Wildland Wisdom: How Nature Inspired My First Children's Book

Some of the most meaningful lessons I’ve learned haven’t come from curriculum, advice, or books. They’ve come from slowing down long enough to notice what’s already happening all around us. They've come from lived experience. I've loved the outdoors since I was the age my littles are now and, over the years, nature in various forms has always been a powerful teacher - teaching me grit after being thrown from horses, patience through long and unfruitful hunting days, and rhythm through gardening, food production, and living inside the cycles of the seasons rather than observing them from a distance.

A tiny field mouse trying - and failing - to climb a flower. A pause before trying again. A quiet persistence that feels small, but is anything but. An ordinary moment that would be easy to miss if you weren’t paying attention

That’s where my first children's book, Milo’s Big Try, was born - a nature inspired children's book with a big lesson to give. From one small, ordinary moment that held a much bigger lesson. A moment that I only experienced because I slowed down with intention.

Where Wildland Wisdom Began

I never set out to write a children’s book. In fact, I had quietly forgotten that years ago - before babies, before bedtime stories, before muddy boots by the door - I once wrote “children’s book author” on a vision board my husband and I made together. And yet here I am, watching my own children notice the world with wide eyes, pointing out to them those little lessons hidden in the everyday moments, and finding myself called to capture that wisdom in stories.

I've told the little mouse's story to many people since I saw it years ago. I'm captivated by it. No audience. No applause. No praise. Just quiet determination.

It struck me how often nature models the very traits we hope to teach our children:

• perseverance without pressure

• patience without frustration

• confidence without comparison

And how rarely we pause long enough to notice.

But now Milo’s story - his example of trying and trying again - is becoming a beautifully illustrated picture book for young readers and the grown-ups reading alongside them. It’s the first book in what I hope will become the Wildland Wisdom series - a collection of grounded, nature-inspired children’s books rooted in real-life encounters that show us the outdoors has wisdom to give if we’re willing to lean close.

Nature Inspired Children's Books Rooted in the Real World

Wildland Wisdom isn’t about fantasy animals with human problems. It’s about real creatures living real lives - and the quiet lessons they offer if we’re willing to lean close.

These stories are meant to do more than entertain. They’re meant to invite curiosity:

What else can we learn if we pay attention?

What other lessons are unfolding just beyond the trail, the fence, the backyard gate?

What can this moment build in me?

Perseverance lives in the mouse. Rhythm in the changing seasons. Cooperation in the wildlife that share the woods. Confidence in creatures that simply are what they were created to be.

And children? They’re already experts at noticing - as long as we don’t rush them past it.

Kids are surrounded by noise, stimulation, and constant instruction. Nature offers something different. It teaches without words. It invites without expectations. It models resilience without reward.

The Lessons Nature Teaches

"Be patient," we tell our kids. "Persevere," we encourage. But what do those abstract, big words actually mean to a young child? Very little - until they can see them lived out in front of them.

When we lean close and allow them to notice, our words change from an empty directive to a heart-filled invitation:

"Do you see how the mouse tries and tries again until he succeeds?

Sometimes things are hard, but we keep going."

When we pair stories with real-world observation - reading about a mouse and then seeing one dart across the trail - something deeper clicks. Learning becomes embodied. Character becomes lived, not commanded.

This is the heartbeat behind Wildland Wisdom: books that don’t replace outdoor experiences, but deepen them. Stories that invite you outdoors with a posture of curiosity and attention. Stories that help families recognize the quiet lessons already unfolding around them - what I like to call Milo moments.

Building Readers Who Notice

If you've scoured the pages of Hearth & Wander, you know by now that we are a family who loves reading. Books are a part of the rhythm of our lives as much as nature is, but those two things aren't exclusive of each other; they work together in harmony. My hope isn’t just to raise children who love books - but children who read the world as carefully as they read a page.

Who notice patterns.

Who ask questions.

Who learn patience by watching snow fall.

Who find courage by seeing how small creatures move bravely through big spaces.

Stories help shape the lens through which kids view the world. Nature keeps that lens grounded.

Join Me On the Journey

Wildland Wisdom is just getting started.

If this way of seeing the world resonates with you - stories drawn from nature, character-building lessons woven gently into everyday life, and books that encourage children to observe more closely - I’d love to invite you into my email community.

When you join, you’ll be the first to hear about:

• sneak peeks into the process

• the release of Milo’s Big Try

• future books in the Wildland Wisdom series

• nature-inspired reading lists

• outdoor learning ideas that extend stories into real life

Join the Wildland Wisdom Emails

Because sometimes the most meaningful lessons aren’t taught...

They’re noticed.