YOUR WILD BOOKS
Warrior with a Mission
Your Wild Books officially published their first book, Your Wild Imagination, in October 2019 and our second, Your Wild Child, in September 2020. There are many more books to come and Brooke's hope is that you’ll share the adventure with her .
In 2016, Brooke established a nature play program called Wild Imagination. It started as a school holiday program to bring more kids into the outdoors and encourage free play in nature. It developed to also include incursions in schools, kindergartens and childcare centres, as well as nature activations at many large events like Adelaide Fringe, Science Alive, the Caravan and Camping Show and at the Adelaide Zoo. In the three years it was running, Wild Imagination saw more than 20,000 kids get stuck into nature play the Wild way. And in 2018 Wild Imagination won the award for Best Program at the City of Adelaide's Sport and Recreation Awards. It was a hugely successful and well-loved program. But there was something else calling Brooke; a desire to bring nature play to even more children. This is when the idea of a book was born.
In March 2019, Brooke started the journey to publish a nature play activity book for kids. She decided to self-publish the book and so began learning all she could about this new industry. She found an incredible photographer in Megan Crabb who is her main partner in this adventure! Magan's photography skills are exceptional as she shares Brooke's vision for authentic excellence.
To raise the funds for the first print run, Brooke and Megan sought help from the public. After a hugely successful crowdfunding campaign in June 2019, the book titled Your Wild Imagination was released on 1 October 2019. It was everything they'd hoped and more and has since sold thousands of copies and continues to be a favourite with nature loving families around the world.
Megan and Brooke continue to work together and in September 2020 they published their second book Your Wild Child. And there are plans for many more books to bring more nature into our lives.
The reason Brooke is publishing these books is the same reason why she started Wild Imagination in 2016 - the voice telling her kids need nature and play! And books seem to be the best way for her to do that. And nowYour Wild Books can reach many more children, wherever they might be in geography, as well as on their learning and ability journey. Your Wild Books are about using the skills and materials that you have and being aware of your impact on the earth. And mostly it’s about connecting to nature through play.
Just like FORA, caring for the environment is ingrained in all aspects of Your Wild Books. All the books are printed locally by Openbook Howden using sustainably sourced paper and vegetable-based inks. This helps to reduce transport emissions and chemical waste. A minimal packaging philosophy ensures and all parcels are packed using 100% recyclable materials. Brooke feels that minimal and recycled packaging is a much better outcome for the environment. We even use plastic free packing tape made from kraft paper with water-activated gum adhesion to seal the boxes.
So that’s where the idea began. With a desire to get more kids immersed in the natural environment. The idea is that today’s kids get to spend their time more like we did when we were young; outside, exploring, creating and learning. With more green time and less screen time.