Books for Finding Stillness—At Any Age
- Christine Iverson
- 23 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Finding stillness, as anyone trying knows (especially during the month of December), is an active process. It’s far easier to be still in your mind, for example, while your body is racing around than it is to be still in your body while your mind is racing.
So what can we do besides run around searching, searching, endlessly searching for quiet and peace and stillness? Instead of putting all of our effort into attempting to block the noise out, we can invite the quiet in.
What do I mean? In a world that won’t stop moving and shouting and jarring our attention from one distraction to the next, we can shift attention away from the noise and chaos and focus instead on topics that allow our minds to open up, to observe, to ask questions, and to ponder.
Crowd out the noise by crowding in the peace.
Here are two books for each age group that can help:
Adult
The Poetry Remedy: Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind, and Soul
by William Sieghart
A poem for every affliction.
The Backyard Bird Chronicles
by Amy Tan
Discovering joy, connection, and wonder in our own backyards.
Young Adult
Poetry Prescription: Wild Remedy
by Deborah Alma
An anthology of poems that highlight the healing power of nature.
Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Monique Gray Smith, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt
An Indigenous scientist on how to listen to nature and discover oneself.
Middle Grade
A Child’s Anthology of Poetry
by Elizabeth Hauge Sword
A collection of classic poems, both old and new.
Can You Hear the Trees Talking? Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest
by Peter Wohlleben
Decoding the secret language of trees, a middle grade adaptation to Peter Wohlleben’s The Secret Lives of Trees.
Picture Books
Be Still, Life
by Ohara Hale
A poem as a picture book about stillness in a wild world.
Sidewalk Flowers
by JonArno Lawson, illustrated by Sydney Smith
A wordless picture book about discovering nature and beauty, even among the cracks of a busy sidewalk.
As a Bookshop Affiliate, I earn a small commission with qualifying purchases. Thank you!
Wishing you peace and stillness this December!