What age is Anaïs and the Great Light for?

Six to twelve. Younger children tend to want it read to them; older ones tend to go straight to the journalling pages at the back.

Is the book religious?

No. The seven steps borrow their structure from the chakra tradition, but there is no doctrine anywhere in it and it does not ask the reader to believe anything.

Are there activities in it?

Yes. The story stops about two thirds of the way through and the rest is journalling pages, with a prompt for each colour of the ladder and dotted lines to write on.

24 pages, 20.3 by 25.4 centimetres, illustrated throughout in an Art Nouveau style.

On Amazon. The buy link is at the top of this page.

Children's book

Anaïs and the Great Light

How to Remember Who You Really Are

An illustrated mindfulness story for children aged 6 to 12

Seven colours, seven steps, and a girl who has to remember something she was born already knowing. For readers aged six to twelve.

Out now · 24 pages · ages 6–12

Anaïs and the Great Light: cover, a girl in a flowered dress against a night sky and blossom

The ladder

Before there were clocks or school bells there was only the Great Light, which was curious about what being alive is actually like. So it became a girl called Anaïs. Before it stepped into the world it hid a ladder of seven colours inside her, so that she would always have a way back to herself.

Each rung is something children recognise long before they have words for it. Feeling safe. Making something and losing an afternoon to it. Being brave when it would be much easier not to be. Saying the true thing out loud in a room where nobody else is saying it. The book gives each one a colour and a page. It does not tell the reader what to believe, and there is no doctrine anywhere in it.

The journalling pages

The story stops about two thirds of the way through and the book hands over. What follows is a prompt for each colour of the ladder. I feel most connected when. Something beautiful I saw. A feeling I noticed in my body. Each one has dotted lines under it and room to be wrong, because a blank page asks far too much of a nine-year-old.

Inside the pages

A spread: the yellow step on the left page, the green step on the right, both drawn as Art Nouveau mandalas — The third step and the fourth: yellow fire, green heart

A spread showing two more of the coloured steps as Art Nouveau mandalas — Two more rungs of the ladder

A spread from the story itself, drawn in the Art Nouveau style — The story runs for the first two thirds

A journalling spread: the violet crown prompts on the left, a weekly noticing page on the right — Violet crown, and the week's noticing page

Nine of the twenty-four pages

Nine pages from the book arranged in a grid: the cover in the centre, the coloured steps around it — The cover, the seven coloured steps, and the journal opening

Pages: 24 · Size: 20.3 × 25.4 cm · Ages: 6 to 12 · Drawing: Art Nouveau · Status: Out now

Buy: Buy on Amazon

Questions

What age is Anaïs and the Great Light for?: Six to twelve. Younger children tend to want it read to them; older ones tend to go straight to the journalling pages at the back.
Is the book religious?: No. The seven steps borrow their structure from the chakra tradition, but there is no doctrine anywhere in it and it does not ask the reader to believe anything.
Are there activities in it?: Yes. The story stops about two thirds of the way through and the rest is journalling pages, with a prompt for each colour of the ladder and dotted lines to write on.
How long is it?: 24 pages, 20.3 by 25.4 centimetres, illustrated throughout in an Art Nouveau style.
Where can I buy it?: On Amazon. The buy link is at the top of this page.