Puppy Mind -a bookwrap

FYI:  Blogger has been acting very weird these past few weeks.  On my edit page everything looks proper and amazing and is lined up perfectly.   When I publish my work I find that the photos are all over the place, the font is stupid crazy, and the page will not format like I created it to be.

Sorry if the blogs for now look like they are in  in disarray and out of whack. I just want you to know that it's a technical problem and I have not been drinking.... lol! ... although after the blog turns out in its finality (far from its original design) it is something I want to do to ease my horror!  Stubborn Blogger will not budge and I am left helpless. So please enjoy Storywraps....wonkiness and all.  Read between the lines, up the side of the pages and smile!   Yea Blogger!! I've reported it to them so hopefully they can solve the problem.  You have to admit... it is different!

Whacha thinkin'? 






My mind is like a puppy, 

it likes to wander and explore.

If I don’t watch it carefully 

it goes through any open door. 

When my puppy mind is bored it runs

to the future and the past.

If I am not really careful, 

it will take me far away super fast. 

My puppy mind likes to dig up memories,

like when I got yelled at for not sharing my things.

My mind scampers to the future

and I don’t always like the pictures that it brings.

In class I try to listen to the teacher,

but my puppy mind starts to stir, 

I quickly loose my focus, 

and the day becomes a blur.  

I get mad at my puppy mind, 

“Why don’t you just sit and stay!”

but when I yell it gets scared

and hides or runs away.

My puppy mind only heels

if I take three slow deep breaths.  

If I do it often enough, 

I do feel calmer in my chest. 

Practicing being patient, 

is the best way to still my puppy mind. 

I am learning to be my mind’s best friend 

It responds best when I am kind. 

So whenever I feel my puppy mind

tugging at my sleeve,  

I try to remember 

to breathe and breathe and breathe. 

If I practice every day, 

and remember to be kind,  

I will have more fun being

with my best friend, my puppy mind.

- source:  randomhouse



Unwrapping...

Puppy Mind

Authored by Andrew Jordan Nance
Illustrated by Jim Durk

Ages 3-7



Unwrapping some fabulous illustrations for you...

About the book...

Kids ( and some adults kind of like me) are like untrained puppies.  Their minds dash here and there as new ideas, adventures and everyday distractions interrupt their present mind focus.    If you ever taught school you can attest to the fact that you have to keep bringing the kids back from wanderings and sleepily drifting off in daydreaming state to the reality of the present. Your goal as a teacher is to have them concentrate on the lesson at hand or on the book you are reading to them at that precise moment.

Kids are usually thinking of what happened before they came to school or what they are going to do after school (past and present thoughts) anything but what is happening at school. You have to continually remind kids to stop, and bring them back to the reality that is taking place right there in the room. You can encourage them to take three deep breaths and re-focus on the here and now right before their eyes.  With practice kids can train their minds, just like we must train a wanderlust puppy,  to be calm, quiet, and consolidate their thoughts thus capturing the moment at hand.

The illustrations are truly amazing and the illustrator Jim Durk is adored by thousands of children everywhere for his many Clifford the Big Red Dog and Thomas the Steam Engine books.  That is quite a stellar resume... and this book does not disappoint I assure you.  

I love the positive, encouraging message and the brilliant illustrations that bring the message home to the minds and hearts of those who read the book.  I highly recommend it.

About the author and the illustrator...

Andrew Jordan Nance has been an educator for over 25 years. He is the founder of "Mindful Arts San Francisco," whose mission is to provide volunteer mindful educators to teach at underserved San Francisco Schools. Nance is also an award winning actor and director. For almost thirty years he taught performing arts to students from diverse backgrounds, and for 18 years he was the Conservatory Director at San Francisco s "New Conservatory Theatre Center." He is on the Board of Directors of several educational based non profit organizations including the Mindful Life Project in Richmond California, San Francisco s New Conservatory Theater Center, and Arts Ed Matters, a California based arts integration organization. Andrew Jordan Nance lives in San Francisco. 

Illustrator Jim Durk has over thirty years of experience working on children’s books. He’s drawn iconic characters including Clifford the Big Red Dog, Thomas the Tank Engine, The Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, and many more. He received a BFA from Ohio University in 1983 and currently lives in Bay Village, Ohio.

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Read on and read always!

It's a wrap.