Citation: Krishnaswami, Uma. (2005). The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story. New York: Lee and Low. 
Ages: 0 – 9
Grades: PreK – 4
Description: The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story is the story of Meena and her role in the school play. Meena is an eight year old Asian Indian American girl who is clumsy. She trips and stumbles so much, that she is afraid to participate. One day, while in the Indian market, Meena signs up for a child’s yoga class. Through the class, and with the support of her family, Meena learns yoga poses that calm her and help her successfully play the role of a tree in the school play. The book features warm, richly detailed images and many details from Meena’s culture are woven into the fabric of the story.
Uses: The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story is perfect for a young child or elementary storytime program. Not only does the story teach the benefits of yoga, but it also provides children with an encouraging lesson about overcoming challenges. The book will also introduce children to different cultures through the imagery and words in the text. Librarians and teachers can read the story to children, and then pair it with a yoga session, or perhaps another book that more directly explains yoga poses. The Happiest Tree is an ideal companion story to a book such as Dogi the Yogi. This text would also be perfect to use with differently-abled adults and teens.
Review Sources:
Engberg, G. (2005). The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story. Booklist, 102(3):63.
Monahan, J. (2006). The Happiest Tree. Library Media Connection, 24(7): 62.
The Happiest Tree: A Yoga Story. (2005). Kirkus Reviews, 73(16):917.
Search Terms: yoga, differently-abled, diversity