About The Crush Series
The Crush Series is designed to be educational and fun. The Crush world is a place where children learn by playing and is a vital source of inspiration and resources for their parents.
In addition to the illustrated children’s book in the series the Crush website has games, audio books, songs and merchandise that will help children to learn in a fun and engaging way.
The Crush Series books are written in English. They tell the stories and fun adventures of a group of animals. In each story there is an educational message about the consequences of our actions. The first books in the series are Frog Crush, Monkey Crush, Penguin Crush and Kangroo Crush .
We invite you to join our community of parents and educators to find more fun ideas in how to engage your children.
In addition to the illustrated children’s book in the series the Crush website has games, audio books, songs and merchandise that will help children to learn in a fun and engaging way.
The Crush Series books are written in English. They tell the stories and fun adventures of a group of animals. In each story there is an educational message about the consequences of our actions. The first books in the series are Frog Crush, Monkey Crush, Penguin Crush and Kangroo Crush .
We invite you to join our community of parents and educators to find more fun ideas in how to engage your children.
Meet the inventive creators
behind Crush
Ian Worboys
The Author
Meet Ian Worboys, the author who overcame dyslexia to produce the entertaining and educational The Crush Series books. As a father of four, Ian found himself looking for books that were fun, preferably written in rhyming poetry, to help him engage more with his children and to entertain them and develop their imagination and creativity. Unable to find such books on the shelves of his local bookshops Ian started his hobby of writing poetry and this is where The Crush Series stories started to take shape.
Ian always believed that poetry should be entertaining and inventive and more importantly fun and make children laugh whilst they are in fact learning. The author always communicated with his children by using humour and rhyme and help their imagination grow. His skills as a parent have helped form the basis of The Crush Series books and their related educational and fun products.
While reading the books to his children at bedtime when they were young, Ian brought the animals in the books to life through his hilarious impersonations. He could be a funny penguin, a frog or a kangaroo and his imagination as a writer of rhyming poetry fed the minds of his children and their friends. Their interactions with each other, their laughter and games of hide and seek were the inspiration for all the characters in the books.
Ian always believed that poetry should be entertaining and inventive and more importantly fun and make children laugh whilst they are in fact learning. The author always communicated with his children by using humour and rhyme and help their imagination grow. His skills as a parent have helped form the basis of The Crush Series books and their related educational and fun products.
While reading the books to his children at bedtime when they were young, Ian brought the animals in the books to life through his hilarious impersonations. He could be a funny penguin, a frog or a kangaroo and his imagination as a writer of rhyming poetry fed the minds of his children and their friends. Their interactions with each other, their laughter and games of hide and seek were the inspiration for all the characters in the books.
Silke Diehl
The Illustrator
Meet Silke, mother of three based in Cologne, who since childhood dreamt of becoming an illustrator of children’s books. As a parent, she learned that playful parenting is the key to children’s hearts and minds. Like Ian, Silke brought up her three children to express their feelings and to be creative. A chance meeting with Ian, led to the opportunity to illustrate the Crush Series books.
Silke draws with pastel colours reminiscent of Beatrix Potter. She has a very special skill in making the animals in the Crush books to see the world in a certain way, which gives the reader an understanding of what is going on in the animals’ head just by a mere visual expression.
Silke’s ability to take Ian’s words and bring them to life in a humorous way is unique. Her use of pastel colours and soft, beautiful illustrations that give depth, is in contrast to many children’s books today.
Silke draws with pastel colours reminiscent of Beatrix Potter. She has a very special skill in making the animals in the Crush books to see the world in a certain way, which gives the reader an understanding of what is going on in the animals’ head just by a mere visual expression.
Silke’s ability to take Ian’s words and bring them to life in a humorous way is unique. Her use of pastel colours and soft, beautiful illustrations that give depth, is in contrast to many children’s books today.