Welcome to Wiskling Wood: a Q&A interview with Harriet Muncaster

In a return to the world of Wiskling Wood, Harriet Muncaster, much-loved creator of the Isadora Moon series, introduces a brand new character, Wiska Wildflower. The first book about her is out now, The New School, and Harriet answers our questions about it in this Q&A.

You love creating magical worlds. Tell us what is special for you about Wiska Wildflower’s world of Wiskling Wood?

With Wiskling Wood I just smooshed everything I love most into one world – sparkly things, nature, crystals, flowers, miniature things, hot chocolate etc, so that it’s a place that I absolutely LOVE to spend time in. This is why Wiskling Wood is so special to me and why I absolutely love writing stories set in that world! It’s my personal utopia!

There are more illustrations in the Wiska Wildflower books than in your earlier books. What was it like to create them and how satisfying was it?

It was EXTREMELY satisfying to illustrate Wiska Wildflower and I can’t express how much I loved doing it! Especially because I have been able to illustrate it in full colour! It’s been so nice to be able to put my vision for the world down on the page in technicolour. I think the world of the wisklings really lends itself to being in full colour!

Once again, you mix real world issues into this magical world e.g. Wiska has some problems in her new friendship group. Why is that important to you and is it something you would have appreciated as a young reader?

I am very interested in people and relationships and books involving those things are actually the sorts of books I would personally choose to read. While I LOVE a fantastical backdrop, I am actually more interested in writing about the lives of the characters and their friendships rather than plots revolving around magic/fantasy.

There’s a lovely emphasis on creativity and imaginative play in the story as Wiska and her friend Luna enjoy making up adventures for their little dolls Zinnia and Tulip. Again, how important is that to you and did that kind of imaginative play come naturally to you as a child or was it encouraged in some way?

Thank you! I absolutely love that Wiska has Zinnia because this is the sort of play that I would do ALL the time as a child! My favourite thing was to have a miniature doll or toy (Sylvanian Families always worked well!) and take them about on adventures. In fact, I never really stopped doing this as that’s how the wisklings initially got created! In my twenties I had a little wiskling doll called Celestine who lived in my dolls house and who I would photograph out and about and create tiny outfits and accessories for. All the time I was doing this, I was building wiskling world inside my head and Celestine ended up being a character in Victoria Stitch which is my trilogy of books for older readers, also set in Wiskling Wood.

I also love that Wiska has her whole imaginary miniature Twigling World because it basically represents me with my miniature Wiskling World! There are miniatures within miniatures in Wiska Wildflower! I think Wiska is probably the character most like me out of all my book characters.

What’s your favourite fact about Wisklings?

I think that they are miniature. I really am and always have been, obsessed with tiny things! So it was always super important to me thatWisklings are tiny. They can grow up to around 12cm tall.

Will there be more adventures for Wiska Wildflower and can you tell us anything about them?

Yes, there will! I have already written book two (which involves a lot of crystals!) and I am illustrating it now. I really hope there will be lots more Wiska books!

The Diary of Wiska Wildflower: The New School by Harriet Muncaster is published by Oxford Children’s Books, £7.99 pbk.