A Child in the Arms of the Forest, forthcoming from Grand Publishers, brings the World Wheel vision of world family to a child raised by wolves.
Santa Fe, NM (PRUnderground) October 13th, 2026
Artist, author and World Wheel founder Vijali Hamilton is bringing a body of work shaped over five decades by nature, community and the interconnection of life into children's literature with A Child in the Arms of the Forest, a forthcoming illustrated book from Grand Publishers expected to be published in the coming weeks.
Founded in 1986, the World Wheel developed as a global arts project combining environmental stone sculpture, performance events, nature reserves and wisdom centres with community participation. Hamilton's official World Wheel sites describe the project through ideas of global understanding, world family and the interconnection of life. Her current website links the new children's project directly to that legacy, describing it as carrying the "kinship of all life" into a story for children.
A Child in the Arms of the Forest brings that expansive artistic territory into an intimate story. Tenderly raised by wolves, a young child grows within the rhythms of the natural world. The wind rocks her at night, the sun welcomes her in the morning, and the creatures around her become companions, teachers and family.
As the child grows, different animals offer different forms of wisdom. The deer teaches her to walk the "beauty way"; the eagle teaches her to see and know far and wide; the wolf helps her recognise the best trails ahead; and the coyote brings laughter through difficult times. Birds, insects and other creatures also become part of a living world in which attention, relationship and belonging matter.
The story does not stop at the child finding refuge in nature. It develops towards reciprocity. She first receives nurture, friendship and knowledge from the forest, then grows towards a relationship in which care and love can also be returned. That movement gives the book a wider question for families and adults who share stories with children: what changes when nature is understood not simply as scenery, but as a community to which a child belongs?
For parents, caregivers, educators and librarians, the book offers a story-led point of entry into conversations about belonging, friendship, compassion, attentiveness to nature and connection between living things. It does so through lyrical language and Hamilton's own sepia-toned illustrations, without presenting those themes as a therapeutic or developmental promise.
Hamilton's wider practice spans sculpture, painting, writing, performance, meditation and community work. Her approved biography describes more than one thousand of her artworks in museums, public places and private collections, with her books in libraries across the States and Europe. She also leads seminars and retreats on meditation and the creative process internationally and at the World Wheel Center Retreat outside Santa Fe, New Mexico.
"The World Wheel has always grown from a sense that life is interconnected. In this book, that sense of relationship enters a child's world, where animals can be family, teachers and friends, and where love and care move in both directions," said Vijali Hamilton.
A Child in the Arms of the Forest is forthcoming from Grand Publishers and is expected to be published in the coming weeks. The final publication date, formats and retailer availability will be announced once confirmed.
ABOUT VIJALI HAMILTON
Vijali is a visionary artist and author, with more than one thousand of her artworks in museums, public places and private collections, with her books in libraries across the States and Europe. She leads seminars and retreats on meditation and the creative process internationally and at her World Wheel Center Retreat on the outskirts of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Vijali spent ten years as a monastic member of the Vedanta Society convent in Santa Barbara California. She holds a Masters in Fine Arts from Goddard College, and is a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.
