Cole Walker

The best question I’ve ever been asked in class came from a student who hadn’t said a word all semester. It wasn’t about a date or a name. He wanted to know what soldiers ate the night before a battle.

Moments like that taught me something every teacher learns sooner or later: kids are curious about almost everything. They just need the right way in. And very often, that way in is something they can see: a map, a picture, a puzzle laid out in front of them.

I’m Cole Walker. I teach high school history, and I’ve spent 15 (and counting!) years watching the same thing happen: when students can see an idea, they remember it. So I make visual books for younger readers, the age when curiosity is at its loudest. Maps you can get lost in, puzzles that reward careful thinking, pictures that explain more than a page of text. Some of my books are about history. Others teach through puzzles, stories and play. None of them are meant to be read just because someone said so.

If your child finishes one and comes to tell you something you didn’t know, I’ve done my job.