Family and Children

Cait Johnson and Marua D. Shaw, Celebrating the Great Mother: A Handbook of Earth-Honoring Activities for Parents and Children.

Most useful for:	Parents and families
Content:	Discusses general information and activites for children about the seasons, the Goddess, the natural world, dreams, etc.; provides rituals, activities, recipes, and altar setup for each Sabbat.
Commentary:	Not specifically a Pagan book but may be adaptable (many of the rituals and activities already address the Goddess, and if you're going to add the God, do so mindfully, not as an afterthought :)). There are some wonderful seasonal crafts included (I particularly like the "talking stick") and the altar ideas are useful for someone starting out or for someone already part of a tradition where the altars aren't especially child-friendly.
	Recommended

Margie McArthur, WiccaCraft for Families

Most useful for: Parents

Content: Includes basic information on Wiccan practice; provides family-oriented activities, rituals, recipes and songs for each Sabbat, as well as moon rituals appropriate for children; provides rituals for a wide variety of rites of passage; gives simple prayers for family use.

Commentary: An excellent sourcebook, this book includes literally everything you need to celebrate the wheel of the year with your children in fine style. The rituals and activities are appropriate for children and adults alike. That said, it doesn't deal with abstract issues and doesn't address many of the problems associated with being a Pagan parent in a non-Pagan real world--so if that's what you are looking for, this is the wrong place. But if you want a resource of practical information on practicing and celebrating with your children, though, this is a very good one.

Recommended

Lilith McLelland. Spellcraft: A Primer for the Young Magician

See entry under Magic and Spellcraft.

Ashleen O'Gaea, The Family Wicca Book: The Craft for Parents and Children

Most useful for: Parents

Content: Provides ideas for celebrating Wiccan holidays with children; describes magic and Wiccan thealogy in a way children can readily understand; provides several rituals for rites of passage.

Commentary: The strength of this book is the view it presents--that we can bring up our children to be respectful of the Earth, view it with Pagan eyes, and to believe in magic and in the physical laws of the universe at the same time, while at the same time living in the real world. It was the first book I found on the subject and as such it filled a great void--sometimes it seemed to me that all Pagan practices and rituals were intended for adults only, and it was wonderful to see that that doesn't have to be the case. The book deals only with family practice, but some of the ideas could easily be adapted for use in a family-oriented circle; also, almost all the examples and ideas are from the experience of a single family and the way they found their own spiritual path as a family, which reflects the way that other families will have to likewise find their own ways in this new territory, but which also makes it a bit onesided. It's a good book, and a wonderful exploration of the Pagan philosophy for children adn families, but not the first I would recommend to a Pagan parent.

Recommended

Ceisiwr Serith, The Pagan Family: Handing the Old Ways Down

Most useful for: Parents

Content: Briefly discusses Paganism in general; provides rituals for the home, for rites of passage, and for holidays; discusses practical ways of teaching children about the Pagan path.

Commentary: Another good source of family ritual and practice, this book deals not exclusively with Wicca, giving it a slightly different slant than the two books reviewed above. There is also a slightly more devotional outlook here than presented in the McArthur book, with a more extensive discussion of prayer and its use. The moon rituals are simple and lovely. What I don't see here--and I don't consider this a bad think--is much discussion of magic. The emphasis is firmly on the spiritual.

Recommended

Silver Ravenwolf, Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation

Most useful for: Young beginning students

Content: Describes Wicca, paying particular attention to eliminating false information; discusses the basics of Wiccan theology and practice; discusses the structure of ritual worship and magic; suggests ways to deal with parental objections in a civil and respectful manner; provides an extensive selection of prewritten spells.

Commentary: Basically the same information is in this book as in Ravenwolf's To Ride a Silver Broomstick, and I'd say that in general a young person would be better off with that book than with this one, which presents a much-abbreviated version of the same material. There are, however, several advantages to Teen Witch: the information is simplified and may be easier for some beginners to understand; the book describes working without tools (casting with the finger instead of the wand or athame, for example); and it gives particular consideration to issues unique to underage practitioners who may be working in an environment of misunderstanding or even hostility. Apart from this, and for a serious student, I see no advantage to buying this book rather than an equivalent book written for a non-age-specific audience.

Starhawk, Diane Baker, and Anne Hill, Circle Round: Raising Children in Goddess Traditions.

Most useful for: Parents and family-oriented groups

Content: Discusses introducing children to Goddess and Pagan religion and making them part of ones spiritual life; presents rituals, activities, stories, songs, recipes and crafts for Sabbats and Esbats; provides rituals for rites of passage; discusses ways for children to work with the Gods and the elements.

Commentary: A heck of a book, and a wonderful resource for anyone dealing with children in a Pagan or Goddess tradition. Information (theological and practical) is presented in ways easily understood by children, stories and songs and crafts abound. Both activities for families and for larger groups are presented, making this a very useful book indeed--a must-have for families and groups that include children. In fact, many of the ideas would be as much fun for adult-only groups as they would be for kids!

Very strongly recommended

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Most useful for:	Parents
Content:	Includes basic information on Wiccan practice; provides family-oriented activities, rituals, recipes and songs for each Sabbat, as well as moon rituals appropriate for children; provides rituals for a wide variety of rites of passage; gives simple prayers for family use.
Commentary:	An excellent sourcebook, this book includes literally everything you need to celebrate the wheel of the year with your children in fine style. The rituals and activities are appropriate for children and adults alike. That said, it doesn't deal with abstract issues and doesn't address many of the problems associated with being a Pagan parent in a non-Pagan real world--so if that's what you are looking for, this is the wrong place. But if you want a resource of practical information on practicing and celebrating with your children, though, this is a very good one.
	Recommended

Most useful for:	Young beginning students
Content:	Describes Wicca, paying particular attention to eliminating false information; discusses the basics of Wiccan theology and practice; discusses the structure of ritual worship and magic; suggests ways to deal with parental objections in a civil and respectful manner; provides an extensive selection of prewritten spells.
Commentary:	Basically the same information is in this book as in Ravenwolf's To Ride a Silver Broomstick, and I'd say that in general a young person would be better off with that book than with this one, which presents a much-abbreviated version of the same material. There are, however, several advantages to Teen Witch: the information is simplified and may be easier for some beginners to understand; the book describes working without tools (casting with the finger instead of the wand or athame, for example); and it gives particular consideration to issues unique to underage practitioners who may be working in an environment of misunderstanding or even hostility. Apart from this, and for a serious student, I see no advantage to buying this book rather than an equivalent book written for a non-age-specific audience.

Most useful for:	Parents and family-oriented groups
Content:	Discusses introducing children to Goddess and Pagan religion and making them part of ones spiritual life; presents rituals, activities, stories, songs, recipes and crafts for Sabbats and Esbats; provides rituals for rites of passage; discusses ways for children to work with the Gods and the elements.
Commentary:	A heck of a book, and a wonderful resource for anyone dealing with children in a Pagan or Goddess tradition. Information (theological and practical) is presented in ways easily understood by children, stories and songs and crafts abound. Both activities for families and for larger groups are presented, making this a very useful book indeed--a must-have for families and groups that include children. In fact, many of the ideas would be as much fun for adult-only groups as they would be for kids!
	Very strongly recommended