Author Bio:
Whitney Stewart was born an adventurer. At 14, she hung off ice-cliffs, summited the Grand Teton, and dreamed of climbing the Himalaya. A sports injury led her to a yoga class where she learned to meditate. At 27, she trekked in Tibet, Nepal, and India where she met meditation masters, including the Dalai Lama. From them she learned more about mindfulness practice. Now she teaches mindfulness to children and college students in the United States.
Illustrator Bio:
Sally Rippin was born in Darwin, but grew up mainly in South-East Asia, moving country every two years for her father’s work. As a young adult she lived in China for three years, studying traditional Chinese painting, then moved to France where she began work on her first novel. Now Sally lives in Melbourne, Australia, where she writes and illustrates full-time, though her feet still itch to travel. Sally has always been daunted by the prospect of meditation, but was inspired by Whitney’s text to give it a try. Now she aims to do a short meditation once a day, even though her family might claim she’s actually dozing.
“In the picture, the monkey looks slightly smug, as he is able to sit in a complicated meditation position quite easily, and the elephant, unable to cross his enormous legs, peeks anxiously at his friend. I also realised how perfectly the assumed character traits of these two creatures summed up my own mind whenever I attempted to meditate: clumsy, heavy, leaden as an elephant, or skittish, chattering and restless as a monkey.
I was very happy with this unexpected outcome, as I had secretly hoped this book would appeal not only to children but also to adults like me who have always found the prospect of meditation daunting. After all, I thought, feeling inspired by my own illustration – if an elephant can meditate, anyone can!”
- Hard cover (Picture book)
- Age range 5+
- Full Colour
- 28 Page