Yoga books are a super fun way to help introduce kids to yoga, mindfulness, and movement.
The best new children’s yoga books to buy right now:
- our family is doing yoga by sonjoria sydnor
- happy yogis: a fun yoga book for kids with positive affirmations by sandy sanell (english and spanish!)
- smile with yoga : fun, mindful and engaging yoga for kids by i. rekem
- d is for downward facing dog abc: yoga abc book for kids by calm and mindful press
- yoga animals: a wild introduction to poses for kids by paige towler
Scroll down to see the complete and constantly updated list of the best yoga books for children.
Having a cute and succinct story to teach children how to do poses is a great way to introduce or spark an interest in yoga in little ones.
There has been an explosion of beautiful and endearing yoga books on the market in the last five years.
You are reading: Yoga books for kids
My first year teaching yoga in a public school, I basically had to turn regular books into yoga stories by inventing a pose for each character or page.
here is a list of the best “regular” books i used that worked well when adding yoga poses.
Creating your own yoga stories from scratch is also fun and effective!
This worked pretty well, but it was harder to show all the poses myself, and therefore harder to stay engaged.
Now, there are many amazing yoga books and stories for sale online, in bookstores, and on amazon.
I bought quite a few yoga books to use in my classroom.I have them outside for my students to use during their independent centers and in the “mindfulness reflection zone”.
I also love using them to guide an entire class through a yoga sequence. works great if your class is in a circle, and most also work in a space right next to a desk! it can feel a bit crowded, but they’ll still have fun and get all the benefits . to do yoga.
I’ve written a post on teaching children yoga with stories with lots of ideas on how to make literacy and yoga work together at home or in the classroom!
Also, make sure you get access to the library of free resources. you’ll get 11 downloadable pdfs of lesson plans, games, mindful breathing cards, and more!
One thing that makes a good yoga story, in my opinion, is that every page has a different animal or thing to create a pose.
Next, it’s best not to have too many words on each page. that way kids can practice a pose and hear the words in a relatively quick time before moving on to the next pose.
Another need for good quality yoga books is a place to describe how to do each pose, either during the story or afterwards. all of these books below fit my grades well!
So, without further ado, here are my favorite yoga stories to teach kids how to do yoga and allow them to discover yoga for themselves.
our family is doing yoga by sonjoria sydnor
a book created by a mother and a yogi who wanted a greater representation of black people in the world of yoga. a delightful book about a family that practices yoga together and uses the time to bond, play, and stay healthy together. A must have for any family or classroom library.
Happy Yogis: A Fun Yoga Book for Kids with Positive Affirmations (English or Spanish Bilingual Edition) by Sandy Zanella
I love that this book comes in English and also in a bilingual Spanish version! it also has a mantra and positive affirmations on every page, something most other books don’t have. Review yoga poses with the mother and her two children, a boy and a girl, to learn new yoga poses, affirmations, and connect with your family. great new book!
smile with yoga: fun, mindful and engaging yoga for kids (and their parents) by i. rekem
This is another sweet animal-themed yoga story for kids, but in my opinion, you can never get enough of it! I like how the animals and children do the yoga poses in the pictures, and the descriptions make each pose fun. very funny and endearing images in this yoga adventure to all animal habitats.
d is for downward facing dog abc: yoga abc book for kids by calm and mindful press
Lovely images of a girl and her dog, this ABC yoga book is a must-have for kids of all ages’ yoga classes. the extra sun salutation sequence is pretty cute too!
yoga animals: a wild introduction to poses for kids by paige towler
This is a great book with real life pictures of animals to accompany yoga poses for kids. rhyming poetry to accompany each pose, it’s a great book to try out some fun wild animal themed yoga poses.
let’s do yoga magic by heather leah and sandie sonke
a beautiful illustrated board book with 13 yoga poses for children of all ages. I love the representation in this beautiful book. ideal for introducing children to yoga or practicing postures that you already know.
See Also: Self-Employed Accounting Software | QuickBooks
yoga at the zoo: the adventures of the little mouse by teresa anne power
A new book by Teresa Anne Power, this adorable story follows mouse and cat, Little Irish Tammy, as they explore the zoo. learning yoga poses along the way, they also learn basic life lessons about friendships, meeting others, and coping with stressful situations. very sweet story!
a quiet little place: a story about yoga and a sense of focus by diane albers
There are a lot of these books with this little dot learning life skills and practicing emotional awareness. here is a popular set about emotions. the yoga book is nice because it weaves a bit of yoga and mindfulness into the practice of learning to focus. a great book for toddlers and elementary school children.
dinosaur yoga! by mariam gates
A perfect yoga book to help engage kids who may not be interested in yoga but love dinosaurs! Try out some dinosaur-themed yoga poses, learn dinosaur facts, and enjoy this adorably illustrated kids’ yoga book.
calm ninja: a children’s book on calming anxiety with mary nhin’s calm ninja yoga flow
This is a lovely new yoga book for kids (as of August 2020). i would love to use this in my classroom with kids because it is about a ninja who does yoga and also uses some wonderful affirmations. It takes us through some scenarios where the ninja is frustrated or angry, and shows what poses he can do to help regulate his emotions. it’s so cute!
you called and friends: a pat-a-cake yoga story
This is a new yoga board book for kids, featuring an adorable llama teaching his friends how to be calm and brave with yoga poses! adorable images and very practical advice for children who are just learning about yoga and how to use it to help them manage big feelings. I love this.
a yoga adventure through space by robyn snow
I love a good yoga themed book for kids and this outer space adventure definitely delivers. is a cute yoga adventure that also teaches kids facts about the solar system, the moon and sun, and fun facts about the planets. The adorable colorful space suits and the fact-sharing alien make this even more fun. Definitely a must have book for any class or child who loves space!
For more yoga class topics and poses for kids, check out this article.
anna and her rainbow yoga mats by giselle shardlow
the books of giselle shardlow, stories of yoga for children. these are the first books i found that had yoga poses written in the book. i use a lot of your books in my classroom, mainly for kids to do the poses in the books by themselves. I like to read aloud as well, but in my classroom I find that the children will participate better if I do the poses as well, so I usually let them read these stories to themselves or to each other.
I like that the stories take place in different parts of the world and that the characters are all different in many ways. my first book of hers, anna and the rainbow yoga mats, was an excellent introduction to yoga for my students. It talks about a girl who doesn’t quite fit in, but who does yoga because she loves to live “adventures” around the world. she makes a friend and together they get others interested in yoga too. It is a sincere book with a good message. grab yours on amazon, or buy any of giselle’s books from her online store here.
zoo zen: a children’s yoga story by kristen fischer and susi schaefer
I found this book last year on a trip to boston and bought it right away. I love the cute pictures, the cute girl named lyla with her curly hair, and the poses in the book are simple and easy to do. I had a kindergartner this year come in and immediately go to my shelf and pick up this book and do every page of poses. Each page features a different yoga pose and an animal that Lyla meets at the zoo. one of our favourites!
good morning yoga and good night yoga by mariam gates
These two books are beautifully illustrated, pose-by-pose yoga stories with the sun salutation for good morning poses and relaxing poses for winding down before bed. the rhyming words give the stories a nice cadence, and the images in the text are really charming. My kids love both do-it-yourself books! I think the words are easy enough for toddlers to read and great for elementary readers, too.
yoga yawning by laurie jordan
This book was a new discovery for me recently. I love poetry, and each page has descriptions of how to do the poses. It has good calming and relaxing poses, especially good for winding down before bed. It’s a bit more appropriate for yoga in a studio or at home as it starts with an “ohm” instruction, but I love it anyway. Great pose descriptions and easy to follow. I also love attention to mindfulness.
yoga buddies: a pose-by-pose couples adventure for kids by mariam gates
another great book by mariam gates, this partner poses book is awesome! i bought it this year and my kids love using it with a friend to try partner poses. it’s also a sweet message, all about working together and helping each other. I love having a partner book for my kids to use together or as a team. this is an absolute must for a classroom, especially with older elementary students and even tweens.
See Also: Joe Rogan&039s Reading List & Recommended Books | JRE Library
yoga bug: simple poses for the little ones by mariam gates
I love this cute book for my younger children. my sister also uses it with her two year old son. Easy to read and follow, this is a perfect book for toddlers and early preschoolers to introduce them to various yoga poses. I love the message of body acceptance and the ideas to calm down. A must for young yogis!
now also has a yoga bear, a yoga bunny and a yoga whale! all my students love these adorable books, even fourth graders!
little yoga: the first yoga book for young children by rebecca whitford
This is another lovely book ideal for young children. It has nine poses to try with little ones, and the text is simple and easy to follow. this is a great book to introduce yoga to the younger members of your family. Handy to have these perfect yoga board books for kids.
you are a lion and other funny yoga poses by taeeun yoo
This was one of the first children’s yoga books I came across. I use it every year at the beginning of the year to introduce some basic poses in my kindergarten classes. i like it because it has a double page spread with easy instructions on how to do it, and then it says “you’re a…” and you turn the page to find out! it’s cute because it gives the kids a chance to guess what animal they are, or feel empowered by knowing the poses after reading the book several times.
peaceful piggy yoga by kerry lee maclean
I found the Peaceful Piggies books during my first year of teaching and immediately got several. this is a great book to introduce what yoga is and who yoga is for (everyone!). i liked the silly pictures and descriptions of people (and pigs) doing yoga and how good it is for them. It’s a bit longer, so sometimes I skip a few pages, but I love having it handy for certain situations.
I’m Susan Green Yoga
This is a beautiful yoga book with drawings and simple descriptions of poses for children.I like the affirmative “I am” statements and the beautiful colors.each page has a different pose, and in Instead of naming it and telling you how to do the pose, it gives you a good way to imagine your body, mind, and spirit. for example, for boat pose: I can sail in the sea, I go with the current. Metaphors like these are great for older kids and for testing real-life connections about how yoga helps them navigate life. pose descriptions are also on the back.
yoga bunny by brian russo
This sweet book is another new addition to my classroom. A long time ago I found the printed copy of the bunny yoga sequence, and finding the corresponding book thrilled me. Bunny meets all sorts of other animal friends on a beautiful day and tries to encourage them to do yoga. With a little encouragement, Bunny helps them realize that any day is a great day to do yoga poses! . I love this book for introducing yoga to the most hesitant 3rd and 4th grade classes.
basically just shows the basic sun salutation poses, but has a lot more on the inside of the front and back covers.
meddy teddy: a mindful yoga journey by apple jordan
This is a super cute book about a teddy bear doing yoga as he comes out of hibernation. there is a real teddy bear that you can buy on this site to go with the book. Meddy Teddy uses poses on each page of the book to help her friends solve problems. the pose descriptions are easy to use and the story is good for all ages. I just bought the royal bendable teddy bear for my classroom, I think it will be adorable. I’ll tell you how I like it in the classroom!
my kids love the meddy teddy board book too.
abc for me: abc yoga by christiane engel
I love the sturdiness of this adorable book. It arrived in my classroom last year and has already been used a lot. It’s one pose per page and letter and has some creative poses to match cute pictures. I love having this book to use in my abc units as an expansion of the main lesson. other abc themed classroom ideas are here. this is a great book of poses for students to use in independent exploration yoga centers.
the abc of yoga for kids by teresa power and kathleen rietz
This children’s yoga book has the largest number of poses of any other book. i was so excited the day one of my coworkers found this book for me at a sale and brought it in to donate to my classroom.it matches the abc yoga cards i use and the poster i had on my classroom. the incredible thing is that it has all the poses of the alphabet (more than one pose for some letters) with the poem and the image for each one. I let the children read this book by themselves and do the poses to give them some time in the yoga area to be independent.
thanks for reading my roundup of the best kids yoga books and stories I’ve found so far! I hope you love them as much as I do!
let me know if you’ve read or found any other awesome yoga books for kids by commenting below 🙂
*post updated June 2021*
- youtube
sharing is caring!
See Also: 10 Best Design Books for Design Students in 2022 [Updated]