Gentle Giants is a children’s book series created for children, by children, and with children. Inspired by the perspectives and boundless imagination of young minds in our programs, these stories teach values and cultures while highlighting real-life role models who inspire us.
Each book shares simple yet powerful stories that nurture essential qualities in young readers, fostering ambition, bravery, and empathy. Designed for children, parents, caregivers, and educators, Gentle Giants encourages meaningful conversations that strengthen intergenerational bonds and create lasting connections.
Ashy & Ari is the second run of our Gentle Giants series, continuing our mission to celebrate diverse role models, challenge stereotypes, and inspire young minds through storytelling.
Meet Ashy & Ari, two best friends who see the world in their own unique ways!
Ashy and Ari are more than just storybook characters — they are a reflection of the dreams and aspirations of young minds. Inspired by real role models, their adventures encourage children to see themselves as change makers
Ashy is full of energy and loves meeting new people! She’s always curious and excited to learn about the world around her. Ashy loves to try new things - the messier, the better! You can never catch her, she is always skipping and jumping all over the place.
These are a few of her favourite things:
Animal: Frog 🐸
Food: Jelly 🍮
Colour: Green 💚
Ari is quiet and thoughtful. He's a little shy, and prefers to take his time, while carefully observing the world around him. Ari enjoys daydreaming and shuffling around in his cozy yellow onesie. His favorite thing to do? Flop on the floor and relax!
These are a few of his favourite things:
Animal: Ducks 🦆
Food: Butter Toast 🍞
Colour: Yellow 💛
Ashy & Ari is an inspiring children's book celebrating ambition, bravery, and empathy through real-world role models. The second title in our Gentle Giants series, it features vibrant illustrations and relatable storytelling to help young readers dream big, embrace diversity, and grow with confidence.
Designed for children, parents, and educators, the book encourages meaningful conversations across generations.
This book was shaped through a collaborative journey with children. In 2022-2023, building on the success of Jay & Jo, the first Gentle Giants book, we launched our "Be A Storyteller" campaign with Singapore preschools. Through this initiative, children aged 4 to 6 took part in two immersive experiences:
Community Storytelling – Theatrical read-aloud sessions that brought stories to life.
Co-Creation Workshops – Children contributed their own drawings and writings, imagining what the characters, storyline, and scenes would look like to complete the story.
From these sessions, we gathered a rich collection of artwork, each piece reflecting the imagination and creativity of young minds. As co-curators, the children helped shape the book’s narrative, proving that storytelling is a powerful tool for connection, self-expression, and discovery.