Leo the Lazy Lizard

Ed Shankman and David O'Neill have built a picture book with a genuinely subversive little message: the creature everyone assumes is lazy is actually paying close attention in his own way. Set in the desert Southwest with vivid illustrations that bring the landscape to life, Leo the Lazy Lizard uses rhyming text to make the mindfulness theme accessible without becoming preachy. School Library Journal praised the message and the art, and local press picked up on the way the book blends charm with real substance for young readers. The honest caveat is that the mindfulness theme may be too subtle for the youngest children in the age range without an adult to help draw it out, and Arcadia Children's Books has more limited national distribution than major imprints. Still, a warm and worthwhile pick for the classroom or home.