The Land Far Away

Pika the Phluph and the Gribblebid Tough — Illustration by Maria K.

Look under your bed and what do you see, A place full of dust or a magical tree? Crawl under your bed and continue the tale, There’s a ship by the tree and it’s about to set sail.”

So begins the journey into Land Far Away – a magical domain filled with strange creatures, like the Phluphs, the Linzers, the fearsome Grungegogglers, and the gentle Snuggles. Join the author Kira Morgana and illustrator Maria K. on the first Land Far Away adventure, as Pika the Phluph sets out to conquer the heart of the savage and uncouth Gribblebid

What is The Land Far Away?

The Land Far Away Series is aimed at children from 3 upwards. For children just learning to read, it’s a parent read like The Gruffalo or Dr. Seuss. For older children it’s intended to exercise their language skills and their imagination.

How did The Land Far Away get started?

The Land Far Away was inspired by the imagination of my children. My Son was doing poetry and rhyming at school in his Literacy classes and my daughter has an active imagination at the best of times! I wrote a Rhyming Story about a character called Pika the Phluph in an effort to help my daughter understand that Ph sounds like FF and the next thing I know, an entire world has come into being!

I perfected the initial story with the help of a number of fellow parents and writers and then it lay dormant until I met Maria K. She was engaged in translating a Russian Novel and illustrating it and I fell in love with her drawing style. I showed Maria the manuscript for Pika’s adventure and her sketching fingers started twitching!

Before long we were collaborating on a project that spanned 3 years and over 3,000 miles!

What is the first book like?

I had considered writing a book to introduce The Land Far Away as a place, but I believe that “Pika the Phluph and the Gribblebid Tough” manages to do that without too much trouble. Without giving too much away, the story line is simple and easy for young children to understand, and Maria K’s illustrations bring the characters to life in a bright, fun way.