Behind the Pages: How the Woodland Wonder Tales Series Was Created

Every Story Has a Story

Before there was a hedgehog named Hariët, before there was a fox named Finnigan, before there was a woodland full of secrets and adventures waiting to be discovered — there was an idea. A feeling, really. The sense that the world needed more stories that were warm and slow and rooted in the natural world. Stories that valued curiosity over speed, friendship over competition, and the quiet magic of a forest over the loud spectacle of a screen.

That feeling is where Woodland Wonder Tales began. And in this post, we want to share something of the journey from that first feeling to the books you hold in your hands (or read on your screen) today — because we believe that knowing the story behind a story makes the story itself richer.

The Inspiration Behind Hariët and Finnigan

Hariët the Hedgehog and Finnigan the Fox didn't arrive fully formed. They emerged, the way the best characters always do, from a combination of observation, imagination, and the particular alchemy that happens when you spend time in nature with children.

Hariët came first — a character shaped by the children we know and love who are careful, thoughtful, and tend to hang back before they leap. Children who notice things. Children whose inner lives are rich and complex even when their outer expression is quiet. We wanted a character who honoured that kind of child — who showed that thoughtfulness is not timidity, and that careful observation is its own form of courage.

Finnigan arrived as Hariët's natural counterpoint — the kind of friend every careful child needs. Enthusiastic, impulsive, warm-hearted, and utterly reliable in a crisis even when he caused the crisis in the first place. The kind of friend who makes life bigger and brighter and occasionally more complicated than you bargained for. We all have a Finnigan in our lives, and we love them fiercely for it.

Together, they became something more than the sum of their parts — a friendship that felt true, and a dynamic that children recognise immediately, whether they identify with Hariët, with Finnigan, or with both at different moments.

Read more about the characters in our post Meet the Characters: A Guide to the Woodland Wonder Tales Animal World.

Why the Woodland?

The setting of Woodland Wonder Tales — a richly imagined, seasonally alive forest world — was not an accident. We chose the woodland deliberately, because we believe that children's relationship with the natural world is one of the most important things we can nurture in early childhood.

There is something about a forest that speaks directly to the imagination. It is ancient and layered, full of hidden things and quiet drama. It has its own rules and rhythms, quite separate from the human world. It is safe enough to explore and mysterious enough to sustain wonder. For a child, a forest is an invitation — to look, to listen, to imagine, and to feel that the world is larger and more interesting than it might otherwise seem.

We also chose the woodland because we wanted stories that would age well — that would feel as fresh and true in twenty years as they do today. Trends come and go. Screens and formats change. But a hedgehog in an autumn forest, sharing an acorn with a fox who is pretending not to be nervous — that is timeless.

For more on the real woodland animals behind the stories, our Woodland Animals A–Z guide is a wonderful companion read.

The Creative Process: From Idea to Book

Creating a Woodland Wonder Tales book is a labour of love that unfolds in several distinct stages, each one essential to the finished product.

Story development comes first — the long, often non-linear process of finding the emotional core of the story. What is this book really about? Not the plot (though the plot matters), but the feeling. The truth. Every Woodland Wonder Tales story has a quiet emotional centre — something about friendship, or courage, or the value of paying attention — that shapes every other decision from the first page to the last.

Character and world building happens in parallel with story development. What does Hariët's home look like? What time of year is it? What does the light do in the forest at this particular moment in the story? These details may seem like background, but they are the texture that makes a fictional world feel real. We spend a great deal of time in this stage, simply imagining — wandering through the woodland world in our minds and noticing what we find there.

Writing and rewriting is where the actual work happens — the slow, patient, sometimes frustrating process of finding the right words for the right moments. We read every line aloud as we write it, because Woodland Wonder Tales books are written to be read aloud. If a sentence doesn't flow when spoken, it goes back to be reworked. If a word doesn't earn its place, it comes out. The language of our books is crafted to be heard, not just seen.

Illustration development is a collaborative and joyful stage in which the visual world of the book takes shape. The illustrations in Woodland Wonder Tales are not afterthoughts — they are a full half of the storytelling. We believe in images that contain more than the text says, that reward careful looking, and that make the forest feel like a place you could step into.

Final refinement is the stage at which everything comes together — and the stage at which the hardest decisions are made. What stays? What goes? What needs one more pass? We approach this stage with a combination of rigour and tenderness, because by this point the book feels like something alive, and every change matters.

For a look at how some of our other woodland content comes together, read our post Behind the Pages: How Woodland Wonder Tales Books Come to Life.

Book 3: The Woodland Secret — Our Most Ambitious Yet

Book 3: The Woodland Secret represents a new level of ambition for the series. It is longer, richer, and more layered than its predecessors — a book that trusts its young readers to handle complexity, to sit with uncertainty, and to find their way to an ending that is earned rather than given.

The idea for Book 3 came from a question that had been quietly present since Book 1: what does the woodland hold that Hariët and Finnigan haven't found yet? What is the secret at the heart of the forest? Answering that question took longer than any previous book — and the answer, when it finally came, felt like something we had been moving towards from the very beginning.

Read our Book 3 launch announcement and the Reading Guide and Sneak Peek for Families for more on what makes this book so special.

A Family Project, A Community of Readers

Woodland Wonder Tales is, at its heart, a family project — created by people who love children, love stories, and love the natural world, and who believe that these three loves belong together. Every book in the series is made with care, with intention, and with a genuine belief that the stories we tell children matter deeply.

But the series is also, increasingly, a community project — shaped and sustained by the readers who have taken Hariët and Finnigan into their homes and their hearts. The messages we receive from families — the children who have drawn their own woodland maps, written their own Hariët stories, named their pets after the characters — are among the most meaningful responses we could hope for.

If you'd like to share your family's Woodland Wonder Tales story with us, we'd love to hear it. And if you're new to the series, we hope this glimpse behind the pages has given you a sense of what we're trying to do — and why we believe it matters.

Where to Begin

If you haven't yet started the Woodland Wonder Tales journey, there has never been a better moment. The complete series is available now:

— Book 1: Hariët the Hedgehog and Finnigan the Fox (PDF printable)
— Book 1: Physical edition (ships internationally)
— Book 2: Hariët, Finnigan, and the Swamp Adventure (PDF printable)
— Book 3: The Woodland Secret (PDF printable)

Add the colouring book and our free colouring page and sticker sheet, and you have everything you need for a complete woodland reading and activity experience.

Thank you for being part of our story. We can't wait to share what comes next. 🌿