My friend's two children, one 9, the other 11 are both interested in Wicca. My friend and his wife are supportive of this ( they are both agnostics but are open to their children having a religion. In fact both their children already believe in the Goddess and the God which is a good start. ) Because of this they have come to ask me what good books on Wicca there are out there appropriate for children.
Now I have no idea why they ask me given I am a Hellenic, and my Gardnerian friend is currently overseas on conference but a quick search on the Internet has resulted in me finding quite a few books.
However given I have never read any of these materials myself I cannot comment.
So my question .. is there anyone here who knows good books for children on Wicca which explains Wicca appropriately on the level of a child BUT must be 100% appropriate for children.
( Which means absolutely no description on the Great Rite .. that is just not appropriate for anyone under 14 years of age!! )
Update:Whilst Harry Potter is definitely age appropriate ( at least the first two books ) it does not however describe Wicca or teach people about Wicca.
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Theresa Moorey's book Witchcraft for begginers is very good. Would be better suited for the older child but can be explained to the younger one. Try going on amazon or ebay and typing in pagan books for children. You won't find anything too adult then. There are also colouring activity books too. I don't the information on me but type it in a search engine and you should find something. If you live in the UK try the Pagan Federation. They have a magazine for members and I saw the add in there for the kids books. If you get in touch with them, whether you live in the UK or not, they will help you.
I recommend Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham. It gives a good bare-bones explanation of what Wicca is and I believe it is age appropriate.
Yes, Scott Cunningham is a very good choice for the beginners. It is simple and fun, but still tells the basics of myths and ritual and celebrations. Also very good and interesting book is Starhawk´s "The Spiral Dance". Although it is aimed mainly to covens, there still are the exercises and rituals and celebrations of Sabat´s and Esbat´s and you can always make them fit also for the solitary practitioners. Also very interesting about the history of Wicca is Ronald Hutton´s "The Triumph of The Moon - A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft" and Margot Adler´s "Drawing Down The Moon".
Honestly, although I don't know off the top of my head if the Great Rite is mentioned, the two introductory books by Cunningham were read by my son at like 12, so I think they are appropriate.
I haven't read any, or given any to children, so I have no idea. You said you have looked into it yourself, so I don't know if I'll help with this. But, these two sites might offer something.
Interesting question, though.
Buy them this book Wizardology, yes it is fictional, but if they do all the stuff in there then get them a book on Wicca. You don't want these kids backing out of magic once they start, do you?
Harry Potter?
Mrs. Frisby and the rats of NIMH...maybe?
chronicles of narnia