Rev Janet Callahan

Priestess and Author

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Review: I Am The Elements

January 21, 2015 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

I Am The Elements, by Aurora Lightbringer

A cute and colorful book introducing the elements in a child friendly way.

A different child represents each element, and bright pictures showcase many faces of the elements that we see around us.

This is the second book from Lightbringer, whose first book covers the Wheel of the Year.

At the end, the author provides ways to honor the elements that are child friendly.

 


The opinions expressed here are my own, and I purchased the book reviewed. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, Reviews

Review: Lil’ Witches Wheel of the Year Coloring Book

January 7, 2015 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

Lil’ Witches Wheel of the Year Coloring Book, by Dody Bush-Retherford and Paul Clark

For a coloring book, this doesn’t have a lot of pages to color – I’d say it’s about half coloring pages, maybe less, with the rest activity pages. There’s quite a range – word search, mazes, crossword puzzles, and other word games. Because of that, I’d say it’s definitely an elementary school aged kids’ book.

The book covers each of the eight Sabbats, along with a section for “The Wheel of the Year.”  Different pictures to color have descriptions, usually topical to the Sabbat. In the Wheel of the Year section, the coloring pages are about the seasons.

They’ve used an interesting mix of names for the Sabbats, but explain in the notes at the front of the book that they’re picking and choosing the names they think kids will be able to pronounce best. So, if you’re using different names, this may be confusing, or may be a good time to talk about all the different names that people call different holidays.

This is not really a book that introduces the Sabbats or the Wheel of the Year, so it’s probably best either for kids already familiar with them, or in conjunction with other work to introduce them. Overall, not a bad book….but not what I expected.


The opinions expressed here are my own, and I purchased the book reviewed. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, Reviews

Review: Step Into the Circle: Winter

December 24, 2014 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

Step into the Circle: Winter, by Rowena Wishom, Illustrated by Laura Curry

This book covers the winter Sabbats, Samhain and Yule.

Each section has a story about a modern child and her experiences with the holidays – often, her mother tells her about mythology related to the holiday in the story. There are also songs, recipes, and crafts for each Sabbat. Samhain has a short spell, and Yule has a short ritual.

This would be a great book for starting to talk about Sabbats with elementary school aged kids. It gives lots of practical ideas for how to celebrate, as well as talking about the meanings of each.

 


The opinions expressed here are my own, and I purchased the book reviewed. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, parenting, Reviews

Review: The Sunchildren Celebrating the Autumn Equinox

November 12, 2014 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

The Sunchildren: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox, by Ancient Amber, Illustrated by Maryna Salagub

This is the second book in the Sunchildren series, focusing on the Autumn equinox.

Like the Summer Solstice book, this one lists a number of seasonal activities that the Sunchildren are doing, which your children might like to do along with them. Although the book is somewhat repetitive in that respect, I think younger children will appreciate. It also encourages creativity and respect for others, which are always good things.

This book feels like there’s more explanation in the beginning. I’m not sure that it’s needed, especially not in long paragraphs.

You can follow the author’s upcoming plans at http://ancientamber.weebly.com/


The opinions expressed here are my own, and I purchased the book reviewed. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, parenting, Reviews

Review: A Witch’s Primer, Grade 2 and A Witch’s Primer, Grade 3

November 5, 2014 by Janet Callahan Leave a Comment

A Witch’s Primer, Grade 2, and A Witch’s Primer, Grade 3, by Lorin Manderly

I reviewed A Witch’s Primer, Grade 1, a while back. I mentioned then, and still believe with these two books, that while Ms. Manderly set out to create a text appropriate to teach religion in a Pagan parochial school, and I think these fail at that.

Each of these books has the same chapters as the first book. Each goes into a little more detail (and by little, I do mean a little – each chapter takes up about one screen on my tablet, which I use as an ebook reader). The chapters are very scattered, and again have a wide range of experience expected within a single book – Grade 3, for instance, suggests reading books on soul retrieval – which I’m not sure is a topic appropriate for even middle school aged readers. Information on herbs is provided, but not enough to be really safe (and often on herbs that are not appropriate for children.

I think one of my other big concerns with these two books is the sort of loose grasp on facts that seems pervasive. The Grade 3 chapter on the “History of Magick” is entirely comprised of a Cliff Notes version of the Salem Witch Trials. The introduction to Grade 2 says, “Witches were around in the very beginning (and by this I mean actual prehistoric times, as early as 2000 BC).”

For the first book, I thought that there was salvageable information, if carefully read and edited before sharing with children. I think that all three books together still don’t give a complete picture on some topics, and recommend things that are really not appropriate for children in most cases. So, again, proceed with caution here, and fact check with other sources before just handing these over to your kids.

 


I purchased both books reviewed here. The opinions above are my own. The links to Amazon are affiliate links.

Check out my new energy work page, http://www.facebook.com/GoodVibrationsEnergyStudio

Filed Under: MoonDay School, parenting, Reviews

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