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The fourth Willow the Wonderer book has arrived: 'The Gift' offers a valuable lesson in resilience
Late on Tuesday 12th of August, as the digital screens flickered and refreshed, the latest avatar of our online store came into being. A sprinkle of 'internet magic' later, all our book and gift sets appeared with an extra book - the fourth in the Willow the Wonderer series. We had quietly launched The Gift . New customers purchasing the books online were probably oblivious to the fact. Existing customers, some of whom had bought the first book in the series four years ago,

Reeta Dhar
Aug 23, 20244 min read


Bestselling children's books: Why readers rate our picture books five-stars
We've received over 450 reviews from genuine customers for our Willow the Wonderer children's books series and each time we read them, it fills our heart. We share some beautiful stories that customers have shared with us below. Reading these keeps us going. Willow the Wonderer storybooks have struck a chord with kids and grown-ups alike Since the release of the first book in the series, Willow the Wonderer has consistently garnered perfect five-star rating from readers and

Reeta Dhar
Mar 5, 202411 min read


Ufos and Picasso's dirty dishes: What inspired the art in our new picture book, Space Odyssey
"There is no such thing as the unknown, only things temporarily hidden." Captain James T. Kirk Creativity is a messy business Enter Francis Bacon , not the sizzling breakfast kind but the icon in the artistic pantheon. He didn’t cover up the blemishes on his canvas; instead, he transformed the errant strokes into unsung heroes of the composition. He once said, "And sometimes when I've been working I've been so disgusted by it that I grab the brush and put brush marks all ove

Darren Pryce
Dec 3, 20238 min read


Looking for children's picture books? Check out Librarian Pam's review
Remember Pam? She's worked in libraries for most of her life - 26 years in fact! There she was back in 2021, enjoying a quiet retirement in the country working on her art practice with her best mate, when she came across two creative souls publising their first picture children's picture book - Willow the Wonderer . It was about the search for happiness and had just the right philosophical pull and ethereal quality to get Pam to sacrifice her prized anonymity and agree to fro

Reeta Dhar
Oct 27, 20233 min read


Willow the Wonderer picture books are stories about wisdom and knowledge. Here's why.
Wise As Stories is unique amongst publishers world wide for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that we are creating stories that plant seeds of wisdom and knowledge. It is why Darren and I started Wise As Stories and produced and published Willow the Wonderer picture book series - and it's what keep us going. In this blog I wanted to share with you the backstory to this mission we've taken on. I've shared this in past blogs (here's the link to another ) b

Reeta Dhar
Jun 13, 202311 min read


The art and wisdom of creating Willow the Wonderer picture books
Clap! My hands, came together as I became fully aware that my life was finite and I would die some day. I was 10 years old. I remember thinking that I have only a limited time to achieve my life goals and so made a pact with myself that I would make haste, hopefully fulfill them and make death bring closure to my life with another clap. This action (clapping) I later surmised was my way of demarcating the movie of my life, much like a movie set clapperboard might punctuate th

Darren Pryce
Mar 6, 20238 min read


How to create beautiful illustrations - for picture books and much more
Willow the Wonderer, a story about a child's innocent search for happiness, had been incubating in my head for well over two decades. I would think about it mostly when I was looking up at clouds, forms would appear in them and then disappear as the wind reformed the shapes. I wanted to create a picture book that would not only look good and engage children but would incorporate this idea. What was most important to me, however, was that the book plant a seed of wisdom in a

Darren Pryce
Jun 22, 20215 min read
Blog: Quote
“Light a campfire and everyone's a storyteller"
John J Geddes
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