This story is a collaboration between Eira and her parents. When the family lived and hiked in Boulder Creek, CA, Eira asked to stop every few yards for snacks, water or because she said she was tired. Once challenged to a sprint or once she found a friend to join the hike, she was unstoppable. This story came together first as an allegory of these hikes. Eira figured out that the story should be about learning to do things, and working hard to learn. Amina, a NYC based illustrator behind the book art for this story, proposed a graphic novel look for illustrating the book because each page had a sequence of actions. Also, it seemed a good challenge for the children to learn the language of graphic novels early. We had to learn to be patient, collaborating over a year, until we could finally hold a copy of the book in our hands.

If you are enjoying the story so far, you can explore this and more collaborative books in the Shop section of our website. We offer free shipping on all US orders.

To learn more about Amina, the book art and her favorite of all squirrel illustrations, read an interview with her on our blog.