Every story in The Woodland Explorers Club begins with a real spark from nature, and for Benji’s Emerald King, that spark was a tree. Not just any tree, but one I used to walk past in Highgate Woods in North London — tall, gnarled, and so ancient it seemed to hum with quiet life. It became the inspiration for the Emerald King, the oldest tree in the fictional Willow Wish Woods.

In the story, Benji and his friends discover that something has damaged the Emerald King, the tree that stands at the heart of their forest. Its branches are cracked, the stream nearby is polluted, and the wildlife that once surrounded it has vanished. Together, the friends form The Woodland Explorers Club and set out to solve the mystery and help restore balance to their beloved woods.

As the children follow clues, they learn about how trees grow, communicate, and age. One of my favourite details in the book is how they discover ways to estimate a tree’s age without ever cutting it down – measuring its girth, counting the rings of fallen branches, and understanding how each species grows differently. It’s a gentle mix of curiosity and care, reminding readers that every living thing in a forest has its own story to tell.

Benji’s Emerald King combines mystery and adventure with small, true facts about woodland life. I hope it encourages young readers to notice the trees in their own parks and woods — to wonder how long they’ve stood there and what they might have seen.