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Willow the Wonderer

 

enchanting new tales about

the search for happiness

Rated Five Stars by verified buyers

Australian Picture Books
in a class of their own

New Book: Video

Beautiful Picture Books

stories about wisdom and knowledge

Book Cover of Willow the Wonderer, the best Australian childen's book. We see Willow, a little donkey dressed in a 70s striped purple onsie, lying back in bed with a broad smile. Willow had just discovered what is happiness and where does it lay.

Willow the Wonderer

A Five Star Children's book

Willow the wonderer
Woke up one day
Wondering about happiness
And where it lay ...

Willow the Wonderer is a beautiful new picture book about the search for happiness by Australian children's book author, Reeta Dhar, and internationally acclaimed illustrator, Darren Pryce.

 

Written in perfect rhyme, the melodious stanzas take us on an adventurous journey through the natural world, exploring wonderous places and discovering marvellous creatures.

 

The beautifully crafted imagery draws young readers in to seek out all the creatures embedded in the landscapes. In the process, they effortlessly learn to count. It is the perfect early years learning book.

The essence of the story is grounded in age-old universal wisdom about happiness.

A toddler is reading the second Willow the Wonderer picture book, called Honey Time. We can see her hair, fingers and toes in the background and the beautiful book cover in the front cover. Willow, a little donkey in a 70s striped purple onsie, is trapped in a big ball of honey. He is crossing a gushing stony creek.  The Queen Bee is hovering above him, smiling with her hands full of two more balls of honey. THere is also a bear looking hungrily at the ball of honey. A dragonfly in the foreground is looking on aghast whilst a bird is whizzing past. This beautiful picture books teaches an important lesson about slowing down and smelling the roses.

Book 2 :
Honey Time

New Release!

Willow the wonderer
Woke up early next day
With infinite ideas for
Adventure and play ...

The adventures of Willow the Wonderer continue in  Honey Time. Things get a little sticky for our hero ...

Willow the Wonderer wakes up with infinite ideas for adventure and play - and creates an almighty ruckus trying to 'do it all'!

 

The Queen Bee wisely stages an intervention and gives our young hero a taste of the sweet wisdom of honey. It opens up his eyes to the wonders of the natural world and gives him greater insight into happiness.

The lyrical rhymes and beautiful imagery also effortlessly engages young readers in learning the many natural and creative expressions of colour.

Perfect Gifts for Kids

early years learning books with plush characters

Photo of Willow the Wonderer soft toy. A plush of of our Willow, a little donkey in a 70s striped purple onesie. It is the cutest donkey plush toy ever. Willow has a broad smile on his face and and beautiful beady eyes. A child's hand is holding onto one of his hooves whilst an adult's hand is holding onto another. It looks like they are taking our little donkey plush toy for a wonderful walk.

Willow
Plush Toy

An Adorable New Friend

"Being there for a child is the most noble thing a toy can do"

---  Woody, Toy Story

Willow the Wonderer is now available as an adorable soft toy; a wonderful addition to story time that will get even the fussiest of readers engaged! 

 Designed in Australia by Darren Pryce, our plush toy is produced to a high standard and independently tested against Australian toy safety standards. It is suitable for all ages.

 

Available exclusively online through us and select stockists, this is the most beautiful and unique soft toy you can get for the your little ones.

Photo of Willow the Wonderer premium gift set which features full size picture books and a soft toy of Willow, a cute little donkey in a striped purple onesie who wonders about all things great and small in life. This is a beautiful and special gift, suitable for all occasions, for the special little people, children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, in your life.

Premium  Gift Sets

The perfect gift for kids

"It's never too early
to plant a seed of wisdom "

---  Wise As Stories

Give the gift of wisdom to the special little ones in your life. Choose from three Willow the Wonderer premium gift sets.

Our beautiful picture books comes packaged together with an adorable donkey plush toy of little Willow in a themed giftbox. Wonder, wisdom and joy in a box!

"Beautiful and Wise

this is a book a generation will remember"

Myles Boyd

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Rated Five Stars by 90+ verified buyers
New Book: Text

Books Loved by Kids

and cherished by grown-ups

Bill Wood

Ariel's Grandpa

"My three year old grandson Ariel loved the menagerie of hidden animals interspersed amongst the pages. "Read it again Poppa please" was the message repeated again and again."

May Lam

Mia and Teddy's Mum

"I wish I met Willow the Wonderer when I was young. The story made me feel warm and fuzzy - I had tears of joy! This is not just a book but a gift to us all."

Paul Handcock

Issy's dad

"Issy loves the book, she's been asking us to read it every night as part of bedtime routine! A huge compliment because it has been The Hungry Caterpillar for the last 18 months"

Paola Raffinetti

Mia's Mum

"Oh it's beautiful! Gorgeous illustrations and a warm and creative narrative. I love it. I truly think it's special. I'll be the first in line for a hardcopy!"

Gerard Gonzales

Uncle extraordinaire

“I love the "where's Wally" vibe when looking for animals in the illustrations, lol”

Angela Linus

Anna and Maddy's Mum

"A beautifully illustrated story book to teach children new words and numbers, with wise as rhymes and a wonderful lesson for all ages."

New Book: Our Authors
" Not Just a Book

but a gift to us all "

May Lam

5 Star Rating_edited.png
Rated Five Stars by 90+ verified buyers
Willow the Wonderer enjoying sunrise on a snowy mountain top
Honey Bee Stuffing Pollen in Pocket - Illustration from children's picture book series, Willow the W
Willow the wonderer in the golden woods
Queen Bee plots an intervention
Illustration of Willow at a bonfire from beautiful children's picture book series, Willow the Wonder
Illustration of dragonflies flashing rainbows from the Willow the Wonderer picture book series
Illustration of Willow the Wonderer staring at the starry night
Illustration from Willow the Wonderer, Honey TIme, the best children's picture book
Willow sees the wonders of the world from his honey mound - a beautiful illustration from Willow the

Behind the Scenes

how Willow the Wonderer came to be

Reeta and Darren working on their picture books in a park overlooking the beach

Our Passion Project

One afternoon, during a walk along the Valla beach in NSW's Mid North Coast, Reeta and Darren realised they shared a dream to produce picture books they wish they'd grown up with; beautiful books that plant seeds of wisdom in young minds. 

 

Their hope was that these seeds of wisdom would blossom with time and guide the little ones in their journey through life.

Darren threw in an idea he had conceived a long time ago about Willow, a child who wanders from home searching for happiness. They both felt in Willow a kindred spirit.

Over the ensuing months and many lively conversations, sketches and drafts later, the idea they first discussed in April 2020 grew into a story.

Reeta wrote the words and Darren drew the pictures. Through all the ups and downs of COVID, they released their first book in November 2021.

Thus, Willow the Wonderer was born.

Meet An Unlikely Hero

a little wise ass we call Willow