Yara the Yawning Yak
Yara the Yawning Yak
Big Feelings, Brave Hearts — An Alphabet Collection for Kids
By Jessica Schoettle
Yara is a yak who loves to stay busy. She enjoys helping friends, playing games, and joining every adventure she can. Yara wants to do it all and keep up with everyone around her.
But sometimes, Yara’s body begins to feel tired.
When her yawns grow bigger, her legs feel heavy, and her eyes grow droopy, Yara tries to keep going anyway. She worries that slowing down means missing out on fun. Soon, her body feels worn out, and she begins to struggle to enjoy the things she loves. With gentle guidance from a caring friend, Yara learns that yawning is her body’s way of asking for rest.
As Yara practices pausing, stretching, breathing, and giving her body time to recharge, she discovers that rest helps her feel stronger, happier, and ready to enjoy her day again. Yara learns that slowing down is not falling behind — it is a healthy and important way to care for herself.
This meaningful story helps children learn:
• How to recognize body signals like tiredness and fatigue
• The importance of rest and self-care
• Healthy balance between activity and slowing down
• Confidence in listening to their body’s needs
• Emotional awareness and physical self-regulation
• Social-emotional learning through relatable storytelling
Yara the Yawning Yak is part of Big Feelings, Brave Hearts — An Alphabet Collection for Kids, a heart-centered series designed to introduce children to emotions, character strengths, and social-emotional skills through lovable animal characters and developmentally appropriate storytelling.
Each book in the series encourages meaningful conversations between children, parents, caregivers, and educators while supporting emotional growth for children ages 2–6.
Perfect for:
- Bedtime reading
- Preschool and early elementary social-emotional learning lessons
- Speech and emotional development support
- Classroom read-alouds
- Gifts for toddlers and young children
- Parents and educators teaching self-care, body awareness, and healthy rest habits
Help your child discover that listening to their body and taking time to rest helps them feel strong, happy, and ready for new adventures.
Yara is ready to show them how.