Zensations

by Frank J Sileo, Lily Fossett (Illustrator), Christopher Willard

How you feel is very important, and a lot of the time our emotions might not just live inside our heads but in our bodies too!
These are called bodily feelings, or 'Zensations', and you might find them all over your body. Come along with us as we learn how to feel our Zensations from the tips of our toes to the very top of our heads and find out all about the things our bodies are telling us.

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 21, 2023

Reviews

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Zensations is a lovely book for children to help them recognise and understand their emotions and feelings. The book encourages children to practice meditation and learn ways to listen to their body and what its telling them. I'd never heard the term Zensations before and love it. Children often struggle to understand what they're feeling and recognise it, so this is a great book to help them to do so. The illustrations are lovely and relaxing to look at but I did struggle to read the text on two pages due to the illustrations behind the text (this may be clearer in the physical version as I had the e-book). This would make a great book for any educational setting to allow children access to and would be a handy resource to practice with an individual child or small group too and to discuss with afterwards.

[Star Gater · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers, Singing Dragon Publishing for accepting my request to read and review Zensations.

Published: 06/21/23

I liked the premise of the story. I had an E-book and feel like I would do better with a physical copy.

The illustrations were too much and too busy for the storytelling. There were pages I struggled to read because of the coloring.

The illustrations are cute and everything is identifiable. The story is educational but in a non-classroom setting. I feel like they worked against each other. Again, the physical book experience would be different and one I would want.

[Aurora Commentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zensations introduces children to the helping mindfulness practice of a body scan in a whimsical, easy to remember way. Connecting consciously with our bodies is so important and helpful for processing our emotions. I am thrilled that here is a book which offers such a great resource for children and their families. There is a helpful guide for parents included as well.

As an educator, I would also highly recommend primary grade teachers add this book to their shelves.

I rated this book four out of five stars because it is wonderful. However, even though "zensations" being a fun word to say, it feels a little like appropriation to use "zen" in this way. It would be better (5 stars) if the authors just stuck with "sensations" or offered some explanation about what "zen" means and where the term originates.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Frank J. Sileo, and Christopher Willard for a copy for an honest review.

I really appreciated the focus on mental awareness through mediation. A good read for children over 5, I would say. Who can process the directions and stay focused.

Artwork has a nice dreamy feel with the watercolor and various animal usage. There were a few images I found hard to read due to white on blue backgrounds.

[Shelby Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

**Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

This short book teaches kids how to understand what their bodies are telling them by taking note of what they're feeling or the symptoms they're experiencing, in order to gauge how they're doing. It also encourages them to get moving.

The illustrations were very diverse, showing different religions, disabilities, genders, and races.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I opened this book and was immediately drawn in by its quality. The pictures are sumptuous in their depth and simplicity, and match perfectly with the narrative. I felt comforted myself as I read and engaged with the text and pictures, considering my own mindfulness. I considered the premise of the book, from parent and teacher viewpoints. The idea of looking at what parts of our body are telling us about our emotions and feelings. From that a way to navigate, understand and calm emotional turmoil. Thinking back to when my daughter was young I can see myself reading this with her. I can imagine a relaxing bedtime activity, sharing how my body is feeling, or calming an intense emotional experience. I can also see a roll for this book for older children and adults. And, if you can encourage them to open a ‘children’s book’, then teenagers too. Thank you to Jessica Kingsley publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine freely given.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm… A rhymed version of that mindfulness/body meditation thing, where you lie back and consider all parts of your anatomy from the toes up. Handily it suggests we might shut our eyes near the start of this version – well, that will kind of make reading the rest a bit awkward, I would have thought, but what do I know. I'm guessing you either have to learn the whole process, or have someone else lead your session for you with the book in their hands, which could potentially lead to two people wasting their time – I tried a wallowy audio version of this when I was a teen and it did nothing for me. The rhymes are fine, and illustrations perfectly suitable (although I much preferred the designer's work on "Grief Rock" recently) – I just don't hold by this kind of thing much.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve come across so many wonderful books that talk about feelings and effective ways to communicate. Now I get to share a book that helps young readers pay attention to their own bodies and how their body is communicating with them.

Zensations is all about listening to the different messages that your body tells you and how to calmly relax so you can understand those messages.

With detailed illustrations featuring children and animals your little reader will enjoy following along and mimicking the movements throughout the book.

This book would be an excellent tool for a classroom relaxation exercise or even at home!

[Amberleigh Million • a.millionbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zensations is an adorable rhyming books that explains to children that our emotions live not only in our heads, but in our bodies too. "The Body Scan" method is explained as something we can do to become more aware of our body. Children often struggle with their emotions so I think this book would be a helpful way to open up conversations about them. The illustrations were colorful and fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jessica Kingsley Publishers for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own.

[Christy Bath · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was super cute. It could be used as a tool to teach children about relaxation and how to check in with their body in order to monitor physical and emotional well-being. I love the rhythmic messages that are easy to understand and teach the practice of “scanning” or checking in with ones self. Could definitely see this book being helpful in a yoga class or fitness lesson for children.

[Akilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zensations is a light-hearted introduction to feelings/emotions for young children. Recommended for parents trying to raise mindful and self aware little one's. Zensations details the mindful practice of the body scan with lots of sensory imagery and in a way that is easily understandable for children.

**I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers

[Jay Burkholder · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredibly well written book for children that focuses in on mindfulness and body awareness! I know many parents/teachers/child caretakers including myself that struggle with explaining mindfulness strategies to children. This book is the perfect intro to one of the easiest mindfulness and body awareness tools.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, simple introduction or guide for children to mindfulness. The book could be a great starting point for discussion in the classroom on wellness, feelings, and mindfulness. Gorgeous illustrations throughout draw in readers. A perfect addition for any personal, elementary classroom, or public library!

[Kris Reguera · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautifully illustrated mindful journey these pages took me on, and inclusive too. The animals were just stunning and the people shaping themselves around them for a body scan, made me even do a body scan myself. We need more books like this!

[Trina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about being in touch with your body and the feelings of it, Its a cute little book and teaches kids to concentrate on different parts of their bodies and see if any feelings in each part of their body stands out to them.

[Erica Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique and very exciting! This book is essentially an introduction to mindfulness for kids. I'm thrilled to have found this.

[Melanie Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated children's book. Overall, it's just a Zensational book!

[The Loco Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley for my ARC copy.

This book is a great way for kids to learn about their emotions and how they can calm their bodies down. The book seems a tad long and uses a lot of words to describe similar matters. I wish it were shorter, to better hold the attention of the younger kiddos.