Magnolia the Harvest Mouse
30 original stories. One little harvest mouse and a big world of discovery.
What if learning about food could be an adventure?
Meet Magnolia (aka Maggie), a little harvest mouse from the Oxfordshire countryside trying to find her way home. On her journey, she explores nature, makes friends and tries new foods. And whenever she does, something magical happens.
Maggie began as a series of original picture books and has grown into a 30-story digital food education programme for children aged 3–7, combining narrated stories, gentle animation, teacher resources and real food exploration.
From books to a 30 story programme
As a nutritional therapist, I wanted to find a more imaginative way to help young children explore food.
So I created Maggie's world, where fruit and vegetables are part of the story, not a lesson.
After writing the stories and developing the illustrations, I spent two years reading them to children in schools, refining them around their reactions and developing activities alongside the stories.
I then filmed myself reading the books, bringing the illustrations gently to life with movement and sound.
The results: a 30-story, curriculum-aligned food education programme for teachers to run throughout the school year.
Watch a full Maggie story - No.19 Lettuce
Tested by Children. Trusted by Teachers
I then handed the programme over to teachers to run independently, reaching over 1,000 children, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive:
100% of teachers found it effective, easy to use and would recommend. *see other data below.
But the real magic was in the moments:
The fussy child who ate lettuce for the first time, pink tongues tasting beetroot, the belly laughs and curious questions, the recounting of fun facts, or the chant of “again, again!”
That is what Maggie is all about: making real food memorable, playful and fun.
Impact Achieved Over 3 Years: Pilot Data from 1,000 Children
Why Maggie is deeply personal to me
I struggled with my weight as a child and was obese by the age of 10.
I too had to learn to eat foods I didn’t naturally enjoy.
This led me to train as a nutritional therapist.
I’ve spent 25 years working with children and families, seeing first-hand how early experiences can influence our relationship with food.
I wanted to create something I would have loved as a child: joyful, curious and completely free from judgement.
A Story World with room to grow....
Maggie already exists as a complete creative and educational world, with potential across publishing, digital, audio, animation, learning resources, schools, merchandise and international licensing.
The foundations are already there.
Now I’m excited to see where she could go next.
Testimonials
Parents and Teachers