There are so many wonderful layers in this book. It can be enjoyed again and again and again. Great for at home, in school, or any story time, it will be a sure fire favorite. What a lovely, interactive story! A must-have for any child’s bookshelf, I know it will soon be finding a space on ours at my setting!

The book is an introduction to yoga, with a selection of poses at the end of the book that children and their adults can try together. But, for me, the main learning came from the idea that you do not have to rely on the constant affirmation and compliments of others, you need to have confidence in and pay attention to yourself. This is a message that is not just important for young children, but for everyone. There is so much pressure for ‘likes’ on social media nowadays, but just because they don’t always come when you want them, it does not make you less. Sometimes others forget to tell you how great you are, but it doesn’t mean that they don’t think it. I loved the focus on the breath and it’s importance in yoga and at the end of the book there is a step by step of how ito achieve the yoga poses Mula tries out in the story and this leads to a great activity with your child. This is a cute book and is an interesting way to share Yoga with young readers. The illustrations are bright and unique colors. Not the typical colors that you would expect on the animals in this book. Giving it a little sense of whimsy. Libraries are becoming multifunctional spaces within schools – do you think yoga in the library will take off?But when she takes some big deep breaths and listens to her heart, Mani discovers that she knows exactly who she is – no compliments needed. What a fabulous bright, colourful book and a great way to encourage the children to move and stretch following Mula and her yoga poses. When a tiger has better balance than you do, it may be time to refresh your fitness routine! In her humorous series about a sleepy tiger and mischievous fly, Lauren shows us that we can all practice mindfulness through even the tiniest of steps. Read our exclusive Q&A to find out more. It’s quite a leap from a yoga instructor to a children’s author! Tell us a little about your journey The book is brightly coloured with beautiful art work and the flow of the book kept my child engaged, often stopping to take deep breaths or mimic Mulas roar. The illustrations that accompany the story are absolutely delightful - very colourful and expressive. The cute pictures and the yoga poses illustrated by the characters (including the introduction to yoga provided by Mani the elephant at the end of the book) will appeal to young children. Highly recommended.

Who would think that a teensy tiny fly could teach a ferocious tiger something? That is exactly what Little Fly has done! Little Fly has taught Mula something that she thought she could only do in her dreams. When Mula realizes she can tumble, hop, and stand on her head she is exhilarated. When kids realize they can do the same things Mula can they will be exhilarated too! One of the best parts of this book (and there are so many best parts!) is that the student becomes the teacher when Little Fly tells Mula that she can teach her friends Yoga too! A leap indeed! Well, having spent so many years in the theatre, it is clear that creativity has become the wobbly path I choose to roam. The journey from theatre to yoga to author started when I was studying to become a yoga teacher and was pestered by a little fly. This fly buzzed and zigged and zagged around me as though to say, “Ha! You can’t catch me,” no matter how hard I tried to swat it away.

LoveReading4Kids Says

I love the simple but engaging story and that it helps young children learn about the wisdom and value of yoga.” — Hildy Simmons, New York Times

I loved how Mula is happy busy doing yoga and thanking the Fly to help him be more active. This is a very clever story how a tiger named Mula shows children just how easy it is doing some simple yoga poses. My daughter is 3 and loves yoga, she described this as ‘HAPPY! Happy yoga book!’ It's a lovely story and comes beautifully illustrated. I like that it has Mula's yoga flow, which is clear and easy for little ones to follow. I think we will be returning to this book again and again.” - NetGalley reviewer

Other

This is one of the most beautiful picture books that all children will love, and laugh and be able to do simple yoga with the help of Mula the tiger and the Fly. A friendly fly is on hand to show her how she can master her breathing and focus her mind to achieve her dreams. When I saw the first book in this series I thought it would be pretty self-contained, a gentle little story that shows an animal starting out on their path to being a yoga fan, and potentially (with the right teachers, for it wasn't perfect in and of itself) making other fans as it went along ( https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...). Well, with not one but two sequels, we have a choice between them – either seeing Mula the tiger doing her poses, and getting scorn from a monkey. There's no way this bragging little primate will be persuaded to join in too, surely? Or we can find an elephant down in the dumps as they haven't been told they're wonderful for hours, and need a bit of a breathing exercise to refocus, and some positivity from within. Mula and the Fly’ is a fun, expressive yoga story that fantastically portrays how slowing down, breathing and focusing can help you achieve your goals better!” NetGalley reviewer

In this book, yoga is being use to help finding your own confidence from your self. That you don't need others giving you affirmation to feel special and strong. I love this silly, entertaining, informative book. It is so fun to read and has a great message. It is a gender neutral read, which is awesome! I love when books are equally appealing to both girls and boys. Mula the tiger is very sleepy, but a fly won’t let Mula sleep, and keeps waking up Mula who gets very angry, with the fly not letting Mula sleep, and growls at the fly. It turns out it's not just the power of our imaginations that we could be stretching in the library! Recently featured by The New York Times, author Lauren Hoffmeier is passionate about opening up children's eyes to the transformative power of yoga. Her heartwarming series showcases easy poses that we can all try in our playgrounds, classrooms and even libraries. Watch the videos below to join in. I think this would be a cute way to introduce yoga to a toddler. The illustrations are bright and lively. Mula and the Fly is a perfect addition to any little ones library.” - Barnes and Noble reviewerFor a start, yoga poses are named after animals and the environment: tiger pose, chair pose, mountain pose, etc. Learning yoga at a young age literally teaches children to embody the very nature of those things around them - which in turn teaches the basic principles of compassion, empathy, and responsible communication. When teaching yoga to children I find it imperative to remember the rich culture of where the practice came from and teach to that. Well, here’s something exciting about my book series. Every book comes with fun and easy yoga tutorials at the end, so readers of all ages can give yoga a try with Mula and the Fly wherever they are in the world. A library is a perfect atmosphere to give those poses a try! How can teachers make their library or learning space yoga-ready? Mula is a sleepy grumpy tiger dreaming of fun and playful actions that she believe she can only achieve in her dreams. Thank you to NetGalley and Sweet Cherry publishing for providing me with a copy of Mula and the fly in exchange for my impartial review. Now, for all the theatre buffs out there this became a classic moment right out of the comedy of commedia dell’arte.But this was not the theatre. This was supposed to be a peaceful moment in a peaceful yoga studio. Still, rather than ignore the fly I turned this disjointed moment of fly-swatting into what is now the Mula and the Fly series. What positive impacts have you seen yoga have for children?