Welcome to the AXOL Reef
Underwater adventures made for little explorers.
Meet AXOL the axolotl and his coral-reef crew. Gentle stories, vibrant illustrations, and a whole world of friendship for kids ages 3 to 7.
📖 NEW
Welcome to the AXOL Reef
Meet AXOL the axolotl and his coral-reef crew. Gentle stories, vibrant illustrations, and a whole world of friendship for kids ages 3 to 7.
Featured Story
AXOL has found a beautiful pearl — and he wants it all to himself. What happens next becomes a gentle, glowing story about the magic of sharing.
A Story About Friendship and the Joy of Sharing
Join AXOL, Dylan the Dolphin, and Maggie the Seahorse in a warm underwater adventure about generosity and the brightness of true friendship.
Meet the Crew
Every character has a personality, a place in the reef, and a story to tell. Get to know the crew — you'll see them all across the AXOL Kids series.
AXOL
The Hero
Maggie
The Gentle Friend
Isabella
The Cheerful Friend
Jason
The Strong Protector
Tyler
The Calm Helper
Dylan
The Best Friend
Spike
The Sneaky Trickster
Pearla
The Wise Keeper
Lexi
The Sunny Friend
Chomp
The Bully
Jelly
The Moody One
More to Meet
Coming with Book 2
Meet the whole crew — 11 reef-mates with personalities all their own. 🪸
For Parents & Teachers
Every AXOL Kids book is designed with parents in mind:
Want extras for the classroom or a rainy afternoon? The AXOL Kids Coloring Book is free, printable, and full of reef-mates — made by a pediatrician dad of four.
Meet the Author
Every AXOL Kids story is written for the four little readers who started this whole adventure.
I'm a dad of four — ages 6 months, and 5, 6, and 10 years old — and every single one of them has changed the way I see the world. Being their father is the thing I'm most proud of. Kids have this way of cracking you wide open, and I wanted to write stories that honored that — the wonder, the mess, the tiny moments that somehow matter more than everything else.
AXOL started the way most good things start: at bedtime. I was sitting on the edge of my oldest's bed, making up a tale about a little axolotl who found a magic pearl and didn't want to share it. My kids asked for it again the next night. And the next. So I wrote it down and built a whole coral-reef world around it. Walt Disney once said that he didn't make movies for children — he made them for the child in all of us. That idea lives in every AXOL story: simple enough for a five-year-old, true enough for a parent to feel something too.
The stories are inspired by three real axolotls who live with our family — Rosie, Jack, and Axol. We care for them together as a family, and they are part of the heartbeat of our home. They are extra friendly, wiggle to the front of the tank when we walk by, and lose their minds (in the best way) when earthworms are on the menu. Rosie is the curious one, Jack is the steady gentle giant, and Axol — the namesake — is the little explorer who started it all. Each one has a completely different personality, which is half the fun of watching them.
Rosie · Jack · Axol — our family trio
I have a deep respect for their biology. Axolotls breathe through both their feathery external gills and their skin, taking in oxygen straight from the water around them. Even more astonishing, they can regenerate almost any part of their body — limbs, tail, heart tissue, even portions of their brain — without scarring. They are one of nature's quiet miracles, and getting to share that wonder with my kids (and now with yours) is one of the best parts of writing AXOL Kids.
If you're a parent, teacher, librarian, or pediatrician who wants to share AXOL with the kids in your life, the free Coloring & Discussion Pack is yours to print and share — no signup required.
Parents Often Ask
Everything parents, teachers, and gift-givers want to know about AXOL Kids.
Free for Reef Friends
A printable coloring book starring every member of the AXOL reef crew — plus a read-aloud discussion guide. Free for parents, teachers, and homeschool families.
11 reef-mates. A discussion guide. A lot of crayons.
Color the whole crew — AXOL, Dylan, Maggie, Isabella, Jason, Tyler, Lexi, Pearla, Spike, Jelly, and Chomp — with line-art pages designed for little hands. Includes a read-aloud discussion guide for AXOL Learns to Share and a note from Dr. Keith on bedtime reading.
Coming Soon
More books, more games, more friends. Here's what's swimming our way.
When Maggie forgets her favorite song, AXOL and the crew swim across the reef to find it. A new friend joins the adventure.
Catch falling pearls, dodge troublemakers, and rack up points with AXOL. Playable on Telegram as a Mini App.
AXOL-character soft toys, kids' tees, hats, and reef-art prints. Built to last and made with love.