About the project
A story built for reading aloud
The Tails of Two Squirrels is an illustrated fantasy adventure for readers 8 to 16, and for the grown-ups who read it with them.
The idea
A kingdom of squirrels lives on one enormous oak. Long ago they won a great war, but the victory left a wound in the land, and the wound has been turning the forest grey ever since. An old legend says a squirrel born with a mark on its tail will one day heal it.
The title is a small joke and a promise. Two tails, two tales. Read Book One and you'll see why.
What we're aiming for
We want the kind of book that pulls a whole family in: wonder and suspense, real danger and real victories, and some sadness too. We want the characters to make choices that matter, get things wrong, and try to set them right. We look up to stories like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter for their depth. We never copy them.
It should be safe for younger readers. Nothing gory, nothing cruel for its own sake, and nothing that talks down to anyone.
How it's made
- Written chapter by chapter. The whole of Book One is planned first. Each chapter is drafted with the help of AI writing tools, then read, judged and rewritten by a person until it is right.
- Read aloud at home. Every new chapter is read aloud at bedtime before it goes anywhere else. If it doesn't hold a family's attention, it goes back to be rewritten.
- Illustrated with AI image tools. The characters, places and scenes are made with AI image tools, then checked and redone until every picture matches the story.
- One world, many ways in. The book comes first. A short animated film, a book app with chapter games, and a Fortnite island are being built from the same story, so each one leads back to it.
Where it's up to
Book One is being written now. You can follow every step on the lantern trail, and read the first page.
Kept small on purpose
This site has no ads, no trackers and no accounts. Read the privacy page to see exactly what that means.