by Uma Krishnaswami (Author) Ruth Jeyaveeran (Illustrator)
Meena is excited about the class play, a new and improved version of Red Riding Hood. Meena is excited about writing and making sets for the class play, an improved version of Red Riding Hood. But when her teacher insists Meena be one of the trees in the forest, she is miserable. I can't, Meena says. I'm too clumsy.
The next day at the Indian store with her mother, Meena sees a yoga class underway in the back. Soon Mrs. Vohra, the owner, convinces Meena to try the new children's class. Over time Meena learns to breathe slowly and deeply-in, and out-and to make herself quiet inside. She learns to move in smooth, slow movements. But at school during play rehearsals, Meena still has trouble being a quiet, steady tree.The night of the play, Meena trips on her branches as she walks onstage. Drawing on what she learned in yoga class, Meena quiets herself and begins to move slowly and carefully. Turning near disaster into triumph, she becomes the happiest tree in the forest.
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Uma Krishnaswami was born in India and now lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Her novel, Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh, won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Uma has been nominated twice for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She teaches in the MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Visit her online at umakrishnaswami.com.
Ruth Jeyaveeran is the author and illustrator of The Road to Mumbai, praised by School Library Journal as a "lively romp across India." Much of Jeyaveeran's fine art and illustration work is inspired by her South Asian heritage, so she felt an immediate connection to this story. Jeyaveeran lives in Brooklyn, New York.