this book with my girls.  I think it will really help them to be able to express their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  Their worlds have been turned upside down.  Sharing a book like this and breathing together will hopefully leave kids (and adults) with a happy memory from this crazy time. 

Amazing, right?