Meet Jen Shoop, founder of Magpie and author of Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Quiet Joys

Jen Shoop has long written about the beauty tucked into everyday life on her blog, Magpie. With the upcoming release of her book Small Wonders, she invites readers to slow down and notice the quiet details that shape our days. We spoke with Jen about the inspiration behind the book, motherhood, and the power of paying attention.

You have spent years writing about small, everyday moments on Magpie. How did you know it was time to turn those reflections into a book?

I write often about the phrase “if it’s a calling, it will keep calling,” and I’ve aspired to be a published author since I was maybe six years old, when I would stuff little pencil-stub stories into my mother’s bedside table and under her pillow. I have been writing daily for decades now, not sure where it would lead, but always hoping it might carry me to the right opportunity to make something physical and permanent of my craft. It was kismet, I guess. A publisher found me in late 2024, and the rest is history.

The title Small Wonders feels intentional. How did you land on that name, and what does a “small wonder” mean to you right now?

I write so often about the small, fractional, almost throwaway parts of life that in the end mean everything: the pocket-change kindnesses, the bonus coffee, the tiny and unremarked gestures of daily affection between a husband and wife, the miracle of the sun rising each morning and the backyard birds singing their joy to us from the branches. I wanted to really dig into this thematic chime in the book, and Small Wonders felt like a perfect fit.

When readers open Small Wonders, what kind of experience do you hope they have?

I hope it feels like a soft landing, a warm companion, a light-filled morning ritual.

Tell us about the significance of the photography used in the book.

I have always loved finding the right moody and aspirational photograph to pair with the writings on my blog. Longtime Magpies will recognize a certain aesthetic I’m consistently drawn to: fog and foliage, a hint of the romantic. I was so lucky to work with a design-forward publisher who understood this, and the way the visual and the textual can be wonderful imaginative foils to one another. We spent a lot of time sifting through options. It’s one of my favorite parts of the book.

Do you have a favorite poem or excerpt you included in the book?

Probably the dedication to my dad. He is everything.

You write so beautifully about the everyday. Why do you think those small moments matter so much?

I used to think I needed a big life, but now I see that I find happiness when I notice love in its smallest denominations: the light left on for me, the Post-it note with reheating instructions, the doorknob mysteriously fixed. And when I actively pay attention to the small wonders of everyday living. I mean, you can go an entire life without noticing that you have downy woodpeckers in your backyard trees. And they are such amazing avatars. Resourceful, persistent. There is meaning waiting for us right outside.

You often write about motherhood and the practice of noticing. Has working on this book changed the way you move through your days with your children?

I do think writing has taught me to make careful study of them. To really watch them in their pursuits, to listen when they are telling me who they are. I should add that I make lots of mistakes as a mother. But writing again has been a kind of salvation. It is a forgiving medium, unlike, say, photography, which requires such great clarity of vision. You have to set up the shot, capture it just right, just once. Writing is about revision. It teaches me that today—in my writing, in my motherhood—is not the final draft.

Many women in our Danrie community are raising young children while navigating full lives. What would you say to the mother who feels in the thick of it right now?

You’re doing better than you think. Give yourself credit and grace. Also, something a friend of mine told me: we’re always juggling a lot of balls. Learn to distinguish between the ones that are glass and the ones that are plastic.

As you approach the April 14 release, what are you most excited for readers to discover?

I hope the book adds a little warmth and reassurance—and maybe a little playful provocation—to their TBR pile.

Where can our readers preorder Small Wonders ahead of its release?

Right here!

Before we let her go, we asked Jen to share a few Danrie pieces she’s loving right now. Shop her picks below!

Jen’s Danrie Picks