In a world that often moves too fast, Storywalker Wendy offers a gentle and uplifting reminder of the magic that exists in the smallest moments with her new children’s book, The Angel Heart. This beautifully written and artistically inspiring story takes young readers on a journey of love, faith, and discovery, helping them find strength and joy within their own hearts.
In The Angel Heart, a child is drawn to a delicate white heart-shaped flower, captivated by its beauty and mystery. The child peels away its wonderfully shaped petals, unlocking the secrets of God’s healing presence within. Wendy crafts a soul-nourishing reading experience by blending easy rhythm, playful rhyme, intriguing images and vibrantly-colored backgrounds. This encourages children and their caregivers to discover the wonders of nature, faith, and the limitless power of love.
Designed to Invite active engagement and spark meaningful adult-child conversations, The Angel Heart includes a reading guide that highlights the transformative power of words and open-hearted expression.
“Open your heart and open your mind,
Turn the key and see what you find.”
The Angel Heart storybook and Teacher’s Lesson Plan offer a cohesive, developmentally appropriate learning framework that supports the growth of the whole child—intellectual, emotional, social, physical, creative, and spiritual.
Each lesson is organized around a clear theme and specific learning objectives. Instructional activities are intentionally designed to support early language and literacy development through rhythm, rhyme, repetition, alliteration, expressive vocabulary, sentence completion, storytelling, and meaning-making. Creative expression, imagination, conversation, and group participation are woven throughout to encourage active engagement and reflection.
Lessons include guided discussion prompts, creative and written tasks, group project ideas, and optional field trip suggestions. These activities are structured to build Emotional and Civic Literacy skills, including self-awareness, empathy, cooperation, responsibility, and respectful communication.
Spread Joy, Love and Peace with these fun activities.
Learn the secret language of flowers.
Go on a nature walk and search for beauty.
Contribute to a class gratitude jar.
Mend a broken heart.
Co-create a quiet, cozy corner.
Help put together a student art gallery.
Design a poster for the planet.
Write a play and act in it.
Knowing one’s child becomes more challenging during the years of adolescence, that awkward stage between childhood and adulthood. During the teen years, kids spend more time away from home, pursuing after-school activities, playing sports, hanging out with friends and exercising their growing independence. After Wendy’s son, Neil, died of brain cancer at age 20, she began sorting through the memorabilia he had accumulated in the boxes, drawers and book shelves of his bedroom – artwork, notepads, notebooks, journals, personal letters and magic notes. What emerged from this process is a “coming of age” collection of stories unlike any other.
Halfway through high school, Neil began to dream of inspiring other young people to move from hopelessness to helpfulness and to find the path that leads from loneliness and inertia to friendship and difference making. He loved engaging with others in problem solving. As an engineering student in college, he was intrigued with rain forest medicine, hydroponic growing, urban farming system design, waste recycling management and other forward thinking. He continues to inspire others through these stories. His life ended far too soon, but left a legacy in the form of this narrative. Both parents and teens will appreciate this book’s messages of resilience, faith and love that are sprinkled throughout. The eBook can be downloaded to a cell phone or computer.
Compiled by Grief Coach Susan Lataille, Volume Two of the Shining a Light on Grief series offers hope, inspiration, and comfort to anyone who is grieving the loss of someone they love deeply or nearing the moment of a loved one’s passing. Wendy’s contribution along with those of other authors, will help the bereaved:
– discover how their grief journey is unique
– know that there’s no right or wrong way to grieve
– tap into their emotions to move forward through the healing process
– realize self care is of utmost importance
– see how a dark subject can be brought out into the light
– become inspired to take action
In a world where people tend to be uncomfortable having conversations around topics of death and grief, it is important to bring real heartfelt stories out into the open. Grief affects everyone differently – emotionally, spiritually and physically. Yet grief, like death, is a natural and normal part of everyone’s life. It is an integral part of the complete human experience. True healing allows for the feeling and processing of all the emotions, which lead one through the very heart of grief, as demonstrated through these writings.
Creator of StoryWalking, Wendy combines nature-based storytelling, environmental education, and reflective learning to support children, families, and educators. Her books and learning resources encourage curiosity, emotional growth, literacy, and meaningful connection with the natural world.