My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness is a book of poetry written by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Isabel Roxas. It is a book of poems about mindfulness. There are thirty-five poems in total. Twenty-seven of the poems are divided into five topics that include breathing, self-mindfulness, world mindfulness, meditation, and kindness and five are the title of each topic. There is a table of contents at the front of the books. The table of contents lists the title of the poems under their respective topic titles. The author includes a note for the reader at the beginning and for each new topic. The language used in the book is understandable for the intended reader and the words that are not are fully explained by the author. The poems can create a sense of calm in the reader as well as the poems that are activities. The words and the illustrations complement each other and work together to create an atmosphere of curiosity. A couple of the poems are a little confusing to the order that it is read due to the layout on the page.
The author uses imagery, rhyming, sense imagery, and emotional impact. In Ocean Breath, the author uses imagery to describe breathing as “like the rhythm of a rising and falling tide” (Heard 2021). For someone familiar with the tides in the ocean this is a great comparison for breathing. Another good comparison would be with the waves of the ocean. That comparison might be more understandable to a larger group of people. In Empowerment Mantra Haiku the author uses emotional impact by using the illustrations to tell the reader empowering words such as “I am enough” and “don’t let yesterday take up too much of today” (Heard 2021). Words that I as a reader relate with and feel seen. The author also describes the word “mantra” so that the intended reader understands what it means.
The illustrations are black, white, and shades of blue. The illustrations and the words work in concert to create an environment that is calm and welcoming. Again, some of the placements of the words around the illustrations can be confusing, however, do not take anything away from the meaning of the poem. The illustrations show the action in the poem or create a sense of calmness. In Open Your Eyes the illustration is of a child looking at spilled salt on the table as described in the poem. However, in Kindfullness the poem just has a blue background and the poem Hurt No Living Thing is written on a piece of notebook paper.
Three-Way Loving Kindness Meditation (excerpt)
Whisper these words to
yourself:
May I be at peace.
May I be safe.
May I be filled with loving
kindness.
(Heard 2021)
I would introduce this poem by talking about a story of someone who has shown me kindness. I would also incorporate the poem Kindfulness Haiku. It says that no act of kindness is ever wasted (Heard 2021). This would be a great poem to celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day February 17th) in storytime. I would incorporate books on friendship and kindness. For the activity, I would use a coloring page of a daisy. (Like this or this.) I would have the children color the page and either write down acts of kindness they can do or say them aloud depending on the age group. I would encourage them to think of things that they could do in the next few days and then challenge them to do so.
References:
Heard, Georgia. 2021. My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness. Henry Holt & Co.
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