The Happiest Tree

A Yoga Story
By Uma Krishnaswami, Ruth Jeyaveeran
Paperback: $11.95

Meena is excited about the class play, a new and improved version of Red Riding Hood.

Front cover for El árbol más feliz by Uma Krishnaswami and Ruth Jeyaveeran
This book is also available in Spanish
El árbol más feliz
By Uma Krishnaswami, Ruth Jeyaveeran

Description

Meena is excited about the class play, a new and improved version of Red Riding Hood. But when she learns that she must play one of the trees in the forest, Meena’s excitement vanishes. She is just too clumsy to be a quiet, steady tree.

One day at the Indian grocery store, Meena sees a yoga class in progress, and the store owner convinces her to try the children’s class. Little does Meena know she is about to find a way to grow from the inside out, just like a tree, and move beyond her feelings of clumsiness and frustration.

The Happiest Tree is a gentle and empowering story of a young girl’s road to self-confidence. It is sure to spark interest in yoga, and provide comfort to all children as they struggle to overcome the everyday obstacles to growing up.

About the Creators

Uma Krishnaswami

Uma Krishnaswami was born in India and now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her novel, Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh, won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Uma has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She teaches in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Visit her online at umakrishnaswami.com.

Ruth Jeyaveeran

Ruth Jeyaveeran is the author and illustrator of The Road to Mumbai, praised by School Library Journal as a "lively romp across India." Much of Jeyaveeran's fine art and illustration work is inspired by her South Asian heritage, so she felt an immediate connection to this story. Jeyaveeran lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Awards

  • Best Children's Books of the Year

    Bank Street College of Education

  • CCBC Choices

    Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Reviews

  • "An excellent addition to any collection."

    - School Library Journal
  • "[The] balanced compositions and bright colors nicely echo the warm, encouraging story about overcoming challenges, while the well-integrated details of Meena's Indian culture, including a few terms, are rare and welcome in books for this age group."

    - Booklist
  • "Youngsters often struggling to keep their little bodies from wriggling, their attention from drifting, will be comforted to know that they are not unique and that something as basic as breathing and yoga incorporated into a kid's life can be a practical solution."

    - Kirkus Reviews

Paperback

  • ISBN 9781600603600
  • Publication Date May 01, 2002
  • Trim Size 7.75 × 9.75 in
  • Weight 0.3125 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Hardcover

  • ISBN 9781584302377
  • Publication Date Apr 01, 2013
  • Trim Size N/A
  • Weight 0.4375 lbs
  • Page Count 32
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / Social Themes / Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / People & Places / United States / Asian American
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations
  • Themes Art, Asian / Asian American / AAPI, Childhood Experiences and Memories, Classroom Activities, Dance, Disabilities, Dreams & Aspirations, Empathy / Compassion, Families, Fiction, Friendship, Identity / Self Esteem / Confidence, Mentors, Mothers, Overcoming Obstacles, Persistence / Grit, Pride, Realistic Fiction, Self Control / Self Regulation, Social & Emotional Learning, Sports
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 5 - 8
  • Grade Range Grades K - 3
  • Guided Reading N
  • ATOS Book Level 3.1
  • DRA 30
  • Lexile Code AD
  • Lexile Level 510
  • Reading Level Grades 2 - 3
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
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