My Daddy Is a Pretzel: Yoga for Parents and Kids [Hardcover]

Baron Baptiste (Author), Sophie Fatus (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Age Range: 4 and up

Limber up with this unique, child-friendly yoga book! Created for parents and children to share together, but also suitable for adults and older children to use alone, My Daddy is a Pretzel not only introduces a range of postures, it also connects the practices to everyday life, showing how families can integrate their yoga with their activities in the world. A light-hearted look at yoga, yet one with a lasting message, My Daddy is a Pretzel is a wonderful introduction to yoga for readers of all shapes and sizes.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2 - This picture book revolves around children participating in a yoga class and discussing their parents' occupations. For each job - gardener, veterinarian, architect - a corresponding pose is demonstrated - tree, dog, triangle. Stylized watercolor illustrations alternate between spreads showing people at work and an assortment of smaller paintings that break the poses into several steps, along with simple instructions. Introductory paragraphs for each posture attempt to relay the underlying philosophy, with varying success. "The tree pose teaches us to support ourselves with strong roots, so that we can reach high and remain stable, yet be flexible, at the same time" is straightforward enough for young children to grasp. However, the explanation for the plow pose is a bit more obtuse: "Like the plow that turns the soil over to make way for new growth, this pose teaches us that overturning old ways of seeing things sets the ground for inner growth." With warmth and charm, this offering gently encourages young readers, along with their parents, to give yoga a try just for enjoyment. While it serves as an attractive introduction, Thia Luby's Children's Book of Yoga (Clear Light, 1998) provides a much more comprehensive treatment of the subject. - Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 3. Baptiste is an internationally known yoga instructor who has written several guides for adults. His debut yoga title for children uses a clever fiction framework to introduce basic poses. In class, a young narrator sees parallels between what the other students' parents do and what his father, a yoga instructor, does: "Niki says her mommy's a gardener," reads one page. "Sometimes my daddy's a tree." The following spread features a man in tree pose along with step-by-step illustrations demonstrating how to move in and out of the posture. Other poses--the dog, the airplane, the pretzel, and so on--follow. The cheery, tropical-colored paintings reinforce a sunny mood; the simplified, naive-style images may not have the clarity of photographs, but they still offer adequate demonstrations. Although kids will need help with the positions and the hints about yoga's more spiritual benefits, they'll easily be drawn into this upbeat introduction, while their parents will connect with Baptiste's motivational introduction. Pair this with Thia Luby's excellent nonfiction Children's Book of Yoga (1998) for more instruction. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Barefoot Books (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841481513
• ISBN-13: 978-1841481517
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 253.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,777 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

BARON BAPTISTE is the son of two of America's yoga pioneers. He began to seriously study yoga at age twelve and trained extensively in all the major traditions before creating Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga in the mid-nineties. Baptiste has trained both celebrities and athletes, including Helen Hunt, Randall Cunningham, Raquel Welch, and Elisabeth Shue, and for four years he was Peak Performance Specialist for the Philadelphia Eagles. He divides his time between his yoga studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Sundance, Utah.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Beginners! November 12, 2004

By Jessica Niles

Format:Hardcover

I was pleasantly surprised at how this book presented basic yoga poses to young children. My two-year-old son loved it since all the poses were related to types of jobs various parents had in the story. (I.E. "Niki says her mommy's a gardener. Sometimes, my daddy's a tree.") Then on the next page a great illustration of the pose and how to do it. Other poses include fish, dog, triangle, airplane, bridge, plow, lion, and of course a pretzel!

I cannot say enough about the great pictures in this book...brightly colored and very distinctive!

I think this book will have a wide range of readers...toddlers to elementary ages for sure.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars My kid was glued to the book May 31, 2008

By Mommy Yogini

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a preschool yoga teacher and I have seen a few books, but this one is fabulous! My own 3 year old was glued to the book and after reading it she said "again". I definitely plan on using this book when I teach as a little story time. It also gives you step by step instructions on how to do the poses for any beginners.

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars my daughter loves it! March 16, 2006

By mother of three

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Love the illustrations, love the text, love that my 5 yr old daughter is stretching and doing yoga, love love love this book! We got the bendo guy that matches it too! sooo cute!