There are certainly plenty of mindfulness books for children out there. But  I have to be honest, many of the recent titles my own kids see at a bookstore or the the library make them ask, “ugh, is that one of those… mindfulness books?”

And I am, by the way, a mindfulness teacher and children’s book author myself.

While there are plenty of great children’s books out there about the topic specifically, we can also look to some classic children’s books to teach great lessons in mindfulness, awareness, present-moment contact and more — and not one of them even uses the word “mindfulness,” or falls into the clunky exposition traps of lots of well-meaning kids’ books riding the mindfulness wave.

Just as mindfulness has always been with us — whatever we call it — so have kids’ picture books with lessons about mindfulness. Perhaps, we’d just never noticed it.

As a parent, psychotherapist, and children’s author, it’s a pleasure to share some classics that aren’t just great mindfulness books, but great children’s literature all around. – Guest Contributor, Dr. Christopher Willard

Above: Illustration from Ferdinand by Robert Lawson

This post contains affiliate links and some purchases support our team at no additional cost to you.
Of course, you can also pick up all of these books at your local library or favorite independent bookstore.

6 Classic Children’s Books with Lessons in Mindfulness

The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

This cheerfully illustrated book takes readers on a journey through the recent snowfall in the City with an unnamed boy protagonist. So what makes it a book about mindfulness? Our five senses and that sense of wonder that Keats evokes do much of the work. A simple rhythm transports us to the present moment with the boy all while joy, awe, and curiosity evoke mindfulness.

The book is so sensory you can almost feel the “crunch crunch crunch” of the snow, the reverberations of the stick smacking against the tree, and the coziness of the warm bath. By the end, we have been transported to that feeling of waking up to a still, hush of quiet snow blanketing the busy city as we feel the warm embrace of a cozy home.

Related: 7 excellent new children’s books about mindfulness, meditation, and deep breaths

The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

Shel Silverstein may be best known for The Giving Tree and his humorous poems that offer perspectives on compassion and more; but I settled on The Missing Piece for this list. The simple story is written in Silverstein’s trademark minimalist text with simple line drawings, to tell the tale of a circle missing a pie-shaped wedge. The circle rolls through the countryside, singing a lamentation about his “missing piece,” until finally he finds one that fits just right. It turns out that once his void is filled, it brings unexpected complications — the circle can no longer sing, smell the flowers or truly appreciate butterflies and beauty. By the end, the pieces go their separate ways.

Even children may believe they have some sort of “missing piece” in need of fixing, but the book serves as a beautiful reminder that our imperfections are what make us human.. It’s by making peace with our missing pieces, that we can find a path to radical self-acceptance.

The Important Book, by Margaret Wise Brown

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

Goodnight Moon is Margaret Wise Brown’s best-known book, beloved by generations. But The Important Book is a quirky, overlooked title of hers that explores the essence, wonder, and “suchness” of the everyday. using Zen-like descriptions and illustrations by Leonard Weisgard.

The important thing about the sky is that it is there.
It is true that it is blue and high, and full of clouds and made of air.
But the important thing about the sky is that it is there.

The prose encourages adults and kids alike to meditate on the sky-ness of the sky, and what makes it important, without any preconceptions clouding our views. You’ll find the rhythm of the book echoes long after the kids have closed it shut, inviting us to continue meditating: What is the true essence of the sun? The floor? This very screen you’re reading on?

The Lion and the Little Red Bird, by Elisa Kleven

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

My friend Susan Greenland, a well-known children’s mindfulness teacher, always recommends The Lion’s and the Little Red Bird as a good book about mindfulness for children. The story of a bird-watching a lion who has an ever-changing, colorful tail is truly a perfect children’s book. It is just the right length, it traces one main story and idea, it features beautiful mixed-media collages to keep readers engaged, and uses accessible, descriptive prose to capture the sensory essence of the natural world.

In the end, readers come away having learned about a simple act of kindness — the bird and the lion sharing their essential gifts for its own sake, and not for any other reward.

Frog and Toad, by Arnold Lobel

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

Arnold Lobel is best known for his beloved Frog & Toad books, which have become childhood favorites for so many, thanks to the inspiring and supportive friendship between Frog and Toad. This relationship plays out with the clearest lesson in mindfulness in the final story of the first book, “Alone.”

If you recall, this is the story in which Toad finds a note on his friend’s door that reads, Dear Toad, I am not at home. I went out. I want to be alone. Toad seeks him out, concerned that Frog needs some cheering up, or no longer wants to be his friend. Frog explains simply that he is in fact quite happy, and that being alone doesn’t mean anything is wrong.  The story closes with an illustration of the two admiring the view from a stone in the pond, as “two close friends sitting alone together.”

The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

I am wistful just thinking of an old edition of Ferdinand we had at my grandparents’ house. In this story of peace and nonconformity, beautifully illustrated by Robert Lawson, young Ferdinand the bull is content to smell the flowers and rest beneath the cork tree. When he is suddenly chased and stung by a bee, his energetic reaction leads to his capture and transportation to the city for a fierce bullfight. But when Ferdinand arrives in the arena, all he wants to do is sit and smell the flowers as he did back home.

Interestingly, it was my parents’ generation who brought the 1930s classic back to popularity decades later, as they protested the Vietnam War and found comfort in a story that echoed their values.

I vividly identified with Ferdinand, as a kid more interested in gazing at the clovers in the outfield instead of keeping my eye on the game. Re-reading the book as an adult, it still resonates. The simple imagery of sitting beneath a tree and smelling the flowers as the clouds drift by is a perfect reminder that there’s beauty in living in the moment.

Guest contributor Dr. Christopher Willard is a clinical psychologist specializing in the treatment of anxiety, depression, and stress-related disorders. He is the author of 20 books for children and adults and teaches at Harvard Medical School. He has spoken in thirty countries, presented at two TEDx events, and runs programs on mindfulness for parents and educators, including the Growing Up Mindful live summer intensive. Chris’s expertise on mental health has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and now, Cool Mom Picks.