As a native New Yorker, before I moved to California I thought drinking tea was New Age-y and I didn’t know a chakra from a hole in the wall. After five years in California I go to acupuncture, own a pair of Birkenstocks and my boyfriend’s mother is a healer. Fancy that.

The older I get the more my sensibilities change and things that used to seem to be squarely in the hippy corner I now find very appealing. Take, for example, the Awakening Consciousness for Girls and Awakening Consciousness for Boys by Robin Marvel, two workbooks designed to encourage spiritual growth in children and to guide them on a path of self-awareness. These are books you’ll want under your tree this Christmas.

The books arrived at my doorstep as part of the Green Books Campaign, in which 100 bloggers help support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of more than 100 such books. Organized by Eco-Libris, this campaign aims to promote “green” books by reviewing only books printed on recycled paper or FSC-certified paper.

Better than a Barbie doll, the books are chock full of hands-on exercises that will appeal to girls and boy, respectively, of all ages.

In Awakening Consciousness for Girls, exercises include information about the seven chakras and ways to explore them, lessons on the power of crystals and aromatherapy and writing assignments designed to help girls develop self-esteem and personal power.

In Awakening Consciousness for Boys, kids learn about auras and charkas as well as how to make a drum and create a drum circle, ways to discover your spirit guide and lessons on Native American legends and lore.

In my opinion both books are appropriate for either sex and I would love to see a combined version from Marvel down the road. As a writer, I especially love the fact that there is dedicated space on nearly every page for kids to jot down questions, thoughts or just to journal on their experiences as they move through the exercises.

Awakening Consciousness for Girls and Awakening Consciousness for Boys were published by Loving Healing Press, and are available on Amazon.com for $14 each.

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Heather O’Neill is the founder of Eco to the People, a green living blog.
You can email her at heather@ecotothepeople.com.