Calm the Farm, Sarah O'Sullivan
Written by Sarah O’Sullivan
Illustrated by Bec Brown
Published by Little Love
Publication date: March 2025
RRP $22.00, PB, 36pp
ISBN: 978-1-0670207-2-9
Packed with charm, joy, and practicality, Calm the Farm is a must-have for every children's bookshelf.
This beautifully illustrated rhyming story follows a cranky rooster whose kerfuffle causes chaos on the farm, only for his animal friends to model emotional regulation and mindfulness techniques to find calm.
The story's gentle repetition teaches children valuable steps to manage their own emotions while offering parents and educators a fun and engaging way to introduce these skills. Complete with a QR code linking to mindfulness audio practices, this book provides tools that will benefit young readers for years to come.
Back Cover Blurb
How would you feel if a cranky rooster upset your day?
What do you do if you feel grumpy, sad or worried?
Find out how these cute farm animals help each other feel better using mindfulness.
About the Author
Sarah O'Sullivan lives in Marlborough, NZ. She enjoys learning about and practicing mindfulness and has facilitated the Pause Breathe Smile mind health programme in primary schools. Sarah also makes pottery as sos ceramics. Sarah wants you to know that even though she uses mindfulness as much as she can, her feathers still stick up sometimes. Life, after all, is full of kerfuffle!
About the Illustrator
Living beachside with her beautiful son, Bec Brown works from a little studio based in their garden. With a focus on whimsical yet vibrant florals, she is always busy designing and creating original watercolour artworks and art prints, stationery, illustrating children's books, bead jewellery, and textile collections. Bec says "Illustrating this book for Sarah was absolute magic".
This book is inspired by the Pause Breathe Smile programme, authored by Grant Rix.
https://pausebreathesmile.nz
Rooster helps himself feel better using some practices adapted from the Mindful Self-Compassion programme, developed by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff.
“soothing touch” and “giving and receiving compassion”
https://centerformsc.org/msc-course-practices-and-meditations/
