Moody Cow Meditates

I liked the author's prior book on meditation for kids, Peaceful Piggy Meditation, but I think I like this one even better. It is funnier, and teaches a meditation that many preschool and elementary age children will love. The story centers around a young cow/boy who has had a VERY bad day (thus earning him the nickname 'moody cow'). He has a bad dream, his sister bugs him, he misses the school bus, he gets in a bicycle accident - like I said, a VERY bad day. And he gets VERY angry. To help calm him down, his grandfather helps him make a 'mind-jar', where sparkles swirling in agitated water represent his angry thoughts. Then he 'meditates' on the mind-jar by watching it until all the sparkles settle peacefully at the bottom. At that point, of course, he is feeling much better himself too.
Not only is this a great way to introduce meditation (instructions for the mind-jar are included in the back), but it also provides a way to talk about difficult emotions, and the situations in kid's lives that make them feel that way, in an open and non-punitive fashion. And it's appropriate for parents, teachers, and kids of any religious (or non-religious) background - meditation is not presented within a religious framework. Highly recommend!

EDIT 7/9/10 - I came back to edit this review after reading some of the other reviews. It is true that there is a lot more anger represented in this book than others, and that moody cow's expression of that anger - and his sister's - are pretty aggressive. And the mother's initial reaction to the behavior is punitive. But personally, I feel it has a fairy tale feel to it, because the characters are animals, and so these actions trigger discussion, but aren't presented as models for behavior. My own kid's did gasp the first time we read this book, when he broke the window, in the way they might gasp at a dragon battle or whatnot in another kind of story. I think the value is in triggering discussion, and letting kids feel like we all make mistakes, as opposed to trying to 'regulate' what they are exposed to. Of course what age to do that at is a personal parental decision.

I have a very bright, emotionally intense six year old who's best friend loaned us this book a few days ago. We love it! I went out today to buy the fixings to make our own "mind jars"- my son is absolutely fascinated by the idea (he calls it a mad jar). At a playdate this afternoon he related the entire story almost verbatim to another friend, who now also wants to go out and get this book so he can make his own mad jar. Just think, we could end up with a whole population of six-year olds who know how to meditate! Fabulous!

I got this book for my Moody Cow daughter, 7 years old, but found that my 5 and 4 year old really benefitted from the simple act of letting their angry thoughts settle using the technique described in this book. It really works well because it is multi-sensory... VISUAL - kids watch as sparkles sink to the bottom of the jar. AUDITORY - they listen to gong to begin the meditation, and again at the end. EMOTIONAL - The grandfather listens to his grandson's misfortunate day, and EMPATHIZES as he goes along.

I use this book in my practice as a child therapist. The book hold the kids' interest for the first third, but it starts to get long and a bit repetitive. I tend to paraphrase with younger children to keep them engaged. The best part of this book is that it included instructions to create a "mind jar" - a meditation tool. I would recommend it for kids between 6 and 9 or 10.

Adults deal with very complex emotions and kids do too, of course. However, I feel the author doesnt do a good job of tailoring it for kids (i.e. why we feel angry, and that it's ok to get angry). Rather I felt that the book bombards the reader with a lot of negative emotions and could have taken a softer, more pleasant approach. Is it really necessary for Daisy to trip the Moody Bull down the stairs to get her back for pulling her tail?? Another example... "Well, you can understand that with a bloody knee and a banged up nose, I was madder than ever. ("I think I broke my nose" reads a caption) Super Mad!" "....threw baseball bat through the window." (Banged up knee and possbile broken nose, I think medical attention is in order, not meditation) Very extreme and not the sort of influences I want to give a child. Too bad, the ideas are there and the Peaceful Piggy Series is great.

I am very disappointed in this book. It is too violent for me to use in my Yoga Practice with children (Daisy trips Moody Cow down the steps,and Moody Cow throws baseball through the window.) The author could have made her point with less violent and extreme actions. This book does not feel Peaceful at all.

I'm a child therapist and a mom to 4 little kids. I read this book with my 4 and 6 year old children and they really enjoyed it. After we read it, we made the mind jars, which the kids loved. We've even practiced using the mind jars when they get angry and I find that the technique has been helpful.

I've also used the book and mind jar activity with about 5 kids at work (all elementary school age) and each of them responded well. It led to some good discussions and they worked hard to think of angry thoughts so they could keep adding more and more glitter to their mind jars.

I have nothing negative to say, I consider it successful at home and at work!

The message is great, her use of the English language is not. I love teaching my sons about meditation, and I like her books, generally. The only thing that really gets me is that she uses improper English "real good" instead of "really good", and words like "stupid". This may not bother may others, and I won't return the book because of the great message she conveys, but I will just change/cover up the English or words that I, personally, am not fond of.

This book is far too violent. We have a very spirited toddler, but this book gives him ideas that he has not even considered yet. PErhaps for older children it would be appropriate. Too any and dark for my liking though.

I love this book! My son is 2 1/2 and we wanted to teach him about helping with his emotions when things get stressful. It is not at all religious just teaches about calming your thoughts and taking time out. My son will say "let's read Moody Tow (Cow)" and wants to make a meditation jar with glitter.

My husband and I learned from it too! We learned about how to validate our child's feelings with out validating the wrong actions. This comes from when the cow sits with his grandfather, the grandfather goes through each angry thought or feel from the day, he never patronizes the cow but instead says things like "wow, what a terrible way to wake up.".