Children

Lele Luzzati was one of Italy's great illustrators and stage designers, twice an Academy Award nominee for his animated films, and this Lo Scarabeo deck carries his theatrical, joyous line into a children's tarot: playful, family-friendly, the arcana as picture-book pageant. The pairing of a serious artist with a children's format is very Italian and very Lo Scarabeo, deck-making treated as illustration art wherever it lands on the shelf. A children's tarot raises the obvious question of purpose, and the honest answer is the same as children's mythology books: the images plant the archetypes early, story-first, fear-free, and the deck doubles as a gentle instrument for adults who want the arcana without their gothic weight. Luzzati's admirers collect it regardless of use. It suits families introducing symbols as stories, Luzzati and Italian-illustration collectors, art teachers, and readers who want a deck that smiles. Anyone requiring solemnity should let the children have this one.