Twenty-four picture books · ages 4–9 · Everything has a journey

How did it get here? The people who move the world, for the kids who ask.

A teddy bear. A chocolate bar. A pair of sneakers. Every one of them crossed an ocean, a border and a desk to reach your house, and somebody carried it every inch of the way. World Movers takes children behind the things they love to meet the ships, cranes, dogs, brokers and rules that bring them home. Written by a trade practitioner with 25 years at the border. Every rule is real.

Browse the books → Buy all 24 · $269 · ships free Also on Amazon ↗ Single copies $14.99 from our bookstore or Amazon. Sets are 10% off and ship free. Offices, schools and bulk: the order form. Not sure where to start? Find out which World Mover you are.
Every rule is real.Seals, stamps, HTS numbers, detector dogs: nothing is made up. The back page tells you what’s true.
A hidden heart on every page.Sixteen pictures, sixteen hearts. Some are easy. Some are very well hidden indeed.
Nobody moves it alone.Twenty-four characters, one job each. Together they get a bear across an ocean and home to a front door.

What people are saying

They won’t need to wait until they work in the business to learn what grandma does for a living.
Michelle Merrick, LCB · U.S. Customs Brokerage Manager
I remember my dad trying (and not quite succeeding) to explain what we do when I was four years old. Now this book can be handed to the kids when they visit the office.
Margo L. VanHeusden, LCB · President, fourth-generation duty drawback firm
In a society where we have anything a click away it is more important than ever to teach kids all the people, all the resources and all the time involved for that teddy bear, sweater, or avocado to be in the house.
Diana Melián · Contract Manager
After 13+ years in this industry, I love that I can finally hand someone a children’s book and say, this is the world I live in.
Mattie Husky · District Sales Manager

How do we make it all work?

The Brains

Nothing moves until somebody asks what it is, where it came from, and what it’s worth. These are the people who ask.

Buy The Brains · set of 6 · $80.95 · ships free →

How do we keep it safe?

The Protectors

At every port and airport and border crossing, someone is looking, sniffing, scanning, and asking. Real dogs, real horses, one very old elephant.

Buy The Protectors · set of 6 · $80.95 · ships free →

How does it get there?

The Movers

A ship, a tug, a crane, a box, a truck, a train, a jet. Every one of them has a job, and every one of them is real.

Buy The Movers · set of 7 · $94.44 · ships free →

What is it?

The Goods

A bear, a rocket, a chocolate bar, and a pair of sneakers each cross the border the way real things do: with a number, a paper, and someone who signs.

Buy The Goods · set of 4 · $53.96 · ships free →

En español · ya disponibles

World Movers en español

The four books that start the series, in Spanish. Same pictures, same hidden hearts, same rules. Read before printing by RIGS & Carmen of Reynosa, México, who know the border from the other side. $14.99 each; the set of four is 15% off and ships free.

Los cuatro en español · set de 4 · $50.95 · ships free → Offices and schools: the order form →

Terry Christmas cover

Holiday special

Terry Christmas: Santa’s Supply Chain

The last ship of the year is late, the gate is closing, and one small truck has a promise to keep. The one World Movers book for everyone on your list: the client, the new hire, and the cousin who still asks what you do. Twenty hearts hidden in the pictures this time, not sixteen.

Get Terry Christmas · $14.99 → Also on Amazon ↗

For companies, agencies, schools and events

Ever tried to explain your job to a six-year-old?

World Movers is the book you hand to the people who’ve never understood what you do: your kids, your new hires, your clients, your mother. Sets ship direct from our press, with a note from the author and a page of what’s real in every box.

  • Complete sets 10% off and shipping free: The Brains $80.95, The Protectors $80.95, The Movers $94.44, The Goods $53.96.
  • All 24 books, the only set with Terry Christmas: $269, 25% off, ships free.
  • Any mix of loose titles, from ten books to a case for every office.
  • Holiday gift packs built around Terry Christmas.
  • Invoices (net 5; net 30 on orders over $1,000) and purchase orders for company orders.
  • Spanish editions of Bear, Olly, Fiona and Sarah (coming soon; reserve now).
Start a bulk order →

Which book is about your job?

Customs Broker
Olly the Owl
Freight forwarder
Fiona the Fox
Compliance, records, audits
Sarah the Sloth
Trade attorneys, classification, protests
Mike the Mongoose
Export screening
Reggie the Raven
Duty drawback
Lucy the Llama
CBP officers & K-9
Jasper, Cash, Barnaby
USDA & APHIS
Scout, Ranger
Ocean, port, rail, truck, air
Joe, Tuck, Gigi, Connie, Terry, Kelly, Jenny

Postcards from the port

Show us where the books landed.

A bear at bedtime, Olly on the office shelf, Jasper at the airport gate. Send a photo and a line and we’ll put it on the wall. Every card is read by a person before it goes up, so nothing appears automatically.

The wall is new. Be the first card on it.

Send yours

A photo is optional; a line is not. If a child is in the picture, you’re confirming you’re their parent or guardian and you’re happy for it to be shown here.

Why these books exist

“How did my bear get here?”

Twenty-five years at the border. Audits, penalties, detentions, a room full of Licensed Customs Brokers reporting to me. And I could not tell my niece how a teddy bear crossed an ocean. So I did what any reasonable uncle would do: I wrote her a book. Then I couldn’t stop.

Every job that moves the world is in here, told for ages four to nine, with the real rules kept in and a page at the back for the grown-ups. If you work in trade, one of these is about you. Give it to someone who’s never understood what you do.

James R. Ferry II, CCS, CES, CITTrade Underground Press · Denver, Colorado