The Way to Start the Day! Good Morning, Yoga by Mariam Gates

My first breath is long and deep.

I twist and turn to shake off sleep.

Getting up and getting going is hard to do--for most of us. Mariam Gates has a new way to start the day with youngsters, a short and sweet yoga set that begins and ends with deep breathing.

In between, there are some classic yoga poses, with invitations to imagine being in the breeze on a beach, being a flower reaching for the sun, a slash of lightning, and for fun, even a downward doggie ready to bound away and play.

In their Good Morning Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Wake Up Story (Sounds True, 2016), Sarah Jane Hinder's inventive and playful illustrations give kids a fun-filled demonstration of ten poses that use all parts of the body, and Gates' rhyming narration provides prompts that will make them want to get into the game with a parent. Appended for reference is a rundown of each pose with a thumbnail illustration. This one pairs well with its partner, Gates' and Hinder's companion book, Good Night Yoga: A Pose-by-Pose Bedtime Story, which helps wind down those wound-up youngsters before bedtime.