What do these ramblings have to do with my books for children?

The book I have been working on is not for the younger set. Previous books were aimed at 3 to 7 year-olds mainly, although my 20 month-old-granddaughter loves The Star Children.

The new book is aimed to be a story that enfolds within it a navigation map for, say, 10 to 15 year-olds. This is an age when the spiritual consciousness arises in many children, and integrating and understanding that part of ourselves in this very materialistic, chaotic, and threatened world while their body and personal self are changing drastically would be a very new and challenging experience. Our normal consciousness as reflected in the mass media, entertainment and school curricula are devoid of any guidance from the spiritual perspective, although some effort is definitely made to address emotional turmoil and trauma. To children awakening to their spiritual dimension, emotional work is not enough since it does not address the deeper essence of ourselves, the very part that needs addressing. This state can leave any of us – young or old – confused, lonely, depressed, adrift and especially lacking clear language to grapple with those feelings.

So for me as well, I have no model for this kind of a book. I also am grappling, growing and changing.

More tomorrow – expansion of thoughts on the relevance of forgiveness.