Kiddos

Everyday wonders · 20 little adventures

Learning with Gina and Ollie

A question to wonder about. A story to share. Something to try.

Little stories. Real discoveries. Follow Gina and Ollie through twenty seven-page adventures, then try an everyday investigation together.

Ages 4–7 or 5–7 as shown, always with a grown-up. Read, point, predict, draw or direct an adult. No independent reading is needed.

Start with a story Choose your own question
Ollie stands in a pool of warm flashlight light, with an enormous owl-shaped shadow on a wall. Gina leans in, curious. The small owl and his large shadow are visibly different.Little owl. Giant shadow.

Follow your curiosity

5 ways to discover.

Start anywhere. Each route connects a way of investigating; every story also works on its own.

01

Notice the clues

What can we notice before we explain?

3 discoveries 02

Predict and compare

What changes when we change one thing?

5 discoveries 03

Explain what is hidden

What could explain what we see?

4 discoveries 04

Follow a change

Where did it move, and what changed?

5 discoveries 05

Lead an investigation

How could we find out together?

3 discoveries

What shall we wonder about?

Complete picture stories. Pause to look or share an idea, enjoy the reveal and choose whether to try the activity.

20 discoveries to share

Ollie stands in a pool of warm flashlight light, with an enormous owl-shaped shadow on a wall. Gina leans in, curious. The small owl and his large shadow are visibly different.7 pages
01 · Compare position

Little owl. Giant shadow.

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina and small Ollie watch a broad white sheet flutter down through a softly painted blue room. The title invites a discovery about changing how the same paper falls.7 pages
02 · Compare shape

Same paper. Different fall.

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina and little Ollie lean toward a clear cup of blue-tinted water and a dry paper-towel strip. The large title asks whether water can climb.7 pages
03 · Follow a wet edge

Can water climb?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and small brown owl Ollie investigate two closed books and a sheet of paper. A chunky coral toy block waits beside the books. The title asks, Can paper be a bridge?7 pages
04 · Test a design

Can paper be a bridge?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and little brown owl Ollie look curiously at a metal mixing bowl and wooden spoon on a low wooden deck beside their meadow. The title asks, Can you stop a sound?7 pages
05 · Listen and compare

Can you stop a sound?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and little brown owl Ollie discover a broad green leaf with raised veins beside blank paper and a dark rust-colored crayon. The title asks, Can you draw a hidden leaf?7 pages
06 · Look for a pattern

Can you draw a hidden leaf?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and small brown owl Ollie examine two equal ice cubes in shallow bowls: silver metal on the left, matte coral plastic on the right. The title asks which bowl melts ice faster. Neither bowl shows a winning result.7 pages
07 · Make a fair comparison

Which bowl melts ice faster?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her small owl friend Ollie look at a straight blue pencil beside an empty clear cup on a lavender floor mat. The title asks whether the pencil bent, inviting an experiment before showing its result.7 pages
08 · Check an appearance

Did the pencil bend?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her small brown owl friend Ollie look at a whole orange beside a clear bowl of water on a blue ground mat. The title asks whether it will float without its peel; the result is not yet shown.7 pages
09 · Compare before and after

Will it float without its peel?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her small brown owl friend Ollie look at a blue wooden block, a low cardboard ramp propped on one thick book, and a folded coral towel on a shaded porch floor. The block waits beside the ramp; neither test result is shown.7 pages
10 · Change one surface

What slows the slide?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her much smaller brown owl friend Ollie investigate a clear plastic cup, a white paper towel and a small clear tub of water on a lavender picnic mat. Nothing has been dunked yet.7 pages
11 · Use evidence for hidden air

Can paper stay dry underwater?

Ages 4–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and small brown owl Ollie lean toward a white coffee filter with one black ink dot, on a cream plastic plate. A black washable marker and water cup wait nearby on a warm peach picnic cloth. No separated colors are shown.7 pages
12 · Separate a mixture

What’s hiding in black ink?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her small owl friend Ollie look at black pepper scattered across water in a shallow ivory plastic bowl with a blue rim. A cotton swab waits beside it on a blue cloth. Nothing has been added yet.7 pages
13 · Compare two touches

Can soap move pepper?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and her small owl friend Ollie study a coral plastic comb, a folded wool cloth and small pieces of tissue paper on a low wooden board in their meadow. The paper is still resting on the board.7 pages
14 · Compare before and after rubbing

Can a comb lift paper?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the golden giraffe and small brown owl Ollie watch a closed, folded pink paper flower floating in a shallow blue dish on a cream ground cloth in their meadow. The overlapping petals still hide the center.7 pages
15 · Watch paper change shape

Can a paper flower bloom?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the golden giraffe and small brown owl Ollie peer into a clear cup of water on a terracotta-colored tray in a meadow picnic spot. A wooden spoon rests on the tray. No sugar grains are visible; this opening mystery is explained by the sequence that follows.7 pages
16 · Explain dissolving

Where did the sugar go?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina the yellow giraffe and smaller brown owl Ollie inspect one unsprouted bean held against damp paper inside a clear open cup. The warm indoor window-garden scene invites the question of what will emerge first.7 pages
17 · Observe over days

What grows first?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
In a pale-blue meadow, Gina holds a short strip of paper by one end while Ollie watches. The loose end hangs down, inviting a search for evidence of invisible wind.7 pages
18 · Observe an invisible cause

Can you spot the wind?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
In an autumn-tinted clearing, Gina and Ollie study a long golden leaf on a violet picnic cloth. The leaf is the focus of a length question; there are no measurement results on the cover.7 pages
19 · Measure with equal units

Same leaf. Different numbers?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story
Gina and Ollie study two shiny trays on their sea-green picnic mat. A large red U-shaped teaching magnet lies separately in front. A MAGNET label names it before either tray is tested.7 pages
20 · Test a material claim

Does shiny mean magnetic?

Ages 5–7 with a grown-up

Open the story

A rhythm to return to.

  1. 1

    Wonder

    Read the opening. Pause on page 2 for an idea; do not reveal the answer yet.

  2. 2

    Notice

    Look at pages 3 and 4. Ask what changed before naming a cause.

  3. 3

    Explain

    Read page 5. A diagram helps explain; it is not a photograph of an invisible process.

  4. 4

    Try

    Read the adult setup first. Let the child point, predict, describe or direct the safe test.

  5. 5

    Return

    Keep a sketch or a sentence. Revisit the question later, without scores or right-guess rewards.

Family & teacher guideMore ideas in the Learning Library

For the grown-ups · Keep the story going

Read with confidence.

Explore more original stories in Kiddos Books, or browse the available physical books to read together.

Meet Kiddos Books

Amazon opens the available book selection. A related story does not mean every discovery has a matching paperback.

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A little Playtime, too

Look for the story in the picture.

Keep exploring this world through a seek-and-find panorama, with picture clues and ideas to try together.

Gina & Ollie

Little Clues, Big Discoveries

Gina and Ollie fill a green valley with little questions: a cup of water, growing sunflowers, a flashlight, a springy trampoline and a wonderfully fizzy model volcano.