Finding Om is a beautifully-illustrated book that tells the story of a grandfather, or Appuppa, helping his grandaughter, Anu, to learn how to meditate, become centered, and listen to her body. A wonderful book to help introduce kids to meditation, this book also shows a beautiful grandfather/granddaughter relationship. I'll be sharing this book with my school's counselors and elementary school teachers!

As a yogini I found this book truly wonderful and inspiring.

A grandfather teaches her granddaughter the importance and the way to use a mantra,in this case OM (A-U-M).
It is never too early to learn mindfulness and meditation, especially in this modern and frenetic world.

Beautiful illustration and brilliant story for the little ones (and not only)!

Peace, love, creativity, courage all feelings invoked by chanting Om (A Um). Anu's grandpa shares with her the art of chanting and explains how om connects one to the universe and calms the mind. The art is full of vibrant colors and the characters are drawn exceptionally well. This is an awesome family book and a great introduction to om.

I don't mean to get all deep on a children's book. But, I feel I'm going to.
This book does a very great job at explaining a concept in a simple way. I honestly struggle with meditation and even after working with therapists, I feel like this book may have described the concept in a simpler way and it probably could have helped me growing up. I really like the cultural diversity of this book and think readers will really appreciate the glossary as the terms are not common in all cultures/languages. And my favorite thing: the art. Is. Stunning.
Thank you for sharing this for review. I look forward to adding it to our shelves.

Finding OM revolves around Anu as she learns to meditate and feel connected to the world around her. This book is a great introduction into meditation, mantras, and a touch of Indian culture. Find OM comes at a perfect time as the value of mindfulness grows in American culture. This book would be great to introduce meditation practices to elementary aged children. The language is broken down for children to easily understand these complex ideas. The illustrations are bring and inspiring.

This short story is so sweet and wholesome. The illustrations are beautiful and the story easy to follow. There's much to learn for both the child listening to the story and the adult reading it to them, the explanations are simple to follow and make sense. I imagine a child reading/hearing this story will take the story with them beyond the page.

I loved this story with all my heart! It is warming, educational, calming and beautiful.

Finding Om is an exploration of mindfulness and meditation using the mantra of Om. Anu learns about the mantra from her grandfather and goes on to practice the mantra herself. Using Om, Anu explores herself and the world around her.

Finding Om is a wonderful multicultural and multi-generational story that is perfect for teaching children about culture, diversity and mindfulness. There are few children's books that explore different ethnicity or religions which is what makes this book so unique, beautiful and important. All children need to be able to see themselves in a book.

The illustrations throughout this book are simply beautiful and complement the story perfectly! I do think younger children would struggle to grasp the concept of meditation and mindfulness and therefore the book is ore suited to children a little older, possibly around the age of seven? Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story and illustrations immensely.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my own, honest opinion.

Finding Om is not only a kids book, anyone who has ever wondered about the mantra OM or even heard it before should read this book. I have never encountered a better description of the meaning of OM. The drawings are phenomenal.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Beautifully illustrated with a peaceful, kind message. A young girl learns from her Grandpa the importance of a mantra reflection. She incorporates it in her daily life. Awesome to teach kids how to appreciate the sounds around them.

This book was an enjoyable read for me as i have not much understanding of Yoga and meditation. I learnt quite a bit from the book, especially the glossary was concise and useful. The illustration was wonderful, warm and detailed. Tho i loved the book, it can be a difficult concept for some children to fully grasp and they may lose interest. The fact that it was a pretty lengthy read can add up to the trouble. But if the child has prior understanding of the subject, it can be a fun read.

This title would be a wonderful addition to any home, classroom, school and public library collection. People of all ages could benefit from exposure to the mantra of Om and the message that is expressed throughout this book, and my oh my the illustrations are gorgeous! Beautiful!

The illustrations in this book are beautiful! I read this with my 6yo daughter. I struggled with the length (and not always clear) descriptions, but my daughter did not! She really enjoyed it as she could connect it to some aspects they learn at yoga. I think she would have enjoyed it less if she didn’t have a pre-understanding of the concept (I have zero understanding). I think kids without that knowledge will struggle a little.

First of all the illustrations in this book are wonderfully detailed and beautiful. This is about a girl that sees her grandfather chanting om, she questioned him on what he is doing. He teaches her about meditation and the significance of it. This is a great book to introduce children to meditation and what it entails.

A cute , beautiful diverse story I'd reccomend to kids of all ages!
With a beautiful art style, and evocative exploration of diversity and culture, this story will warm childrens hearts alongside educating them on how beautiful diverse the world is!

This book was very sweet, and a great read! As a teacher, I would read this book to children in my classes It offered a straightforward introduction to the concept of OM and meditation in the real world. The best part was that it was from the perspective of a child. I loved the illustrations, the explanations and the glossary (very useful). The book was very sweet, and family-oriented. I enjoyed the idea of learning from a family member, especially an elderly family member. My only concern would be that really young students or children may not completely understand the concept. They examples were very relatable but the concept is not the easiest. It is definitely a story which would have to be read and taught more than once.

DISCLAIMER: The book is given by NetGalley, the author and the publisher in exchange of an honest review. All the review written is not related to any personal issues or connection.

TRIGGER: This is a sweet graphic children book. The story is beautifully told in wonderful illustration.

Finding Om tells about the story of an Indian African girl Anu who learns a valuable lesson from Appuppa, her beloved grandfather. The lesson is nothing but "Om." Anu is at first curious why her Appuppa keeps saying "Om" with eyes closed. She then asks him and Appuppa says that Om is like a mantra. Throughout the story, Anu discovers that the word or sounds "Om" carries a lot of meanings particularly in its relation to the practice of meditation. 

This children book to me is an interesting book. The story comes with very beautiful illustration. The only thing that need to be adjusted is the use of language. The writer should set the boundaries to which age the book will be circulated. I think it is quite a little hard for children under seven to understand the concept delivered. Therefore, the writer should be very attentive with the choice of words and the concepts being delivered. It is especially in explaining the concept of Om through meditation. 

My only suggestion is to keep the language used as simple as it can be. The beautiful illustration helps the children to understand the book better. The illustration will also keep them entertaining.

The book is available by clicking this site: Finding Om by Rashmi S. Bismark

Review: https://literatureisliving.wordpress.com/2020/03/09/finding-om-by-rashmi-s-bismark-m-d-m-p-h/

This was so cute!!! I learned a lot and it makes me love picture books even more, they're for everyone! The glossary in the back was helpful but I also really liked explanations in the beginning and throughout the story. This book is definitely for families who practice yoga or for kids who want to learn about meditation and finding peace. I will share this book at our library as soon as it hits our shelves. I love the illustrations as well! Beautiful!

Sometimes I wonder if picture-book authors really understand children at all...

Finding Om is a simple explanation of mindfulness and meditation using the Om mantra. Anu learns about Om from her grandfather, Appuppa. Then she goes on to practice, eventually finding peace within herself.

What I'm struggling with are two things. First, Anu is depicted fairly unrealistically. After learning about Om, she struggles to maintain focus... until she obsessively starts chanting while letting the world go on around her. Do children really need to be that mindful? (There's one illustration that I found particularly disturbing, in which she's sitting and meditating while the rest of her family are simply enjoying their lives. What's the message? Kids are supposed to give up joy in favour of enlightenment? Her family are unenlightened boors who need to be taught a lesson? In fact, the book ends with Appuppa suggesting they teach the even-younger sister about meditating. I'm not sure how well that's going to work, given the girls' apparent ages.)

The second thing that's bothering me is the way the book is written. It's difficult to understand, even for adults! The main narrative itself isn't so bad, but check out one of the definitions provided for clarity:

"Meditation: an introspective practice for becoming more familiar with ourselves in relationship with internal and external life experience; depending on the style of practice, may cultivate certain modes of paying attention, like focus and/or receptivity; may also reinforce connections to various attitudes and intentions for attending with presence, awareness, wisdom, and care"

Got that, kids?

The pictures are cute, and the overall premise is commendable, but I think this is aimed at the wrong age group. Do young children really need to be reminded to notice things around them? I don't think so. These are valuable lessons for older readers who may have forgotten how to be mindful, but I question whether encouraging kids to get obsessed with chanting and trying to be mindful 24/7 is that healthy.

This was so adorable. The illustrations were so beautiful I was in awe the whole time. I loved that this was about a little girl discovering mediation and bonding with her grandpa. This was so wonderful to read, I loved every part.

This was an informative look into the practice of meditation and breaks down the principles using easy to understand prose and beautiful illustrations!