Emily and the Mighty Om. Sarah Lalley. Illustrated by Sleepless Kao. Vancouver, BC: Simply Read Books, 2014. 32 pp., hardcover, $18.95. ISBN 978-1-897476-35-2. Kindergarten-grade 2 / Ages 5-7. Review by Sherry Faller. **½ /4

excerpt:

Every afternoon, Albert twisted his body into all kinds of strange positions on his front lawn.

“It’s called yoga,” he told Emily, who watched from her front porch. When he finished, Albert sat with his legs crossed and chanted a single word: ‘om.’

“What’s ‘om’?” Emily asked. Albert smiled dreamily. “It’s a magic word that everything understands – people and animals and trees… even rocks. It helps me feel quiet and relaxed.”

Emily’s new neighbor, Albert loves to practice yoga. Intrigued with the mantra ‘om’, Emily tries to communicate with plants, rocks and her cat. One day, Albert tries a difficult pose and ends up twisted up like a kitten-attacked ball of wool. Emily beseeches passersby to help untangle him. They all think Albert is saying a different word that sounds like ‘om’. Only Emily can really help him because she knows the magic word for relaxation and calmness. However, she second-guesses herself and defers to all the adults because she has been taught that adults know better than she does. Poor Albert has to endure a phone, gnome, and a poem before Emily speaks up and saves the day.

     As an introduction to yoga, Emily and the Mighty Om may entice young readers to want to try some of the poses and to chant ‘om’ and ‘namaste’. The utilization of words that rhyme with ‘om’ might even spark the imaginations of young readers to create a list of other ‘om’ words. The soft watercolour cartoon-like illustrations add to the calming effect of the theme. Even the end papers of the book illustrate many yoga positions.

      This delightful book promotes the relaxing features of yoga and encourages self-confidence.

Recommended.

Sherry Faller is a retired teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

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Published by The Manitoba Library Association ISSN 1201-9364

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