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About the Holiday

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992, when it was founded by the Health Resource Network. The holiday aims to help people identify the stress factors in their own life as well as to assess how all members of their family are handling various pressures. The goal is for everyone—either individually or together—to look for ways to manage their feelings while adding positive changes to their life. Even the youngest members of a family can feel stressed and out of sorts. Talking about pressures with kids and doing simple activities with them can often help lessen the load. Sharing today’s book is a wonderful place to start!

Breathe a Rainbow: A Breathe-Along Book

By Julie Koon

Little ones can have big feelings but not always the words to describe them. Without a verbal way to communicate anger, fear, frustration, and other emotions, those big feelings can be channeled into actions or tears or anxiety. This can be stressful for both the child and the adults who love them.

On each two-page spread of her expressive and accessible board book, Julie Koon provides a concrete, yet nuanced example of concepts like sadness or uncertainty that can seem abstract to young children. For example she offers: “If you feel like a thundercloud” and “If your worries whirl and swirl.” Koon’s prompts can help adults and children talk about emotions in ways that make sense to little ones and even allow for degrees of emotion, for instance, comparing a child’s feelings to a thunderstorm or a rainy day.

On the facing page she then invites the child to engage in mindful deep-breathing while tracing a uniquely textured calming strip that’s incorporated into a familiar figure that offers comfort, hope, encouragement, and a sense of freedom, among others. These shapes include the petals of a cheerful flower and the wings of a friendly butterfly. Arrows guide children on the path around the shape, while prompting when to “breathe in” and “breathe out.”

The final page reveals the most comforting reassurance of all as a happy ladybug sits with her four little bugs who are all experiencing a different emotion. The ladybug assures: “No matter how you feel, you are always loved.”

Julie Koon’s vibrant, oversized board book provides parents, teachers, and other caretakers with an exceptional reading experience and impactful resource to for helping young children understand and soothe big emotions. As a calming intervention when feelings are high or a go-to that kids can rely on whenever needed, Breathe a Rainbow, with strips that can be cleaned, is a must for any home or children’s library.

Ages 2 – 4

Abrams Appleseed, 2026 | ISBN 978-1419780431

Meet Julie Koon

Julie Koon is a children’s book author and illustrator who loves making sweet and silly books for kids. As a preschool teacher and former school counselor, Koon brings playfulness and heartfelt warmth to each page. She loves helping kids learn positive strategies to cope with big feelings. Koon lives in Massachusetts with her husband, three kids, and two guinea pigs. You can visit her at juliepkoon.com.

Hi Julie! I’m really excited to be chatting with you today! Can you talk a little about your background and work and what prompted you to create Breathe a Rainbow?

I was an elementary school counselor and now work as a preschool teacher. I love working with young children, watching them explore and learn about the world, and emotions are a big part of that! I believe that this early work in emotional regulation will have positive effects on children’s mental health for their lifetime. I’ve always loved doing mindful breathing exercises with kids. It’s something simple that can be done anywhere, anytime, to help calm your nervous system. Having a simple shape to trace while breathing is a great way to slow breathing down and make it more fun. I had the idea to turn these exercises into a book that children could use independently or with someone else, and I knew I wanted to pursue it.

With adorable, vibrant illustrations and different textured paths to trace, Breathe a Rainbow is unique among mindfulness books for kids. How did this board book come together from your original concept to bookstore shelves?

After thinking through the idea, I made a big list of shapes that would be simple to trace while breathing. I noticed a nature theme emerging, and decided that would be a good theme for the book. I wanted the text to be simple as well as versatile, and a little bit open-ended, because kids could be reading the book with all sorts of different emotions. I wanted them all to feel seen and supported. After writing the words, I made a book dummy with sketches and a few pieces of colored art. My agent Teresa sent it to my editor Meredith at Abrams. I’m so thankful that they both believed in the book, and I’ve had the best time working with the team at Abrams Appleseed to bring the book to life.

In Breathe a Rainbow, you equate different emotions to evocative occurrences in nature or the feeling that an emotion creates without labeling the feeling. For instance “If you feel like a thundercloud” instead of, possibly, “If you feel angry.” As a preschool teacher and former school counselor, can you give parents and caregivers a couple of tips on how they can talk with their kids about their emotions in a way that is validating and meaningful to them?

Practice what to do with big feelings during calm moments first. Once someone is already emotionally dysregulated (kids or adults) it’s difficult to try something new or listen to advice. Practicing things like deep breathing during calm moments will make it easier for kids to use those tools in difficult moments.
Modeling is such an amazing tool for teaching young children something new. Seeing the adults in their life name what they are feeling and use positive coping strategies is a great way to normalize feelings of all kinds and help children understand what to do with them. Simply saying, “I’m feeling frustrated that I can’t open this jar so I’m going to take a break and use the breathing book. Then I’ll try again.” Kids bank these moments in their brain to understand what to do when they are in a similar situation.

What do you love best about writing for children? What do you love best about being a preschool teacher? What is something similar that you bring to each of these vocations?

I feel so honored and overjoyed that I get to make books for kids! I love the whole process of making books, from creating lists of potential ideas, problem-solving plots, to designing the characters. It’s all so fun! This is probably obvious, but my favorite thing about being a preschool teacher is the kids. I absolutely love getting to know each of them, their personalities, and their interests. I am daily blown away by their creativity and the amazing things they make and do, and the beautiful ways they interact with each other. I think I bring a curiosity and openness to both roles. You never know what the day will bring in bookmaking or teaching, and I feel that I can adapt and be flexible in the moment.

You say that sharing your books with children in person is the best part about being a writer and illustrator. Is there an event or interaction that stands out for you? What made it special?

Every time I get to read my books to kids is so special to me, and I will truly cherish those moments all the days of my life! Some of my favorite memories are reading my books to my own students. Because I’m their teacher and they know me so well, they ask the coolest and most interesting questions! They still talk to me often about making books, and say cute things like, “did you make every book in the whole school?” It’s such a fun experience to see both parts of my work come together.

What’s up next for you?

I have several books coming out over the next few years that I’m so excited about! There will be a second breathe-along book that I’m starting to work on, as well as a few picture books. Dad’s Beard Disappeared (Spring 2027) is about a toddler who becomes distraught when her dad shaves his beard, so they make new beards out of all kinds of silly and fun things. Yarn the Farm (Spring 2027) is about a group of yarn-bombing sheep making mischief on their farm. I’m so excited to share these books with the world soon!

It’s been wonderful meeting you, Julie! Your joy and enthusiasm are infectious! Readers will love this book, and I wish you all the best with it!