"What should my resolution for 2026 be?", I mulled as I cooked dinner last week. *Relentless Positivity* were the words that flashed in my mind. Not being an optimist by nature, I was somewhat excited by the prospect of experimenting with a different mental mode for the ensuring 12 months but then, I read the news ... It's not going to be easy, I realised. The world events inspired me to get clinical about positive thinking; what it means in practice and how to deal with a mi

Well folks, all that is left to say and do now is to bid adieu to 2025 and welcome 2026. Thank you for your support through the year. We hope you enjoy sharing our little wise ass's adventures with your little wise asses ;-) The stories that we grow up with really do matter so thank you for broadening your grandchildren's, children's, students' and readers' horizons. Given the way the future is panning out, they will no doubt need it. The way we live and work today would have

A gentle reminder folks that Christmas shipping deadlines are approaching fast. For those living in regional and rural areas of Australia or New Zealand please opt for Express Shipping from this point onwards. We have updated our express shipping option, passing on the 20-35% discounts we are currently getting for this service so make the most of it. This is a breakdown of the shipping deadlines when using standard shipping service . These timeframes are for parcels shipped f

It's happened again folks... We are down to our last 100 gift sets. It's not surprising really — Our Willow the Wonderer Book and Toy Gift Sets are literally the best "book & plush toy set" you will find in the market! We designed it that way. Here's what makes our Willow the Wonderer book and plush toy set stand out:   A Bespoke Character Plush Toy of Willow Our Willow the Wonderer plush toy is a bespoke design by Darren to bring our endearing little hero to life! Even the o

We are excited to share that we have received the full shipment of the fifth and final book in our Willow the Wonderer series — Inner Worlds. This is the culmination of six years of heart based work for us, creating stories we wish we'd grown up with. Thank you for your support these past few years. We hope you enjoy this final installment. "A wonderful image for children to grow up with" - Illustration from Willow the Wonderer - Inner Worlds Get a taste of surrealism & lea

If you had to pick one word to describe 2025, what would you say? I'd hasten a guess that no one opted for steady, calm or indeed normal ... Perhaps it was fitting then, that for the final Willow the Wonderer book I left the external world behind and delved instead into the worlds that lie within —  our inner worlds after all are places we can condition and control. Even as the writer, it can sometimes take a while to articulate the essence of the work you have produced. The

When it comes to building resilience in children, we recommend reading the fourth book in the Willow the Wonderer series, The Gift . The story in The Gift is built around an enduring piece of wisdom: Impermanence. This simply means that with time, all things no matter how difficult, impossible, awful or even wonderful, will eventually pass. In popular culture this is often expressed in phrases such as "nothing last forever" or the more classical reference "this too shall pass

All four Willow the Wonderer picture books are tales of high adventure set in the natural world. The epic tales as well as stunning illustrations help children learn about nature and even look forward to having a few adventures of their own! I would particularly recommend the second book in the series, Honey Time , as it teaches kids to slow down and pay attention to the natural world around them -- and experience the beauty and wonder of nature for themselves. Willow the Wo

Picture books are great for children - of all ages - who are early readers, still learning to read or having some difficulties mastering the skill. Picture books have a low overall word count of between 500 to 1000 words, spread over 26-32 pages. This makes it possible for even beginners to work their way through the entire book in one sitting, which great for boosting their confidence in reading. Willow the Wonderer picture books are especially helpful for learning to read

We recommend gifting your young grandchildren our Willow the Wonderer Gift Sets . Willow the Wonderer gift sets feature our beautiful picture books and a bespoke character plush toy of little Willow, a baby donkey in a retro onesie. All this arrives nicely packaged in a custom box and is also gift wrapped to save you the trouble. You can choose between Gift Sets featuring the complete collection of books in hardcover or paperback , as well as customisable gift sets where you

Here it is folks -- the book cover for the fifth and final Willow the Wonderer book. We had put our shortlist to a vote. It was wonderful to receive so many responses from our community of readers. In the end, it was a near unanimous vote for little Willow hugging the Earth. Cover Reveal for the fifth and final Willow the Wonderer picture book!   One of our readers' put it best when she said, "Willow hugging the Earth is a lovely image for children to grow up with."   We had

All Willow the Wonderer picture books are great for bedtime stories -- so many of our customers have told us that parents enjoy them as much as the kids! Written in rhyme, the melodic stanzas are a perfect way to lull the little ones into dreamland. The best bit is that all the stories have a beautiful ending that is both comforting and enlightening to readers, young and old. But if I had to pick just one book from the series for bedtime stories, I'd choose the second Willo

In general, picture books are recommended for 3-8 year olds. However, we do not recommend using age as the main criteria for choosing which books to buy, as the reading skills and interest of children can vary widely. In our experience, parents, grandparents, teachers and nurses have used Willow the Wonderer picture books with children from well before they were born (ie reading to them in the womb) to premature babies still in pre-natal care, to children from the age of 6

Life is ebbs and flows - but how to navigate it all? A video popped up on my tiktok feed recently - featuring a middle aged school teacher sitting at his desk correcting assignments, with the following caption: "My students are asking me, how come I have an email address with my actual name?" His response (sanitised version), "Because I was around for the birth of the email ..." Who else remembers being alive in the late 90s - at the dawn of the internet? A fad for kids and n

Watch our latest podcast exploring ideas, inspirations and creativity What is the source of ideas and creativity? "Where do your ideas come from?" This is one of the most common questions Darren and I (and no many other creatives) get asked. The motivations tend to vary. Aspiring or practising creatives are always curious to learn and perhaps get inspired through the approach others take, while the audience are usually interested in getting deeper insights into works they lik