Spring is here, a season of new beginnings, which means it’s a great time for kids and parents to start incorporating, or re-incorporating, habits into their lives that will nourish and uplift their bodies and minds. Making sure that you’re moving your body, eating a balanced diet of nutrient-rich foods and taking time for mindful breathing and relaxation are some important ways to help create and maintain a healthy lifestyle, and the library has many books that can help:
How do you like to move? Do you like stretching, team sports, swimming or skateboarding? Or maybe hikes, bike rides, dancing or martial arts? There are so 
many different ways to move your body in healthy ways. One of my favorite ways to move my body is through yoga, and there are many different poses and types of yoga to try. In “Yoga Frog,” by Nora Carpenter, Yoga Frog leads you through a series of yoga stretches, or asanas, from Mountain Pose (tadasana) to Resting Pose (savasana) to help you have a happy, hoppy day just like him! And author Mariam Gates has two books, “Good Morning Yoga” and “Yoga Friends” that use yoga poses to lead young readers through a story. Another wonderful story with movement is Eric Carle’s “From Head to Toe,” which invites kids to copy the antics of various animals as they wave, clap, wriggle, thump, kick and stomp. And the benefits of physical fitness are also covered in both Scot Richie’s “See How We Move!,” which follows the members of a swim team as they prepare for an upcoming meet, and Rosalyn Clark’s “Why We Exercise.”
In order to move our bodies we need fuel in the form of calories from food, and it’s helpful to choose foods that will keep you strong and healthy. In “Our Food” by Grace Lin and Ranida T. McKneally, a group of kids visit a farm and learn about where the food they eat comes from, as well as how certain foods are nutritionally different than others. Food is one of the many topics covered in “Why Do I Have to Eat My Greens?” by Dr. Emma Waddington and Dr. Christopher McCurry, which answers common questions that kids might have about health, nutrition and well-being. And Mollie Katzen’s “Salad People and More Real Recipes” is a fun cookbook filled with illustrated recipes designed so that kids and parents can work together in the kitchen and develop a healthy relationship with the food they eat.
Breathing is something most of us take for granted every day, but taking time to mindfully focus on our breath can be very beneficial for our mental and physical well-being. In “Alphabreaths” by Christopher Willard and Daniel Rechtschaffen, kids can learn their ABCs and the basics of mindfulness through playful breathing exercises. And in another book by Mariam Gates, “Breathe with Me,” you can learn guided breathing techniques to use throughout the day to help you feel calm, happy and strong.
