Somewhere in the woods, past the pumpkin patch and along West Forest path, there is a place where a fox tells long stories, an owl takes charge of things nobody asked him to take charge of, and a hedgehog can always be found somewhere near the blackberries.
These are my stories. I write them for no particular reason beyond enjoying it, usually working them out in my head on dog walks and writing them down when I get home. My AI assistant (Janet) illustrates them.
They are free to download, and they are yours to read at bedtime, print out, or scroll through on a phone while somebody small leans on your arm.
Meet the friends
Clarence is an owl. He has lived in the forest a very long time and would like everyone to know it. He is fond of speeches, checklists and being right, and he is loyal to the last feather.
Lingonberry is large, calm and never in a hurry. He is built for walking and for carrying everyone home when the day has gone on too long.
Niblet is a squirrel who tends the pumpkins and believes they grow better when someone believes in them.
Pipkin is a mouse in a red hat who moves everywhere at speed and knows every path in the forest.
Tuppence is a hedgehog. He is usually somewhere near the blackberries, and usually covered in them.
Jeremiah is a fox who remembers every harvest and every lantern ever lit beneath the trees, if only somebody would stop and listen.
Ghost is the newest. He is a very small white ferret, and he chose his own name.
Trouble in the Pumpkin Forest
Niblet’s favourite pumpkin has vanished, and there is no time to lose. Jeremiah thinks he might know where it went, but nobody will sit still long enough to hear him say so.
The Midwinter Glow
On the longest night of the year, a single lantern is lit to warm the forest. This year it has gone missing, and Clarence is taking it extremely personally.
Ghost in the Forest
Pipkin says he has seen a ghost. Nobody believes him, which is a shame, because one by one they are all about to see it too.
More will turn up here as I write them. If your children like these, I would love to know.