By Taylor M. Coffman
Herald Correspondent
Local author Alexandrea Vollman is stepping onto the children’s literature stage with a brand new kind of kid’s book - and she’s teaching kids about the world around them at the same time.
Vollman’s book, “Nature Says Hello”, walks little readers aged 1-3 through greeting the natural sights that are all around them - the grass, the trees, the birds, the sun and moon. The book uses gentle language and a poetic, repeating structure, walking kids “from sunrise to starlight.” According to Vollman, her initial goal behind writing “Nature Says Hello” was to “create a nature-themed book that felt soothing, enriching, and visually real to curious little ones” and “celebrates connection to nature, learning, and family.”
What sets her book apart from other children’s books, however, is that where most other early learning books are illustrated, “Nature Says Hello” is full of real-life nature photography contributed by Vollman’s mother, Wendy Shambora.
Shambora the founder of Wendy's Wandering Works, a small wildlife photography business. According to Vollman, the book was inspired by watching her mother bond with her own young daughter, who prefers books with real pictures.
While explaining her inspiration, Vollman explained how “Nature Says Hello” has become a bonding project between herself and her mother, able to carry them through some rough times to create a legacy that’s grown far beyond the side project that it initially sprouted as.
“[The book] has given us this big focus of something we can do together,” she said, speaking of the collaboration between herself and her mother. “It’s been this really awesome project, and we didn’t think that it was going to come this far.”
Vollman also holds a degree in Early Childhood Education, which inspired her to write an early learning book in the first place in order to bridge the “Million Word Gap”, a childhood education theory that says that by age five, children who are read to at home absorb 1.4 million more words than children who are not. Her background in childhood education has also inspired Vollman to turn “Nature Says Hello” into a community for parents like herself who are looking for ways to give their curious kids an early boost in language learning, vocabulary, pattern recognition, and nature appreciation, as well as general parent-to-parent support.
Aside from “Nature Says Hello”, which was published in July 2025, Vollman and her mother have also published two sequels, “The Beach Says Hello” and “The Safari Says Hello”, which is breaking new ground by showing kids animals and environments they likely haven’t encountered before. All three books are in the same age range, aimed at early learning for kids aged 1to 3.
Going forward, Vollman stated that she’s excited to grow the community around her work, both online and by reaching out to Central Florida bookstores.
Anyone interested in seeing “Nature Says Hello” in person can find Vollman and her work at Spellbound Bookstore, located at 105 N Oak Ave. in Sanford, for an author meet and greet on Apr 19 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm. All three of the “Nature Says Hello” books will be available for purchase at the event.
“Nature Says Hello” can also be reached on Facebook (@naturesayshello), Instagram (@naturesayshellostories), TikTok (@naturesayshello), and Substack (@naturesayshello). All three of “Nature Says Hello” books are available to buy through Amazon.
