Why I write gentle stories

I’m Jen - mum, writer, and the person behind Wattle & Wonder Ink.

I write gentle picture books for children aged 3–7, and recently self-published my debut picture book Once Upon a Gumtree. It’s a quiet story about a koala who discovers the magic of unexpected surprises after being forced from the comfort of her cosy tree.

It’s a book for slow moments and finding calm at the end of the day.

Although bedtime at my house isn’t always calm.

Some nights it’s picture-perfect - bath, pyjamas, bedtime routine, then settling in for cuddles and a few books before drifting off to sleep.

Other nights (well… most other nights), not so much.

There’s always a new request - one more book, one more cuddle, one more drink or snack, and stretching bedtime longer than I expected.

Over time I’ve realised bedtime isn’t really about finishing a story.
It’s about everyone letting go of the day in their own time.

And I think that’s something I’ve been learning too.

The days move so quickly - packing bags and lunchboxes, getting out the door, moving from one thing to the next - and children don’t always slow down just because the clock says it’s bedtime. Neither do we.

I found myself wanting a gentler pace at the end of the day. Not perfect calm, just a softer place to land.

The illustrations I loved growing up had that quiet magic - simple, calm and nostalgic. They didn’t shout for attention or rush you through the story. They let you pause and imagine the world behind the pictures.

So, the stories I began writing became small moments of calm for myself and my children.

The kind that children can listen to even when they’re tired.
Where reading becomes part of settling, not another thing to complete.

Because sometimes children ask for the same story over and over not for the storyline, but for comfort and how it feels to hear it.

That’s what I hope my books become - a familiar quiet moment at the end of the day.