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

Wondering what are the best ways to help young children who are learning to read? You need to take note of this article from the ABC on Structured Literacy - An evidence-based approach to teaching reading that involves a combination of phonics (sounding out words) and explicit teacher-led instruction. It is based on a " landmark international study that examined 10,000 pieces of research going back to 1966 to distill six big ideas behind the science of reading . Reading th

The Patch Primary School's production of Willow the Wonderer (Photo Credit: The Patch Primary School) A story too good not to share It's not everyday that a lifelong educator - and her entire school - gets behind your storybooks . So , I thought I'd share this wonderful story with our community.   Writing this reminded me, like I hope it does you, of 'that teacher': The one who went the extra mile and made all the difference to your life.   Enter Stage Left : Debra Herrmann

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

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

An early childhood educator, Reshmi Gosai, recently came across our Willow the Wonderer picture book series. Excited by the possibilities that the book presented in engaging the little ones in her childcare centre (one of whom is aptly named Willow) in learning, she immediately snapped up one of our premium giftsets featuring the two picture books and a gorgeous plush toy of little Willow. They were the perfect early years learning books! Reshmi shared her report on how she

It's the height of winter but we are basking in the warmth of the reviews we are getting for our debut picture book, Willow the Wonderer - 'Beautiful' is how most of our readers describe the book. It seems that everyone, from great grandchildren to great grandparents, are falling in love with Willow - our hearts could not be more glad. As we countdown the final copies of the first print run, we thought we'd share some of the highlights from the reviews and the 'backstory' in

Teachers and early childhood educators who have recently bought our Willow the Wonderer picture books are telling us they love using it in class! Encouraged by their feedback we are developing a series of teaching guides to accompany the books. These will cover the basics like developing literacy and numeracy skills to more advanced subjects such as creative writing, art, folk literature, poetic rhythm and meter, and of course explore the philosophy and wisdom of happiness.