Jordan Lowe's path to becoming a children’s book author is both inspiring and heartfelt. Holding a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, she spent five years nurturing a love for reading in first-grade classrooms. The spark for her book series ignited eight years ago when she shared photos from a New Zealand trip with her first grade students who were captivated by the images and eager to learn more.
“I tried finding grade level appropriate geography books to have in the classroom and noticed they were all geared towards intermediate readers with a lot of text and very few pictures,” says Lowe. “I wanted to create a nonfiction geography series that would bring the world into the laps of younger readers who are just starting on their reading journey.”
However, a career change, marriage and starting a family put this idea on hold. In August 2023, dinner with her friend Chelsea Buchanan, an aspiring illustrator, rekindled the dream. They both worked corporate jobs and yearned to pursue their creative passions.
“That night, I asked her to illustrate the manuscript for the first book. Seeing the illustrations not only brought the book to life, but our dreams as well!”
They decided to self publish the series to maintain creative control, leading to the creation of Hen Hat Publishing. Over the past six months, Lowe and Buchanan have navigated the complexities of the publishing world, from formatting and editing to marketing and printing, all while cherishing the journey of creating something meaningful.
“The first book in the series, “The Adventures of Hattie and Hank”, introduces a geography obsessed girl, Hattie, and her trusty travel partner and family dog, Hank. Hattie’s love of geography, adventure and culture stem from her dad’s career as a photographer for a travel magazine. After years of settling for backyard adventures, Hattie and Hank finally get the chance to tag along on dad’s work trip. As the trip comes to an end, her dad accidentally sends his boss the pictures meant for her mom and they end up landing a gig as the faces of a brand new children’s travel magazine.
“This travel magazine is a non-fiction geography series that takes primary grade readers (kindergarten through 3rd grade) to places all over the world with their favorite tour guides, Hattie and Hank. The layout is picture heavy with grade-level appropriate text, so kiddos can confidently enjoy the content independently while laughing along the way. The books in the series are written as we travel to each place—the pictures are made up of photographs taken by me and hand-drawn illustrations created by Chelsea.”
She is inspired by her daughter and husband to bring these stories to life.
“Seeing the world through Hattie’s eyes is a gift that I will never take for granted. Her curiosity for the world around her is inspiring! When Henry and I first met, we decided that we wanted to live a life full of adventure and love. He has shown an incredible amount of love and support for this book writing adventure. We’re expecting our second child in October and we can’t wait to have him join in on the fun!”
Preorders for signed first editions will start in August online. For additional content, videos, free travel itineraries and more, visit Hattieandhank.com.