The Origin Story of Dragonwing Valley: How Our Kids’ Activity Books Began
When Beth’s son was working through motor-skills delays, she ran into a hard truth: many activity books—even bestsellers—were not vetted by teachers or OTs, were mis-leveled, and were often boring. Black-and-white pages, no real illustrations or story—nothing to hold attention. He’d try them for a minute, toss them aside, and never come back. The practice he needed—fine-motor control and pencil grip, bilateral coordination, visual scanning/eye-tracking, hand-eye coordination, visual-motor integration, spatial awareness, sequencing, working memory, attention stamina, and logical reasoning/problem-solving — the critical growth good activity books should have provided — simply wasn’t happening.
So Beth drew dragons. She took the very exercises his OT and teachers recommended and rebuilt them to be far more engaging, fun, and creative—with color, characters, and clear progressions. Something clicked. Her son started enjoying practice, sticking with it, and—best of all—finishing the books while actually building the skills that used to feel like pulling teeth.
She shared a few free Dragonwing Valley books online. The response was immediate: within weeks thousands downloaded them; by spring 2025, 15,000+ families worldwide had tried the pages. Teachers and therapists reached out. Parents said their kids were choosing these pages on their own.
Next, Beth leveled up her activity books by adding STEAM topics: real NASA rover photography, masterpieces from institutions like the National Gallery (hello, Monet), and story-rich challenges that turn practice into discovery—beautiful, developmentally sound, and classroom-friendly.
This first STEAM Activity book was the #1 New Release in 5 kids' categories on Amazon (May 2025)🎉
Coming in 2026...
Next up, to mark America’s 250th: Red, White & Brainy series—Revolutionary War and early-America history told through puzzles, projects, and kid-friendly facts—arrives in summer 2026.
And because every dragon deserves a tale (pun intended 🤣), Dragonwing Valley picture books and chapter books are on the way, too.