Leo Learns to Meditate

This is a fantastic book for guiding children in mindfulness and meditation!

Leo sees his family members meditating, and he is curious about it. His mom begins to instruct him, but then something bad happens at school. Will meditation help Leo handle it? (Spoiler: YES!)

This book explains meditation in a clear, nonjudgmental, and enjoyable way. Kids will see how meditation can benefit them and help them to make better choices. The focus on bhavana, or loving kindness meditation, is especially wonderful for children. I think this is ideally written to appeal to elementary-age children.

Thank you to Shambhala Publications via NetGalley for an advance reader copy!

This graphic novel-style picture book tells about a little boy learning to meditate. Most of the text is in boxes using blue font on light blue backgrounds, with some speech bubbles using fairly large black font. It is a bit of a challenge for Leo to learn meditation and he finds that it takes a lot of concentration but that it is helpful in the end. The book ends with some information about how to practice guided meditation. I think this is a nice book for adults who would like to teach young children about meditation. I would recommend this book for children in the ager 5-9 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

I enjoyed reading Leo Learns to Meditate, and I think I learned a thing or two myself! This picture book has quite a bit of text, and is certainly designed for kiddos to read with support of an adult. In Leo Learns to Read, we follow little Leo as he discovers what meditation is, what it's for, and how to start. In this story, Leo's family all practice meditation, seemingly even their family cat! Leo's mom helps him practice with slow and small steps such as breathing and noticing your body. At the end of the book, there is even several descriptive steps for the reader to practice on their own or with the help of an adult. In this story, we also see Leo encounter a school bully, and how meditation helps him slow down and think of the situation.
I didn't know too much about mediation going into this book, amd truthfully I am probably at Leo's level as a beginner as well. The dialogue Leo shares with his mom was tender, and spoken very well; the steps of meditation physically and mentally are broken down to a simple level of understanding for kids, and I think it is very successful.
I would say this picture book is not for a beginning reader, but maybe for grades 3-6. I think this is a good book to share with a kiddo rather than on their own. One last thing I admired was a short note at the end of the story about the author's spirituality and practice of meditation, and I admire that Hampton shared this practice in a way for kids to take part in. Overall, I really loved the story and the illustrations, and this was a calming read for me. I would love to have this book for my classroom and to share with my own kids.

Delightful, engaging and sharing a critically important lesson on mindfulness.

Everyone in Leo's family meditates, but Leo doesn't. He wonders if he can ever learn and become good at it.
With the support and help of Mom, Leo learns that meditation is so much more than just sitting still. Leo's skills are tested when a bully at school steals his dessert. Leo realizes meditation is perfect any time, the good times, the bad times and every time in between.

Text heavy and designed in the style of a graphic-novel, this book is designed to be ready with an adult. It is a fun and is easy to follow, but the content makes it important to have an adult there to pause and have discussions and help discuss important moments in the story. It even includes a step-by-step guided practice at the end to get their kids started.

This story was both entertaining and educational, which can be a tricky balance to maintain in a children’s book, and I will be suggesting it to teachers whenever possible. Incorporating social-emotional skills and topics such as this into children's picture books is a tried and true way to teach an important life skill in a way that is fun. This would be an amazing addition for classroom libraries, counselling offices and more.

Leo Learns to Meditate was a great learning book in my household. Leo sees others around him meditating, and he is curious about it. His mom takes time to teach him until something happens at school. With things always happening, will Leo learn to meditate?

Leo is such a relatable character, our minds always going full speed every second of the day. The illustrations are colorful and fun. The message is important. I did like that it was more of a graphic novel type of story, a little harder for my 6-year-old to follow along but the message still got across and opened the floor for discussion on the benefits of meditating.

Thank you to Shambhala Publications via NetGalley for an advance reader copy!

Leo Learns to Meditate
4.5 Stars

My background is in behavioral health for children & teenagers. I was excited to see a meditation book on the market. This book is set up like a graphic novel. The illustrations are colorful with a muted color palette. It will be a good teaching tool for parents, counselors and teachers. This book teaches meditation in a clear and nonjudgmental way. Meditation works great for kids overcome with emotions (crying), kids with hot tempers, or kiddos with ADHD that need quiet time. This is a great resource for teaching mindfulness and meditation. A great addition to any library.

Thank you, NetGalley and Shambhala Publications, for an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Leo finds his family meditating - his parents and his older brother. They tell him not to bother them while they are meditating. He becomes curious about meditating. What is it? Why do it? He asks his mother to teach him to meditate. At first, he has a hard time understanding and doing what his mother tells him. At last he learns to meditation which helps him when something “negative” happens to him. His meditation has helped him deal with it. Meditation makes it easier to deal with the ups and downs of life plus more.

The author in a lovely picture book and graphic novel combined explains meditation to young children. It’s a great way to introduce and invite discussion about meditation.

This was a super cute story! It would be great for kids 6-8, 6-10. My daughter is only 4 so it was a little lengthy for her attention 😅 I however was captivated by the comic book style graphics and the eagerness to learn mindfulness from such a young kiddo! I also love that they taught the less of understanding why a bully may be acting out. Overall I think this would be a great read for a kids bookshelf! 😁

Thanks to Netgalley and Shambhala Publications for the ARC of this!

A cute story about mindfulness, understanding, and forgiveness. I really enjoyed the illustrations, pacing, and overall message. I think it’s a great introduction to mindfulness.

A perfect book for the holiday season where we all need to remember to take a minute to calm down and breathe. Mindfulness is so important and this book is a delightful way to introduce or teach that to kids. The illustrations are also well done and attractive