Todd Strauss-Schulson is an award-winning writer/director. His films include A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas; The Final Girls, which premiered at SXSW and has amassed cult status, counting Stephen King, Sam Raimi, and Quentin Tarantino as vocal fans; Isn’t It Romantic, starring Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, and Priyanka Chopra; and most recently, Silent Retreat, starring Isabella Rossellini, a silent comedy set at a meditation retreat. Todd has been meditating for over a decade and has sat numerous silent retreats with many of the most notable Buddhist teachers in the United States. In fact, this book came to him while he was on one. His last book, Scrawl, which he wrote with his mother and sister as a tribute to his late father, was published by Rizzoli in 2019.
“OMG! This book is the perfect way to introduce the essence of mindfulness to kids: not by ‘meditating’ but by learning to not take the mind so seriously. Honestly, though, I and a lot of my grown-up students could learn from it too.”—Jay Michaelson, senior editor, Ten Percent Happier, and author of Enlightenment by Trial and Error
“Todd's book is ostensibly for kids, but I’m using it for myself. It’s sweet, funny, beautiful, appropriately gross, and perfect for any child struggling with that very loud mind."—Mary Stancavage, meditation teacher
“I read books to my children and now my grandchildren. I’ve never come across a book that explains so amusingly, and in terms children can easily understand, that our minds play bad tricks on us. This book helps explain these tricks, providing us with a first step to finding serenity again.”—Isabella Rossellini, actor
“Pick this up! Todd writes beautifully about brains. Which makes sense—he’s clearly got a brilliant one himself.”—Alex Edelman, comedian and writer
“Your Mind Makes Thoughts Like Your Butt Makes Farts is about the most useful analogy I’ve ever heard for the relentless brain chatter we all hear. This funny book has exactly the right amount of grossness to keep every eight-year-old mindfully enjoying a book about mindfulness. Don’t let the boogers scare you off; the message is spot on.”—Michael Ian Black, author and comedian
“Teachers are counseled to speak in the idiom of the people. The salutary effects of metacognition cannot simply be recommended to children: we must speak in the language of farts. I trust this funny/serious book will afford children new insights into their inner life and help them become a little less intimidated by the off-gassing of their brains.”—Matthew Brensilver, PhD, UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center, co-author of Teaching Mindfulness to Empower Adolescents
“Knowing images can be powerful teachers, to help everyone in the family take thoughts less seriously and find a little perspective and playfulness around them, Todd Strauss-Schulson came up with surprising analogies. Phil McAndrew was clearly up to the task of making these illustrations unforgettable. Together, they'll take you on a fun and highly liberating ride!”—Pascal Auclair, meditation teacher
“I wish I had had this funny, thoughtful book growing up as an anxious child. Maybe I’d be less stressed about writing this blurb. I am SO stressed writing this blurb. Can one of you please write it for me?”—Megan Amram, TV writer, The Good Place, The Simpsons, Parks and Recreation
“This book elegantly (and sometimes disgustingly) explains a concept that it takes most people their entire lifetimes to learn: mindfulness. Every kid should have this read to them. Every person should read this!”—Emily V. Gordon, writer and producer
“As an anxious little girl with an overactive mind, I wish I had this book. Luckily, now I get it as an anxious adult woman!”—Zoe Lister-Jones, actor, producer, director, and writer
“It's funny because it's true! A delightful child's point of view of a truth adults need to commit to memory; thoughts are not facts.”—Richard LaGravenese, screenwriter, The Fisher King and The Bridges of Madison County
YOUR MIND MAKES THOUGHTS LIKE YOUR BUTT MAKES FARTS
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Most mindfulness books for kids are calm and soothing; this one is funny and gross—just what kids like!
Sometimes we have nightmares, or we’re filled with anxiety and fear. And when you’re a kid, you don’t always understand why or what to do about it. Your Mind Makes Thoughts Like Your Butt Makes Farts is funny and gross, but more importantly, it gives kids the big tools they need to cultivate a relationship with their mind, to become its friend and understand that they don’t have to listen to everything it says—to realize that thoughts (like gas) will pass.
Click for kids’ reviews of the book and to hear the funny thoughts kids think.
Phil McAndrew is an award-winning illustrator, a cartoonist, and a writer. He is the author and illustrator of Crying in Front of Your Dog and Other Stories (Uncivilized Books, 2013). He also illustrated the Caveboy Dave series of graphic novels written by Aaron Reynolds (Viking Books, 2016 and 2018) and Monster Science by Helaine Becker (Kids Can Press, 2016). Phil has contributed comics and humor to The New Yorker, MAD Magazine, Popula, AWRY, The Nib, and many other publications. Phil lives in the Buffalo, New York, area and he currently teaches part-time in the illustration program at Syracuse University. He enjoys digging around in his garden and playing drums in bands with his friends.