When his daddy comes home from the service struggling with PTSD, a young boy discovers that learning yoga together can be a source of healing.
Ever since Daddy returned from overseas, he’s been different. At first, Butta Bean thinks it’s his fault—that maybe his daddy doesn’t love him anymore. But Mama explains that Daddy’s mind is hurt from things that happened while he was away. When Mama takes them all to yoga class at their local YMCA, Daddy doesn’t want to go at first, and Butta Bean thinks it looks weird.
But as Daddy and Butta Bean get better at the yoga poses (Daddy says he’s a real boyogi), Butta Bean starts to see a change in Daddy. He seems more and more like his old self. In a picture book gently tuned to a child’s understanding, award-winning author David Barclay Moore and Caldecott Honor recipient Noa Denmon celebrate the transformative power of yoga, therapy, and abiding love for your family.
About the author
David Barclay Moore is an author and filmmaker. His debut novel, “The Stars Beneath Our Feet,” was a Coretta Scott King–John Steptoe New Talent Author Award winner, a Time Magazine Top Ten Children’s Book of the Year, and a New York Times Book Review Notable Children’s Book of the Year.
Reviews for “Boyogi”
“’Boyogi’ shines a powerful spotlight on a difficult topic, treading carefully and offering understanding and hope for families of veterans and other traumatized adults.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“A sensitive, accessible approach to trauma and the mind-body relationship.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Young protagonist Butta Bean knows his father has been behaving differently since returning from deployment, but the child doesn’t have context for what reads as PTSD. Explaining that “Daddy got sick overseas,” Butta Bean’s mother notes that “When Daddy was away, some bad things happened there…. We are lucky nothing happened to Daddy’s body. Moore addresses an important but conceptual topic in a developmentally appropriate way.” —Publishers Weekly
“Boyogi: How a Wounded Family Learned to Heal” is available on Amazon, Bookshop, Target, and your local bookstore.
