SchoolHouse.Roc Presents

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Every time Regina's father blows his whistle, the world changes.

A talking cat appears. Ordinary soccer matches become extraordinary adventures. And the smallest moments lead to places Regina never imagined.

With every whistle, she discovers that magic can be found in the most unexpected places—and that growing up is an adventure all on its own.

But no matter where the whistle takes her, Regina knows one thing:

The most important whistle of all is still waiting to sound.

Inspired by true stories :)

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There once was a girl named Regina whose father always carried a whistle.

It was a small silver whistle, no bigger than her thumb, on a red ribbon that never once frayed — not even a little.

This would not have mattered very much, except for one perfectly wonderful, absolutely unexplainable thing.

Every time a whistle blew, Regina went somewhere magical.

Nobody noticed this but Regina.

And she only noticed gradually.

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The First Whistle

Regina was four, and the fog was thick, and her father blew his whistle at a Saturday football match —

Tweeeeet!

— and suddenly the grass was greener than grass had any right to be, and the footballs bounced all by themselves, and a small grey cat sat on top of the goalpost licking its paw as if it owned the place.

"You're offside," said the cat.

"I don't even know the rules," said Regina.

"Most don't," said the cat happily.

Then the fog lifted and Regina was back on the sideline, boots damp, pigtails askew, her father already checking his stopwatch.

She said nothing.

She smiled a very small, very secret smile.

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The Second Whistle

There was a boy in the park.

He was dribbling a football past lampposts and trees and a very put-out pigeon, running toward something golden that only he could see.

Tweeet!

The park tilted — just slightly, just enough — and Regina slid three steps sideways on the grass.

"Where are you running?" she called.

"Somewhere that isn't here yet!" he called back, not slowing down even a little.

Then the park straightened itself with a small dignified clunk, and the boy was just a boy again, and the pigeon ruffled its feathers, and Regina thought:

I think I'll remember him.

She was right.

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The Third Whistle

Regina was eating toast when the ocean arrived in her living room.

TWEEEEET!

One polite green wave rolled through the front door, scooped her up, and carried her away across something wide and shimmering and nameless.

A fish in a bowler hat swam past.

"First time crossing?" it asked.

"Is it obvious?" said Regina.

"You're still holding your toast," said the fish.

She was. It wasn't even soggy.

Regina loves toast.

She arrived on a shore of gold sand that hummed to itself, and beyond it was a city that smelled of bread and engine oil and something she could only call tomorrow.

She stepped off the wave.

The city smiled. It was love at first sight.

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The Fourth Whistle

The city was celebrating.

Flags poured from windows. Strangers danced with strangers. The World Cup moon hung overhead, rounder and more golden than any moon deserved to be, glowing like it had won something too.

Regina danced, though she didn't entirely decide to.

Her feet, it seemed, already knew this place.

Above it all, she felt something that was not quite joy and not quite magic — but something warm and fizzy right in the middle of her chest that had no name yet.

Some feelings, she decided, arrive before their words do.

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The Fifth Whistle

Has not blown yet.

Regina keeps her boots by the door, just in case.

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Her father still carries the whistle — small and silver, red ribbon, never frayed.

He may or may not know what it does.

Regina has decided not to ask.

Some magic, after all, is better kept between a whistle and the wind.

And the wind never tells.

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At SchoolHouse.Roc, we believe stories are one of the ways we find our way home.

Inspired by real people, real places, and the magic hidden inside ordinary days, our books encourage curiosity, imagination, and wonder. Through stories, art, and adventure, we invite readers of all ages to look a little closer at the world around them—and discover what might be waiting just beyond the next whistle.

SchoolHouse.Roc is where learning, storytelling, and imagination come together.