Willis Wilbur has the entire summer in front of him. So it’s time to fulfill his destiny: becoming the neighborhood life coach. Nine-year-old Willis Wilbur had his summer figured out. He and his best friend, Shelley, were going to Band Camp, and he was going to learn how to play the sousaphone. Easy. Simple. A done deal. But when Shelley is whisked off to Hawaii for a summer with her family, Willis is left staring down the long, boring road of an empty summer. Or even worse–eight long weeks of Day Camp. So Willis decides to try something new. He’s going to MAKE A DATE WITH DESTINY. And after spotting a flyer for a local business competition, he finds exactly what his true calling really is: becoming the Neighborhood Life Coach. A kid helping other kids with kids’ problems. His niche, he discovers. And he was going to be great at it. The best at it. So good, that he was going to become wildly, ridiculously famous. All he needed were some clients… With gumption, tenacity, and many other buzzwords he finds in self-help business magazines, Willis dives bowtie-first into the entrepreneurial waters. But starting a business alone, especially without his best friend by his side, is tough work. And with neighborhood bullies getting in his way, a guinea pig client who’s actually a guinea pig, and an annoyingly competent little sister asking for a raise, Willis has his work cut out for him. Funny, heartfelt, and overwhelmingly endearing, Willis Wilbur is here to make all of your (well, his) dreams come true. (For a small fee.)
Daniel Duncan is an illustrator living in the UK who creates most of his work in an old stable turned studio. His work takes inspiration from cinema, old photos, and sports. Duncan graduated from Middlesex University with First Class Honours, and a bachelor’s degree in illustration. He was highly commended by Macmillan for the 2013 Children’s Book Competition, as well as being shortlisted for the 2014 AOI awards for the Children’s Books New Talent category.