Title: The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature's Rhythms
Author: Fiona Cook
Illustrator: Jessica Roux
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
Pages: 256
Publication Date: October 23rd, 2023
A beautifully illustrated, interactive guide to ancient, nature-based holidays and customs. Through themed meditations, crafts, and rituals, young readers can learn about old and new ways of honoring the seasons—and create their own!
Each “spoke” in The Wheel of the Year marks an important turning point: the winter and summer solstices, the spring and fall equinoxes, and the festivals of seeding, growing, and harvesting that arrive in between. Within each section, enjoy:
An overview of the holiday and its significance in cultures around the world
A sensory scavenger hunt for sights, sounds, and smells the season
Ideas for a seasonal altar using objects from nature
Themed crafts, rituals, games, and recipes
Blending nature connection with art, poetry, and myth, The Wheel of the Year conveys the magic and beauty of ancient traditions and encourages young readers to notice, care for, and celebrate the natural world around them.
First off, can we all just agree how GORGEOUS this book is? These illustrations are amazingly warm and make this work so much more approachable for children. Believe it or not, it is aimed at Youth!
This lovely book goes Sabbat by Sabbat through the Wheel of the Year. We start with Ostara and move through to end with Imbolc - beginning with the Spring Equinox.
There are other mentions of rituals, festivals, other religions etc along with the Pagan holiday. There are recipes, crafts, ritual ideas, correspondence, fun ideas - I love the Scavenger Hunt feature, which gives ideas of how to notice the Earth's changes, allowing us to dive into the world itself, instead of just reading about the changes coming up
The writing is easy to understand and approachable. It is aimed for children, but adults can gain quite a bit of good information from this book as well. This is a fantastic book for families who Pagan Parent, for those who are looking for some solid information or those who need a refresher on the basics and would like this whimsical book to re-spark the magick of the WotY.
While reading I had that very inspiration, holidays that were feeling a little stale had a burst of inspiration and I am excited to try the ideas out in my next celebrations. Nothing is too difficult, requires intense supplies, or is too outlandish. Everything is accessible and allows your personal traditions and thoughts to be merged with the information here.
This lovely book goes Sabbat by Sabbat through the Wheel of the Year. We start with Ostara and move through to end with Imbolc - beginning with the Spring Equinox.
There are other mentions of rituals, festivals, other religions etc along with the Pagan holiday. There are recipes, crafts, ritual ideas, correspondence, fun ideas - I love the Scavenger Hunt feature, which gives ideas of how to notice the Earth's changes, allowing us to dive into the world itself, instead of just reading about the changes coming up
The writing is easy to understand and approachable. It is aimed for children, but adults can gain quite a bit of good information from this book as well. This is a fantastic book for families who Pagan Parent, for those who are looking for some solid information or those who need a refresher on the basics and would like this whimsical book to re-spark the magick of the WotY.
While reading I had that very inspiration, holidays that were feeling a little stale had a burst of inspiration and I am excited to try the ideas out in my next celebrations. Nothing is too difficult, requires intense supplies, or is too outlandish. Everything is accessible and allows your personal traditions and thoughts to be merged with the information here.
Overall I am very excited to add this title to my personal collection - this review is being written after checking out a copy from my local library.
I encourage everyone who is a Pagan and follows the Wheel of the Year to pick this up - whether you have children or not! 5 out of 5 Triquetras!
About the Author
Fiona Cook is a writer and visual artist working in Chicago, represented by Alyssa Jennette of Stonesong Literary Agency in NYC. She is a mother and union home health care worker. Her debut book THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR (illustrated by Jessica Roux) is a New York Times bestseller.
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