5 books that encourage mindfulness

I learned about mindfulness as an adult, but I wished I knew more about the practice of staying in the present when I was a child. It’s why my new middle-grade novel How To Get Magically Popular is all about a girl who learns exactly that. 

Sabina’s story starts with her joining a new fancy school when her mum moves them to a small village, leaving behind her best friends in London. She’s really lonely and doesn’t feel like she’s good at anything. Until a yoga teacher comes to their school and Sabina realises she’s been doing yoga and meditation with her mum her whole life. She just called it breathing and stretching. 

When Sabina accidentally meditates so much that she unlocks her third eye chakra, she finds herself magically endowed with psychic powers that make it harder than ever to stay grounded in the present moment. 

Slowly, Sabina learns the importance of being where she is rather than getting caught up in the worries of the future or the regrets of the past. It’s a comedy all about mindfulness, meditation and magic and I hope it inspires readers to do their own versions of meditation and embrace the present moment. 

But my book isn’t the only one focusing on mindfulness for children. 

Here are 5 other books I’ve enjoyed that all encourage readers to pay attention to the present moment… 

Amy-May is struggling. Her parents have split up and she’s moved to a new town with her mum, leaving her dad behind in the countryside. The only thing that helps her stop worrying is to do the breathing exercise her dad taught her: ​‘slow and even, deep breaths in, and out, in with the wave, out with the wave.’ 

When Amy-May – who can’t bring herself to go to her new school – starts working with support teacher Grace, everything changes. She understands more about her anxiety, she learns to use art and crafts as a way to help her be mindful, and she meets a girl from Syria who ends up helping Amy-May just as much as she helps her. 

Ten-year-old Frank feels left out of his family where all the focus is on his younger brother Max and his autism. Frank retreats into codes, puzzles and numbers, wishing that he had a ​‘normal’ family. But when tragedy hits, Frank’s whole life changes. 

He learns to stop running away from his grief and stay in the present instead, even when his feelings are painful. He also ends up learning from his brother, noticing how Max needs routines and structure to feel safe, but also how he is completely rooted to the present moment. 

By connecting more to his brother, Frank learns to make sense of life. Because no matter what happens, they’re all in the same space. 

Ellie (Jellybean to her friends) has been off school with anxiety. Her parents don’t understand why. She isn’t being bullied, the work isn’t too hard and she has good friends – so why can’t she go to school? 

It’s only when Ellie gets the help of a therapist that she starts to make sense of her feelings, using art, breathing and list-writing to help her move away from the cloud of anxiety to come back to the truth of the present moment. 

There’s nothing more mindful than poetry. Its very form is an invitation to slow down, reflect and pause. This beautiful collection featuring poets ranging from Michael Rosen to Nikita Gill and Mandy Coe is no exception. Each poem is deliberately written to encourage mindfulness in its reader. 

Whether it’s Sanah Ahsan telling us: ​‘don’t forget to look / beneath the spark’ of a flame, or Sue Hardy-Dawson writing: ​‘I take care with my feet / tiptoe on wet paths’, this poetry collection is a reminder to breathe and simply be. 

Ahmet has joined a school in London after fleeing his war-torn home in Syria with his family. He doesn’t speak English and the story is narrated by one of his classmates. Over time, his classmates develop a friendship with him, noticing what he likes, what makes him anxious and how he communicates without words. 

They use mindful tools helping them to be in the present moment and accept reality which allows them to create a connection with Ahmet. As everything around them changes, Ahmet and his friends find a way to develop empathy and understand the world around them. 

How To Get Magically Popular by Radhika Sanghani is out now. It’s also in the 2025 Bookbuzz Programme!