Amanda
van der Gulik.

When John Seeley came to visit me while I was living in New Zealand, he gave me a copy of his book, Get Unstuck. That night, I took it to bed and stayed up for a couple of hours reading the whole thing.

By breakfast the next morning, I knew what I wanted to say.

“Your book is incredible. But we need a kids’ version—something that helps parents help their children get unstuck.”

I wanted to bring those life lessons to children through stories, games, and activities. When we feel we’re being told what to do, our walls can go up. A story gives us room to recognize ourselves in a character, feel what they’re feeling, and discover something for ourselves.

Through homeschooling my own children, working as an assistant in schools, and teaching money and business skills through Clever Dough Kids, I had seen how much more engaged children could be when learning felt like discovery.

John loved the idea. And when I started writing, the stories just flowed. Within days, I had written them all. It was the most natural, joyful experience I’d ever had creating material—as though these stories were meant to happen, and I was the person helping them onto the page.

Standing in a child’s corner

There was something deeply personal behind it, too. I had been bullied as a child. Standing up for the underdog and supporting people who needed someone in their corner had always mattered to me.

This book brought those experiences together: lessons I was using in my own life, my love of storytelling, and my desire to help children feel understood and empowered. I wanted kids and teens to find stories they could connect with—and discover ways to move forward that felt like their own.