Children of the Wood: Handmade Folk Magic Book for Kids

Children of the Wood: A Child’s Book of Folk Magic.

This is a handmade black and white picture book of whimsical folk magic spells and practices for Children.

I'm so happy to introduce this fresh reprint after selling out of the last batch! I decided to make this edition larger in format, but the content remains the same.

Written, illustrated, and hand-bound with great devotion by Annie Dowdell.
I’m happy to write a personal note in your copy, just leave me a note at checkout.

Specs:
40 pages
approximately 6x9 inches.
This edition was professionally printed on high end recycled linen by an eco-friendly employee-owned company in the US. I bind each copy personally using natural linen and beeswax thread. I will be offering a very limited number of hardbound editions here and there throughout the year. It's a labor of love that takes days to complete for each copy! Paperback editions are also hand-bound and have a recycled heavy craft paper cover with rounded edges.

I want to stitch roots between our children's feet and the earth, so that they have the tools they need to weather the hard times with grounded resilience, and fully experience and relish the joys of the good. From that space, I’ve written this book with complete faith in every child’s ability to have a strong, FUN, and supportive magical practice that brings their world to life. Nothing is mundane when you find the magic in taking a bath or doing your homework!

I also made another subtle change to this edition in order to be more inclusive and authentic. While themes and practices certainly overlap, I chose not to use the words: “Witchcraft,” or “Witch,” anywhere in this book. Instead, I used a much more fitting term for my purposes: Folk Magic. Folk Magic, is the magic of the common folk, done for common reasons. It is practiced cross-culturally (including in Christianity), and is not bound to any one religion or gender. Its wisdom is not "gate-kept." Anyone can do it. There are strong themes of Animism (the belief that everything inherently has a soul or a spirit), Ancestor worship, and somatic (how does my body feel?) meditation/visualization in this book. Rather than elaborating on culturally or religiously specific practices or traditions, I tried to keep it pretty secular, and wanted to leave younger readers with a desire to deepen their relationship with nature, their families, and their ancestors, so that they can discover and appreciate the sacred traditions and winding history of their own people.

Crystals and other witchy trinkets are super fun and all, but I promise that this book is not a shopping list, it's a call to connect with self, spirit, and nature. The only spell in the entire thing that asks for "supplies" calls for an empty jar or container of some kind and nothing more. I wanted this book to be something children can access and enjoy alone, with a parent, or with friends and siblings. The more popular it gets the more apparent it becomes that kids LOVE to form little circles to practice together and that makes my heart so full and happy!

Much Love,
-Annie Dowdell
(The Witch of the Wood)