Lian's Summer of Fun: Book Review: Rachel's Day In The Garden

I had another great review opportunity from Mother Daughter Book Reviews. This time the book is called Rachel's Day in the Garden, written by Giselle Shardlow.

In early grades, I went to a virtual school and for PE everyday, Mom and I would do yoga. I really liked it and this book reminded me about how fun it can be. In the story, Rachel and her dog have an adventure in the garden doing things like playing in the rain and planting seeds while Rachel demonstrates various yoga poses. Not only would learning the poses be fun for the kids, I think, but also the book makes a great early reader as well. At the end of the story is a terrific pictorial guide to the poses and the sight words from the story, as well as a parent guide explaining how to use the story to teach both yoga and reading. The illustrations, by Hazel Quintilla, are simply stupendous and really that is my favorite part. She used so many textures, patterns and colors, like someone would see in a mixed media scrapbook, that even without the story I would have been fascinated with this book.

I am really happy to have been given a copy of this book to read and review.

Here are my final thoughts based on the Summer of Fun Book Rubric

Readability- 4
The main idea of the story moved easy from page to page.

Age Appropriateness- 5
This book is perfect for preschoolers to beginner readers. I also think that younger kids might enjoy just looking at the pictures.

Illustrations- 5
The artwork does a wonderful job of supporting the story and demonstrating the poses.

Ability to hold interest- 5
The story was so full of things for Rachel to do and show that I think kids will stay with the story to the end.

Did I like it?- 5
I really did like and I would love to take a look at other books in the series.

About the Book

Title: Rachel's Day in the Garden (A Kids Yoga Spring Colors Book) | Author: Giselle Shardlow | Illustrator: Hazel Quintanilla | Publication Date: December 23, 2014 | Publisher: Kids Yoga Stories | Number of pages: 34 | Recommended age: 3 to 6 years Summary: Experience the benefits of yoga while learning about the signs of spring!

Join Rachel as she and her adorable puppy look for signs of spring in the garden. Crawl like a caterpillar, buzz like a bee, and flutter like a butterfly. Discover spring, explore movement, and learn the colors of the rainbow. The storybook includes a list of kids yoga poses and a parent-teacher guide. Kids Yoga Stories introduce you to engaging characters who will get your child laughing, moving, and creating. Reading is good for the mind AND body! The story links several yoga poses in a specific sequence to create a coherent and meaningful story. This spring yoga story for ages 3 to 6 is more than a storybook, but it’s also a unique experience for children. Rachel's Day in the Garden is the first book in a seasonal yoga book series. The summer yoga book is also now available: Ella's Summer Fun. The fall and winter ones are in production, coming soon!

Amazon * Book Website * Goodreads

Sneak Peek

About the Author: Giselle Shardlow

Giselle Shardlow is the author of Kids Yoga Stories. Her yoga stories for kids get children learning, moving, and having fun. Giselle draws from her experiences as a teacher, traveler, yogi, and mom to write the stories. She can be found at the Kids Yoga Stories website or on her Amazon author page.