I really loved this book. It was sweet without being sugary, but also very helpful in teaching my child to breathe and step away from problems. The illustrations were absolutely fantastic, and I hope to see more by this team.

This book gently asks, where is your station where you can meditate best, yoga-fashion!

Together, award-winning author and former teacher, Susan Katz, and illustrator, Anait Semirdzhyan, have created a self-help story for all ages. The illustrations are gentle and soothing in pen and ink and watercolor.
The story, in verse, is also soothing to read and read-aloud to others. The illustrations are pastel shades of yellow, brown, green, red and blue.

The story suggest that readers, like the little bear in the story, practice breathing, stretching, resting, and thinking techniques to allow happy, relaxing, creative, and positive thoughts and ideas.

The little bear is outside of Meditation Station where trains come and go, round and round. The bear watches creatures board the trains and exit, seemingly relaxed. They travel with no baggage, no worries. Little Bear wants to have these relaxed feelings, too! He realizes that his racing thoughts are like fast moving trains. At Meditation Station, little bear watches the trains whiz by and ponders relaxation techniques. Effective train words on the pages allow bear to whoosh out his steamy breath and clickety-clack his thoughts down the track. He pictures the train filled with good wishes, friendship, and nice words to say to others. When the train signal light says, STOP! little bear realizes he must stop, listen, and practice being a happy self.

What a precious story. Children will picture themselves sitting in the middle of a toy train set that’s whizzing by. Everyone loves to watch a train go round and around! This story can help children slow their pace and think positive thoughts.

“Gentle words, gentle thoughts, and gentle illustrations!”

Meditation Station
by Susan B. Katz
Back of the Book: “Your racing train of thoughts may try to take you down the railroad tracks, but you can stay in the Meditation Station, where children ages 4-8 learn how to calm their bodies and minds.
All aboard for Meditation Station! It's time to learn how to manage our busy minds, difficult feelings, and frustrations by staying with our breath and in our body. Your train of thoughts might be racing, but you can manage it with some simple steps. Take a deep breath in, and then let the breath out slowly. That is how you will learn what meditation is all about. The next train is coming. Can you hear it chugging along? Stay in the meditation station--don't hop on the train! Just wave goodbye to your racing mind and find inner calm.”
Impressions: This was not well-read digitally. I think there was s disconnect between the actions of this story and what was written.
Liked: I enjoyed the nature of this book. I think we all need to slow down our bodies and mind to find quiet mindful space.
Disliked: I think the direction of finding a quiet space, practicing calming breathing, and letting go of crowding thoughts could have been clearer. I understood the meaning through this train station analogy but my 5 and 9-year-old did not grasp the meaning.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review shared here.

The social emotional book is an introduction to some concepts of meditation: internal stimulus thoughts, breathing) and external l stimulus (sounds and imagens). I like the only breathing exercise it is very visual and it is a great idea smiling while breathing for focus attention. I like the amount of sounds that create a visual imagen in the reader and that it is helped by an amazing illustrations but I think that I an not sure if it is for younger children because it is very complex and difficult to understand some of the metaphors but at the same time older children will be not appealing for the childish illustrations. I am not sure of the target of the book; I think a child in kindergarten or 1st grade will like it and maybe they will be understanding the whole idea of meditation.

This book is a giant metaphor for calming oneself and getting in the space to meditate. However, as an adult I barely get the metaphor, so I am not sure kids will. I love the illustrations and the yoga poses by bear on the end papers. In general I like the story, it has nice rhymes and a great cadence and would be a fun read aloud for 2 or 3 but I wonder how well it would work in a 30 kid story time setting.

Metaphorical Meditation for Kids

This book helps a parent or caregiver discuss meditation. The story talks about meditation through story and metaphor. The meditation station mentioned in the title represents meditation time. At this station, a very cute bear meditates, concentrating on breathing, while trains whiz by. The trains are metaphors for thoughts that can disrupt meditation. Some of these are explicitly discussed, like words you wish you might have said or activities you'd like to do. For the young children this book is intended for, the parent or caregiver will need to discuss what all this means or stands for to “get it.” I doubt a child would draw the right conclusions on his or her own. Still, if you are into meditation and you want to help your child do so, this cute little story might be very useful.

Entry level mindfulness and meditation for the youngest in your life. Beneficial contribution for today.

I received an electronic ARC from Shambhala Publications, Inc. through NetGalley.
Geared for preschoolers or lower elementary children. Katz takes readers through a time to relax and simply breathe rather than keep jumping in on activities. The trains pass through the station and serve as analogies for thoughts - each flies through quickly. Definitely a book to be read together and discussed for younger readers to understand.

I love the flow of 'meditation station'. As i was reading it, I noticed myself taking deep breaths and relaxing with the story.

This is a great book to introduce kids to the concept of meditation. It portrays your thoughts as a train filled with all kinds of thoughts. It shows how to use your breath to be more mindful.