Pooka Pages Magazine for Pagan Kids

Pooka – Lora Craig Gaddis

The final issue of Pooka Pages Magazine, Imbolg, has been posted and is ready for you to enjoy.Pooka, the Team and I all hope you have lots of fun with this special issue. www.pookapages.com

Pooka Pages Magazine – Samhain 2021

image: Lora Craig-Gaddis

The Samhain issue of Pooka Pages Magazine for Pagan Kids is now posted – free to download and enjoy. Arts, crafts, stories with a spooky twist! Happy Hallowe’en! http://pookapages.com

Aunt Kalina Reads – A Letter from Scotland, Lughnasadh 2021

You can find a whole heap of Kalina’s lovely readings of various children’s stories on her Youtube channel Aunt Kalina Reads but here’s Kalina reading my A Letter from Scotland and Lora Craig Gaddis’s Elsie and Pooka story from the Lughnasadh 2021 edition of Pooka Pages Magazine for Pagan Kids.

The wonderful Christopher Lee reads The Raven in the last link. This is because I added an additional block and can’t figure out how to get rid of it!

Pooka Pages Magazine for Pagan Kids: Autumn Equinox 2021

Apologies for the tardiness but the new edition of Pooka Pages for Pagan Kids is now published and ready for free download.

We hope you and the young pagans in your life enjoy it. www.pookapages.com

Image: Lora Craig Gaddis

Book Review: Stories for the Songs of the Year

This lovely review by Em Mulholland of my book appeared in issue 49 of Indie Shaman: Lughnasadh 2021. Thank you, Em.

Stories for the Songs of the Year

 August 9, 2021Indie Shaman  0 Commentschildren’s fiction, Fiona Tinker, Folk Tales, Moon Books, Pagan Portals, stories for children

Stories for the Songs of the Year is a beautiful book which can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. I found myself quickly drawn into the magical world of the Celtic Gods and Goddesses and the accompanying tales of Meg, the (constantly hungry, bannock-mad) tom cat with half a tail and Attila the Bun, his lofty, clever, rabbit companion.

I really liked how the book began with a clear and concise foreword on the topic of Pagan parenting, where Tinker makes various suggestions about how to start helping children of various ages understand an assortment of concepts that are central to Pagan beliefs. The foreword also contains a handy summary of the key dates for festivals and celebrations along the Wheel of the Year. There is also a very useful Resources section at the back of the book that includes websites, podcasts, organisations and a list of other books divided according to age.

Turning to the stories themselves, I found myself captivated by Tinker’s beautiful and easily comprehensible storytelling style. I liked the way that some of the chapters opened by describing the salient themes of each celebration on the Wheel before she began to tell a story using the adventures of Meg and Attila the Bun to bring each point on the Wheel to life. One of my favourite parts was the story of The Old Woman of Winter – The Cailleach – washing her enormous shawl in the Coire Bhreacain (the Corry Vreckan) whirlpool and the effect on the Scottish weather because of this.

I am very much looking forward to curling up with this book at my son’s bedtimes when he is a little older; softly reading out the enchanting stories as he drifts off into dream-filled sleep.

Book Details: Fiona Tinker. Pagan Portals – Stories for the Songs of the Year. Moon Books (30 Oct. 2020). ISBN: 978-1789044706

Review Details: Stories for the Songs of the Year was reviewed by Em Mulholland, sub-editor of Indie Shaman magazine and this review was published in Issue 49.

Buy on Amazon: We receive a small commission if you buy via the link below which helps with the costs of running this website. The link shows you the price for the print edition but will also give you options for the Kindle edition where available. (Please note – the link below will not show if you use an ad-blocker. Please disable your ad-blocker for this website if you would like to view).

Stories for the Songs of the Year

New Indie Shaman Lucky Draw Competitions (as featured in Issue 49 of Indie Shaman magazine).

We have a signed copy of Stories for the Songs of the Year to give away courtesy of author, Fiona Tinker and publisher, Moon Books.

To enter this lucky draw, use our contact box and title your message ‘Stories’. (Please make sure you use the contact box, not the comments section of any page!) Deadline for entries 9 a.m. 1st September 2021 (UK GMT). Winners chosen by random draw and notified by email. No purchase necessary for competition entry.

Entries are also accepted via email and on our Facebook page and Facebook discussion group.  Full competition terms and conditions here.

https://shamanismbooks.co.uk/

Pooka Pages Magazine – Lughnasadh 2021

Image © Lora Craig-Gaddis 2021

The Lughnasadh issue of the Pooka Pages for pagan kids has been posted.

This one is slightly different from the others as the creator, founder and editor of the magazine, Lora Craig-Gaddis, has been unwell recently. She works her socks off to bring this free magazine to children eight times a year and she was really worried about disappointing the little ones. We convinced her to worry about herself and concentrate on getting better. Meantime, this edition has a guest editor – me!

Unfortunately, there’s not been the time to post the previous Imbolg edition. I’m sure Lora will do that as soon as she is better and able to do it.

The magazine is FREE to print out or read online. We hope you and your family enjoy it!

Click on the link for the magazine: hthttp://www.pookapages.com/

Let Aunt Kalina Tell You a Story

Kalina Fernander Grimm, a lovely lady from Georgia, USA contacted me quite a few months ago, asking if she could record my children’s stories from www.pookapages.com as part of her ‘Aunt Kalina’ kids’ story channel on Youtube. And what an amazing storyteller she is too – I love hearing her versions of my tales and the way she brings the characters to life is marvellous.

If you want something new and exciting, give Aunt Kalina’s Youtube children’s story channel a listen. You’ll be glad you did!

http://tinyurl.com/Aunt-Kalina

Book Review

Rites to a Good Life: Everyday Rituals of Healing and Transformation  –  Frederick Marx 

(Warrior Films, 2020.)

Frederick Marx, the author of Rites to a Good Life: Everyday Rituals of Healing and Transformation, asked if I would be interested in reviewing his new book about the importance of rites of passage for men and boys in the modern – primarily USA – world. Being neither a man nor an American, I naturally said yes – and I am so glad I did.

This is a tremendously important book which examines what some may perceive as a crisis in masculinity in the developed world. It discusses the necessity of mentoring our young through the storms of adolescence to maturity and acceptance of their roles in the world through rites of passage at various life stages, each one adding to the stature and standing of the initiate until manhood is reached. Marx’s book discusses matters from the cultural context of the USA and contrasts this with world-wide rites of passage traditions from allegedly less developed communities; highlighting the benefits mentorship of teenagers confers on the cohesion of societies as a whole.

The book focuses on male experience and this is an absolute joy to read, given how easily young men can be overlooked. It acknowledges the Rites of Passage conferred by members of religious groups, for example. However, the book is not about religion and the quiet strength at the heart of the book is illustrated by these quotations:

In villages and cultures (…) it was common to be taught why you were here, what your purpose was, and how best you could contribute to the community.

Boys raised on farms or learning crafts were apprenticed by their fathers and other men. While they were taught practical and professional skills, they were also taught what it is to be a man, what civilised behaviour is – the rights and responsibilities of adulthood.

The author lays out his own path and shares the wisdom of those who mentored him. The book is not an easy read in the sense that it can be dashed off in one sitting. Indeed, to do so would mean that much of the wisdom in this work would be lost. It is a book to read slowly, to savour and to think about before accompanying the author on the next stage of the journey.

Rites of Passage is truly a remarkable book. The ideas and questions it contains are urgent ones for today when so many young men can appear lost and directionless at times. However, Marx does not just stir this pot and run, leaving the reader wondering, “What next?” Resources are provided in the appendix to enable readers to follow through on the ideas by listing established men’s groups / websites for further information and sources of help. We surely owe it to our male children to be the adults they need to help them become whole and healthy men.

This book is not for the faint-hearted but it is indeed a book for those whose hearts are stout.

Rites to a Good Life: Everyday Rituals of Healing and Transformation  –  Frederick Marx 

(Warrior Films, 2020.)

http://tinyurl.com/Rites-of-Passage-Amazon-UK

http://tinyurl.com/Rites-of-Passage-Amazon-US

MoonCon 2021- Videos of the Talks are now on Youtube!

All the videos from #MoonCon21 are up on Youtube now if you’d like to watch again:

http://tinyurl.com/MoonCon2021-Talks

@MoonBooksJHP @moonbooks