Before there were books, celebrations, keepsakes, or Hamhock adventures, there was simply Jane.
Like many children, Jane has her own way of experiencing the world. When she was around two years old, she began speech therapy, and our family started focusing on helping her learn new words. Every new sound, every new word, and every small milestone became something worth celebrating.
What began as a desire to help one little girl communicate would eventually become the foundation for everything that followed.
Learning Together
The first idea was simple.
Create books that make learning words warm, approachable, and fun.
The earliest concepts didn't even have Jane as the main character. They were simply collections of words and illustrations designed to support language development. But it quickly became clear that the series needed a child to grow with—a familiar face children could recognize from book to book.
Jane became that character.
Around her grew cousins, friends, a wonderfully diverse cast of children because every child deserves the chance to see someone a little like themselves inside a story.
Those books became the Learning My Letters Toddlopedia series, and they continue to grow alongside Jane's own learning journey.
As a baby, Jane never went anywhere without her WubbaNub pig pacifier. It comforted her when she was tired, helped her fall asleep, and somehow managed to be present for countless little moments that families remember long after children have outgrown them. In my head, he was named Hamhock.
Even now, at three years old, Hamhock is still close by.
When it came time to create the books, it felt only natural that Jane's favorite companion would come along too.
Hamhock became much more than a plush pig.
He became the playful thread woven throughout the series through the Hamhock Hunt - a hidden game that invites children to find him in each book.
Hamhock Finds His Voice
Still Growing
Jane's speech journey is still unfolding.
Every week brings a few more words, a little more confidence, and another reason to celebrate.
As Jane continues to grow, this creative world continues to grow with her.
More Learning My Letters books.
More adventures.
More Storybook Keepsakes.
More Hamhock Happens moments.
More Hamoji celebrations.
What began as helping one little girl learn new words has become a creative world built around childhood, connection, wonder, and the hope that something created for one family might someday become part of yours.
Every great adventure needs a sidekick.
Jane already had hers.
It Started With One Little Girl
Jane's Constant
Companion
Something unexpected happened along the way.
As Hamhock appeared in more artwork, I found myself placing him into everyday situations—not doing anything, simply ending up there.
Flopped onto a couch.
Dropped into the weeds.
Wrapped in a blanket.
Buried beneath responsibilities.
Hamhock never changes his expression. He never comes to life.
Instead, people see themselves in the situations he somehow finds himself in.
Those little moments became Hamhock Happens—a collection celebrating the humor, comfort, and wonderfully ordinary chaos of everyday life.
Every creative world has a symbol
Ours is a simple apple.
The story of that apple began long before the first book was written...
The Apple Story
The apple in the logo isn’t just a symbol of learning. It's a piece of a real Saturday morning tradition.
I live two hours away from Jane. I have raised three boys—no daughters—and Jane is my sunshine girl. While I have five other grandkids halfway across the country and three lovely step granddaughters, Jane is the one I get to see regularly. Every Saturday, I drive out before dawn so I can be there soon after she wakes up. Her mommy is a nurse, so I spend the day with Jane and her daddy—my son.
At the age of two, Jane adored her daddy (she still does!). If he was in the room, no one else mattered. She was cautious, wary of new people, and even I—her Mia—got the side-eye when I arrived. But we had a ritual.
After breakfast, when she was finally ready to give me a chance, I pulled out my apple. A giant Honeycrisp apple. Every week. Without fail. And she climbed up next to me and we shared it. Bite by bite.
That apple had become our quiet bridge. A weekly rhythm. A moment of trust, love, and connection. And so it found its way into the logo. Not just as a symbol of wisdom passed from one generation to the next—but as a reminder of what truly mattered.
Presence.
Patience.
And a shared apple between a little girl and her Mia.
That Saturday tradition and Jane's speech journey are the foundation for the "Learning My Letters" books that started it all.