Monday, 3 June 2013
My Daddy is a Pretzel (Yoga for Parents and Kids) by Baron Baptiste and Sophie Fatus (Barefoot Books)
Kicking off our #ReadItMD13 week-long celebration of daddy bookishness we thought we'd limber up with some exercises. Now, I know some of you probably can't touch your toes (some of you may not even be able to SEE your toes) but if you fancy shifting some of those pounds put on from secretly scoffing those left-over Easter Eggs, now's the time.
"My Daddy is a Pretzel" is a beautifully written and illustrated story that also just happens to be a cool Yoga manual too. A young child talks about their classmates and what their parents do - but that's nothing, because their daddy can be a tree, a dog, or even a pretzel! If you've never encountered any Yoga moves before, here's a fantastic way to learn some of the basics and also some fairly limb-twistingly complicated Yoga poses too.
We've previously used the "Yoga Pretzel" cards from Barefoot Books, and they're also great fun - used in varying degrees of difficulty and also - like this book - much better when turned into a group activity for dads AND mums (yes mum stop sniggering from the sofa, you can join in too!)
It's a book that's effortlessly cool and tremendously good fun. Find yourself a nice sunny spot while the weather is glorious, lay down a mat and see if you can be a pretzel too!
Charlotte's best bit: I have no idea how she does it but she can actually touch the back of her head with her feet while doing the Down Dog.
Daddy's favourite bit: I don't feel quite as unfit as I used to, I can (alarmingly) still stand on one leg without falling over. Just.
(Kindly sent to us for review by Barefoot Books)