Hornet & Hippo Count the Stars:
Mindfulness Based Stories and Activities to Calm Anxiety and Balance the Mind
“Let me introduce you to my two friends, Hornet and Hippo. Hornet is always on the go, buzzing around his hive and worrying more than he needs. Hippo loves her river, watching birds, and slowing down for hours. An unlikely pair, they share many adventures while building a friendship that brings connection and balance to their lives.”
Hornet and Hippo Count the Stars is a collection of six stories geared for children 4–10 with mindfulness concepts woven in. These concepts are explored further through parent and teacher prompts, which provide guidance on ways to build concepts of acceptance, the negativity bias, child mindset, patience verses reactivity, letting go, and breathing skills into a child’s everyday life. With a beautifully detailed map of their home, Hornet and Hippo blend the sweetness of Frog and Toad storytelling with science to help children get in touch with their emotions and their amazing brains. Perfect for families, schools, and yoga classes for children.
Bonus Activities
Click here to download additional bonus activities and worksheets that accompany the book.
Where to Buy
To purchase Hornets and Hippos Count the Stars, please visit the Amazon link below:
What Readers are Saying…
“This book includes entertaining children’s stories about Hornet and Hippo that teach simple but powerful lessons about dealing with anxiety through mindfulness. Importantly, it also includes information for parents or teachers about each lesson, including prompts of things to talk about and activities to do that help reinforce the lessons. There’s other age-appropriate mindfulness information as well, such as “Mindfulness MEDS,” which is an acronym for four exercises kids and adults can use to calm down. I know a lot about this kind of stuff, but I learned a few new tricks that I can use myself!” Stacy S
Stacy S
Simple, concrete stories with sweet illustrations walk children through a series of manageable strategies of calm their fears and build their resilience. This book is a gilt that keeps on giving.” Alison Levey, author of Ready Regan?
Alison Levey
If I’m being totally honest, some of these stories (The Worry List) hit home for me, too. I am trying to do better about listing the things I do well each day instead of beating myself up with lists of things I think I need to worry about.” Sarah W.
Sarah W.
I have been so delightfully surprised to watch my children absorb the concepts and coping strategies beautifully illustrated in the words and actions of the ever-fretful Hornet and the ever-mindful Hippo. These stories address some pretty complex concepts in an imaginative and accessible way.
My children are challenged by big feelings, big fears and lots of anxiety. (The pandemic sure didn’t help.) I started reading this book with my kids for our homeschool curriculum as a reading comprehension tool, but this book offers some really useful “social/emotional” strategies that my children grasped right away.
“I originally bought this book to read with my kiddos because of the cute illustrations, but quickly learned that this book has so much more to offer.
Such a fun book and useful tools for kids to internalize and development coping strategies. So relevant in the is pandemic era. All school should incorporate it in their social emotional lesson plans. Brilliant!” Kathleen Diane RN