Spell books for kids, whether they are collections of magic stories or poem charms, should offer something new or present material that is unique or particularly imaginative in some way. So how about something totally original - a little piece of mystic creativity from the past? Refreshingly different mysteries, charms and spells can be found in vintage childrens books - and the illustrations can be spookily unfamiliar too!

Some people may think that magic books and stories about witches have become a little predictable lately as new authors have sprung up and taken inspiration from J.K. Rowling's success with Harry Potter. Writers see a successful formula which appears to appeal to children's appetite for mystery and suspense for a short while, but in reality even J.K. Rowling herself can sometimes experience challenges in re-invigorating the same old themes of magic. Short scary stories about witches and wizards can often cover the same old ground in terms of plot.


Yet the allure of magic, shadows, spells and charmed stories in song, poetry and round-the-fire stories beckoned long before there were best-selling childrens authors. We only have to think of Robert Burns with his eerie Halloween poem, R. L. Stevenson, Shakespeare's Macbeth, King Arthur's Merlin and the Brothers Grimm to find examples of traditional spell and magic folklore passing through the generations of superstitious country peoples and which have gone on to inspire the writers of today.


Sometimes children miss out on a rich vein of imaginative traditional literature as they consume today's diet of populist, best-selling magic-themed books. Stories about magic often seem to follow a set formula noways. A vintage children's book however, or a collection such as the Treasury of English Verse can help to make sure that kids get a good balance of both contemporary and traditional literature.

Barbara Ireson's s collection of weird and wonderful literature pieces from the past includes the creepy tragedy of the story-poem 'The Wife of Usher's Well' in which a grief-stricken mother gets her wish for her drowned sons to come back to her - in the middle of the night.

Also included is a spell is a spell for sleeping ' sweet william, silverweed, sally-my-handsome; dimity darkens the pittering water' by Alistair Reid. This includes the mysterious recipe 'seven fish in the sway of the water, six candles for a king's daughter, five sighs for a drooping head, four ghosts to gentle her bed....'.

Not to be missed is the sterling example of mystical classic literature 'A Masque of Queens' by Ben Jonson. The extract included in Barbara Ireson's spell book for kids is 'The Witches Charms' which some readers might think rivals that of the three witches in Macbeth....' Dame, dame the watch is set: quickly come we all are met, from the lakes and from the fens, from the rocks and from the dens...' This charm for assembling witches surely bests any other examples in other spell books for kids and offers opportunities for dramatic play, theater skills and dance too. Magic books for kids can be used to direct learning in English Literature.


Children can have imaginative learning fun with spell books for kids - with a book like Shadows and Spells they can enrich their treasury of language skills too.