Anna R Key
Big Ideas for Little Kids
Children are capable of understanding the biggest questions humanity faces. Through stories of cooperation, they can explore how consciousness works, how communities thrive, how economies can serve everyone, and how we can build a world where every voice matters.
Books
Jules and the Garden Harmony
Ecological Wisdom & Community Cooperation
A gentle story about a garden that learns to make decisions together. When Jules creates a space where every plant, animal, and creature has a voice, they discover that cooperation creates something more beautiful than any single authority could design.
Olive and Koru
Responsible AI Partnership
A story about learning to work with AI as a thinking partner rather than a replacement for our own minds. Olive and their AI companion Koru explore how to use technology to enhance human creativity and learning.
The Economics Story
Cooperative Economics
An exploration of how communities can organize resources in ways that help everyone thrive. Moving beyond competition to discover the power of mutual aid and shared abundance.
The Grasshopper's Song
Personal Philosophy & Resilience
A musician, a juice bartender, and a pet grasshopper explore how to find peace and strength in an uncertain world. An introduction to stoic philosophy for young minds.
Tales from the Garden
Character Stories & Deep Relationships
The backstories of beloved characters from Jules and the Garden Harmony. Explore how Violet became a leader, how BC learned to bridge communities, and how cooperation grew from individual stories.
The Philosophy Behind the Stories
Children are philosophers by nature. They ask the biggest questions: Why do things work the way they do? How should we treat each other? What makes something alive? How can we make the world better?
These stories explore a central idea: cooperation isn't just nice—it's how complex systems actually work best. From computer networks to garden ecosystems to human communities, the most resilient and creative solutions emerge when every voice is heard and valued.
Big ideas deserve beautiful stories. Philosophy doesn't have to be abstract or boring. Through characters children can love and situations they can understand, we can explore consciousness, democracy, economics, ethics, and the art of living well together.
About Anna R Key
Anna R Key writes stories that trust children with big ideas. She believes that cooperation and mutual aid are not just ideals but practical solutions to the challenges facing humanity.
Her books explore how communities can organize themselves without rigid hierarchies—whether those communities are gardens, computer networks, neighborhoods, or economies. Each story demonstrates that when every voice is heard and valued, better solutions emerge than any single authority could design.
The "Big Ideas for Little Kids" series grows from a simple conviction: children are natural philosophers who deserve stories that engage with the real complexity of how to live well together on this planet.
When not writing, Anna can be found learning from gardens, facilitating community conversations, and exploring how technology can support rather than replace human connection.