This outstanding 78-card tarot deck from Jason Gruhl (Just a Thought) and Kristina Kister (The Prince of Yorsha Doon) encourages kids to find answers within themselves. Gentled renditions of classic tarot center the everyday experience, like roasting a marshmallow (the Ace of Wands) and dreaming (Death), as well as magical moments of unbridled power and limitless adventurousness. Nature features prominently in sun-dappled, starlit, or fiery scenes of trepidation, uncertainty, anticipation, despondency, hope, change, or ebullience, with fantastical and real-world beings (a brown-skinned mermaid, a unicorn, bees, a hummingbird, an adorable dog).
The gorgeous full-color guidebook demystifies the tarot process with a handy suits chart; fun spread guides; suggested questions to ask; and, for each card, a full-page of heartening interpretations preceded by a pithy summary ("thoughts can be deceiving," "we are all inspiring," "it's ok to say no"). Journeys, friendships, love, and family topics receive guidance, as do complicated times, via nontraditional major arcana ("The Upside Down" instead of "The Hanged Man"; "Forgiveness" instead of "Judgment"). Here, the focus is to "explore anything" in a refreshingly accessible and wholly original deck that will spark healthy contemplation, lively conversation, and beautifully atmospheric readings. --Samantha Zaboski, freelance editor and reviewer