The Wheel of the Year - by Fiona Cook Hardcover

About the Book

A beautifully illustrated, interactive guide to ancient, nature-based holidays and customs. Through themed meditations, crafts, and rituals, young readers can learn about old and new ways of honoring the seasons-and create their own!"--

Book Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND KIRKUS BEST MIDDLE GRADE BOOK OF 2023

"This book is, in a word, immaculate."--Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

A beautifully illustrated, interactive guide to ancient, nature-based holidays and customs. Through themed meditations, crafts, and rituals, young readers can learn about old and new ways of honoring the seasons--and create their own!

Blending nature connection with art, poetry, and myth, The Wheel of the Year conveys the magic and beauty of ancient traditions and encourages young family members to notice, care for, and celebrate the natural world around them. A thoughtful reference and gift book suitable for either leisure reading or homeschooling, it is geared toward younger readers but enjoyable for those of all ages seeking a deeper connection to nature's traditions.

Each "spoke" in The Wheel of the Year marks an important turning point: the winter and summer solstices, the spring and fall equinoxes, and the festivals of seeding, growing, and harvesting that arrive in between. Within each section, enjoy:

• An overview of the holiday and its significance in cultures around the world
• A sensory scavenger hunt for sights, sounds, and smells the season
• Ideas for a seasonal altar using objects from nature
• Themed crafts, rituals, games, and recipes

Review Quotes

KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW
A thorough, accessible, yearlong walk through the seasons.

Speaking to her readers in a wise whisper, Cook proclaims that there's real magic in this world--it's all around us, and kids have a special knack for seeing it. She sets out to help readers "find and recognize magic," starting with Ostara, the spring equinox, and rolling through the wheel of the year to Imbolc, a cross-quarter fire festival halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The book carefully and meaningfully lays out the rhythms of the wheel[.] It provides suggestions for individual nature-based spiritual practices and activities, including crafts and scavenger hunts that involve multiple senses. The book includes recipes using herbs, berries, and fungi (along with safety information for the kitchen and foraging) and guidance for refreshing your altar to welcome the energy of the incoming season. It also references non-Western cultural practices and explains cultural appropriation, giving readers context about the sacred Native American practice of smudging, and it suggests gathering herbs other than sage to bundle and burn. Cook's obvious wealth of knowledge and care in explaining both the light and dark of the world around us is complemented perfectly by Roux's charming, delicate illustrations of natural objects, critters both cute and crawly, and racially diverse young people. This book is, in a word, immaculate.
A graceful invitation that children will happily accept. (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

About the Author

Fiona Cook is a writer and visual artist living in Chicago. She is a mother, friend, gardener, and union home health care worker. In 2018, she designed a deck of Lenormand cards for divination, and her book of poetry, Conspire is a word that means to breathe together, was published by the EGG Gallery and Press. In 2020, she released Turn It on Its Head, a collection of illustrated riddles. Fiona is inspired by the magic, mystery, and mischief of our planet Earth and draws from that relationship in her work.

Jessica Roux is a Nashville-based freelance illustrator and plant and animal enthusiast. She loves exploring in her own backyard and being surrounded by an abundance of nature. Using subdued colors and rhythmic shapes, she renders flora and fauna with intricate detail reminiscent of old-world beauty. She is the author and illustrator behind Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers and Woodland Wardens Oracle Deck & Guidebook.