Our Story 💛

Hi — I'm Lena.

I'm a mom from Odesa, Ukraine. The Zumblies began when my daughter was about three. It was a difficult time for our family and our country, and like a lot of parents, I found myself reaching for stories at the end of hard days — stories that could help her understand her feelings, her friendships, and the world around her.

I couldn't always find the books I was looking for. So we started making our own. My daughter and I invented characters together, gave them names, got her friends involved, and built little worlds where big feelings made sense. Watching her grow through those stories — braver, kinder, more sure of herself — is what turned a bedtime habit into this project.

I wanted to make books that do one thing well: tell a story a kid actually wants to hear, while quietly teaching something they'll carry for life. Not lessons disguised as fun. Not fun disguised as lessons. Just real stories about feelings, friendship, failure, and growing up — with characters small enough to fit in a kid's heart.

I'm not a big publisher. I'm one person, making the books I wish my daughter and I had on our shelf — and I read, review, and rewrite every single page myself to make sure each one is worth a child's time.

If a story helps one kid feel a little less alone with their feelings tonight, this whole project was worth it.