Bard Owl Books

Bard Owl Books is a children’s publishing imprint of Bard Owl Arts, dedicated to helping young readers connect with the natural environments they live in.

Founded by artist, author and illustrator Chris Grimes (pen name Cee Thorketil), Bard Owl Books creates nonfiction picture books rooted in place-based learning, ecological awareness, and real-world observation. Each title is illustrated by hand, with an emphasis on vibrant, organic textures and accurate but simplified representations of native plants, animals and environments. The writing encourages curiosity, pattern recognition, and meaningful engagement with the outdoors using an  engaging, interactive structure.
The debut title, Who Lives Here?, is an interactive, rhyming picture book that invites children to follow animal tracks and guess which wild animal made each set of footprints. Through a set of simple keys for identification and clear visual prompts, the book introduces animal tracking skills, basic species characteristics, and habitat awareness—turning reading into a playful guessing game that mirrors a real outdoor activity used by naturalists and biologists in the field.
Rather than focusing on domestic or exotic plants and animals, Bard Owl Books highlights the native wildlife and ecosystems of temperate North American landscapes. These books support informal STEM learning while encouraging children to notice, understand, and care for the living world just outside their door. 

We also carry simple journals, coloring books (coming soon!), and planners.

Books are printed on demand.