Respira

Respira (Breathe) is a picture book for children, with two strands. On the surface, it is a conversation between a mother and her son; the latter can’t sleep, and so the mother teaches him how to control his own breathing, imaging he is a series of different things (a bird, a rocket, a tree, etc.). Having learned this, he sleeps soundly. The underlying thread, backed up by a ‘reading guide’ at the back is to teach children how to control their breathing and use different parts of the lungs through distinct exercises. The illustrations are beautiful and engaging in their detail.

From the reader´s report by Richard Mansell.