You know what? I think I'm inspired. I think I'm going to dig out my sketch book and see if I can come up with a series of cards that would appeal to and work for kids. It'll be a fun challenge, to try and break down the complexity of the Tarot into primary elements that would make sense to kids under 12.
What a great idea. I also love the mention about a Nancy Drew deck - though there may be some copyrite issues with that one!
If you like, I will ask my niece, who loves to read and play with my cards, what she would like to see in a tarot made for kids her age. I can tell you one thing, her main questions almost always have to do with boys...am I getting old or are girls starting a lot earlier with boys now??? Anyway, all innocent stuff - but that seems to be the major focus. Then comes sports, and family stuff - but that is just my niece, and her interests.
From what I have heard her say personally, she doesn't like scary decks, or too creepy images. This surprises me, because when I was her age, I loved all that gothic stuff, the darker the better. She won't even TOUCH my Deviant Moon... She likes bright color - and is not as attracted to the fairy and princess and unicorn type decks as she would have been a few years back.
Her favorite decks among mine are those with animals, or the Crystal Tarot (Permutt's) -
http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/crystal/
which she likes so much that I bought her her own. She also likes the Sharman-Burke deck, which I also just got for her from silverwings94 on the "I don't love you..." thread. But, I'll ask her what her dream deck might be, if you want more information from the horses mouth, so to speak!