A dandelion can spend its whole life beside our front step, and we can pass it every day without ever really meeting it.
We recognize the yellow flower and the puff of seeds. We know its name, and perhaps we have an opinion about where it belongs. Yet how often do we stop to notice who visits its flowers, what happens around its roots, or where its seeds find a place to grow?
A whole world is unfolding in the places we pass every day. Getting to know it begins with a little curiosity and a moment to look more closely.
Children seem especially ready to meet it. A crack in the pavement is worth investigating. A flower deserves a closer look. A question leads to another question, and a short walk can take a wonderfully unreasonable amount of time.
That openness is the fuel for Cedar and Twig.
The more I learn about plants, the more questions I have. I wanted to bring that feeling into books for children: the pleasure of discovering something extraordinary in a place you thought you already knew. My hope was to leave a child with more questions than they started with, and a reason to go outside and look again. Perhaps the adult beside them would start seeing plants differently, too.
I wanted to create stories that spark curiosity. Stories that leave a child with more questions than they started with, and a reason to go outside and look again. Perhaps an adult beside them will start looking at plants differently, too?
We begin with Dandelion, a neighbour many of us have lived beside since childhood.
Cedar is a quiet boy who can hear plants and animals speak. Twig is his squirrel companion. Together, they invite us into a world where the plants around us have lives worth noticing.
My hope is that these stories help a relationship take root, that a child begins to recognize plants as neighbours, perhaps even friends, sharing this place we all call home. And that when the book closes, the next dandelion they meet is someone they want to know.
Today, I’m sharing Cedar and Twig Meet Dandelion in full, so you can experience the story from beginning to end. Between the images, I’ll share some of the thinking behind the characters, the artwork, and the small discoveries woven into the pages.
Over the next three days, I’ll introduce Clover, Plantain, and Sunflower, each with a selection of pages and its own behind-the-scenes story. Together, these four posts will offer a look at how the books came to life, and what I hope children carry with them when they close the covers.
If you already have a little reader in mind, you can order your copy of Cedar and Twig Meet Dandelion here.