My Story

My Story

I believe the world is too beautiful, too extraordinary and too full of wonder to be ignored.

And I've watched too many children missing it.

That's why I created Colour the World.

Not just to make beautiful books — though I hope they are that. Not just to keep children entertained on long journeys — though they do that too. But to give children back something I think is quietly being stolen from them.

Wonder.

That sense of awe. That feeling of the world being bigger, stranger, more colourful and more extraordinary than you ever imagined. The feeling I had every single morning when I woke up in India and realised — for the first time in my life — that I was truly seeing the world.

I want to start with something honest.

When I first started travelling — working on campsites in France and Switzerland, entertaining children in Mallorca — I wasn't really what you'd call culturally curious. I was young, I was having fun, and the countries I worked in were mostly just a backdrop to the experience.

That changed when I went to India.

It was my first trip outside of Europe. I'd never even eaten Indian food before I went. Looking back that probably tells you everything about how sheltered my world was at that point.

The first two weeks were genuinely hard. Everything was different — the noise, the crowds, the smells, the food, the way people dressed, the sheer scale of everything. India doesn't ease you in gently. It just arrives, all at once, at full volume.

I remember being on a train with my boyfriend. At one of the stations he jumped off to get something — and then the train started moving. And he wasn't on it.

I genuinely didn't know what to do. I was alone on a train in India, with no idea where I was going or what to do next. Pure panic.

He got on further down the platform — it was fine, he knew exactly what he was doing — but in that moment, sitting alone in that carriage, heart hammering, I had never felt so far from home in my life.

And then something shifted.

Somewhere in those six months, India stopped being overwhelming and started being extraordinary. The kindness of strangers. The colour of everything. The way food I'd never tasted before suddenly became the best thing I'd ever eaten. The way people with so little seemed to carry so much joy.

For the first time, I wasn't just visiting somewhere. I was truly seeing it.

And once you learn to see the world that way — with genuine wonder — you can never go back.

I've now been lucky enough to travel to over 57 countries. I've worked with children across Europe. I've helped hundreds of families plan holidays as an independent travel agent. And in every single encounter — with every country, every culture, every family — I've seen the same thing.

The world is full of wonder. And children are born with the capacity to feel it.

But something is happening. Screens are filling every quiet moment before curiosity gets a chance to. Division is teaching children to fear difference rather than celebrate it. And slowly, quietly, wonder is getting lost.

That worries me deeply.

Because I believe with everything I have that if we can raise children who are curious about the world — children who know that Spain has festivals where they throw tomatoes at each other, that Scotland has a unicorn on its national flag, that French children eat croissants for breakfast and think nothing of it — we raise children who see difference as something wonderful rather than something threatening.

Curious children become kind adults.

That's what Colour the World is really about.

It started with activity books — beautifully designed, individually crafted journeys through different countries through colouring, puzzles, explorer challenges, fun facts and creative activities. But it's growing into something much bigger.

A complete world for young explorers.

Activity books. Colouring books. Digital Explorer Packs. Journals. Sketchbooks. Story prompts. And everything a little explorer needs for the adventure ahead — from the things they pack in their bag to the wonder they carry in their heart.

Because wonder isn't just something you feel on a plane to somewhere new. It's something you can spark at a kitchen table, on a rainy afternoon, in the back seat of a car on the way to the airport.

And that's exactly what Colour the World is here to do.

Whether your child is heading off on holiday, learning from home, or simply curious about the world beyond their front door — you're in exactly the right place.

The world is extraordinary. Let's make sure the next generation knows it.

Gemma Herron Creator, Colour the World 🌍