The Tales of Charlie Wags:

About the Series

The Illustrator

Sanna Sjöström

Sanna Sjöström, also known as Sannadorable, is based in Sweden and creates stunning digital watercolor illustrations.

Sanna has loved art her whole life and has plenty of experience painting with watercolor. When she had children, she didn’t have the time or energy to pull out all the necessary supplies to paint. She found that her iPad was accessible in just seconds; so, she started mimicking watercolor digitally.

She now illustrates for children’s books, but also creates posters, cards, and digital illustration tools. Her biggest inspiration comes from flowers and nature. Sanna's mission is to brighten your day and make you smile through her art.

The Tales of Charlie Wags is a rhyming picture book series about a curious world-traveling dog. Charlie is a seemingly ordinary pup with an extraordinary secret: his wagging tail can whisk him away to cities around the world.

Our mission is simple: provide a conversational understanding of the world’s most famous cities through charming stories that make far-off places accessible to every child and family.

The Authors

Sofie Wells and Ali Barclay

Sister-author duo Ali Barclay and Sofie Wells form the writing team behind The Tales of Charlie Wags picture book series. The series offers young explorers a baseline introduction to the world’s most famous cities. 

Sofie, an entrepreneur at heart, had an idea for a children’s book idea about a globetrotting dog several years ago. When she and Ali later became mothers, they fell in love with the magic of storytime with their children. They realized the importance of reading books to their kids that were as educational as they were engaging.

As daughters of immigrants, their family heritage—spanning Argentina, Greece, and the USA—exposed the sisters to the importance of cultural diversity early on. Their parents prioritized showing them the world, even on a tight budget. This instilled in them the idea that travel is one of the best forms of education. 

Knowing that not all children had the chance to explore the world firsthand, Sofie and Ali finally decided to put pen to paper and create the story they had in their minds so many years ago. They saw an opportunity to write the exact type of book they were looking for with their own children: educational, fun, and appealing to both kids and parents.

Meet the Series Editor, Jennifer Rees

Jennifer Rees is a New York Times bestselling Children's Book Editor with over 15 years in the NYC publishing industry. She specializes in Picture Books, Middle Grade and YA novels, such as Suzanne Collins' unparalleled The Huner Games series. 

Jennifer finds great joy in helping writers learn and grow and transform their stories. Today, Jennifer is based in her hometown, where she continues to help both emerging and experienced authors accomplish their goals.

She maintains her deep-rooted connection to New York City publishing houses such as Scholastic, National Geographic and Wattpad.