References & sources

Where Maggie's stories come from

Every story is shaped by Nicolas F. S. Zaslavoglou, founder and author of Maggie's Adventures Universe. He wrote and designed the structure, voice, and creative process behind every adventure, so Maggie always sounds like Maggie.

Nicolas also keeps writing and publishing traditionally, as he did with Maggie & The Orangutans.

The information shared in the Discover the World section is carefully vetted by reliable sources in each field. Here is the full list, so your family can see exactly where our knowledge comes from.

Story

Every Maggie story begins with a narrative structure, voice, and creative direction shaped by Nicolas, so the character and heart of each adventure stay consistent.

Grounded in real reference material for most destinations, drawing on sources such as UNESCO and official national tourism boards.

Explore

Geography, food & flavours, history, eco-travel and conservation knowledge all sit together here — the wider world behind each destination, checked as a single picture.

Grounded in sources such as UNESCO and official national tourism boards, covering the geography, history, sustainability and food culture of each destination.

Language

Content is chosen to reflect the language a place's own families actually speak, not just its official administrative language.

Our editorial team is finalising the published list for this section. It will appear here as soon as it's confirmed — we'd rather show you nothing than show you something we haven't checked.

Culture

Traditions, festivals, food, art and daily life details are drawn from voices and institutions rooted in the place they describe.

Grounded in sources such as Encyclopaedia Britannica and official cultural and tourism authorities.

Wildlife

Every animal Maggie meets is a real one, and the facts about it are checked against the people who study and protect it.

Grounded in sources such as iNaturalist and international biodiversity databases.

Mission Statement

Our mission — “Bringing our world closer together, one child at a time” — isn't just something we wanted to believe. We went looking for the research behind it, and wrote up what we found in Bringing Our World Closer Together, One Child at a Time. Here's what backs it:

Allport, G. W. (1954). The Nature of Prejudice. Addison-Wesley.
Kim, E. S., Chen, Y., Kawachi, I., & VanderWeele, T. J. (2020). Perceived neighborhood social cohesion and subsequent health and well-being in older adults: An outcome-wide longitudinal approach. Health & Place, 66, 102420.
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2006). A meta-analytic test of intergroup contact theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 751–783.
Robinette, J. W., Bostean, G., Glynn, L. M., Douglas, J. A., Jenkins, B. N., Gruenewald, T. L., & Frederick, D. A. (2021). Perceived neighborhood cohesion buffers COVID-19 impacts on mental health in a United States sample. Social Science & Medicine, 285, 114269.
Sherif, M., Harvey, O. J., White, B. J., Hood, W. R., & Sherif, C. W. (1961). Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment. University of Oklahoma.

This list grows as new stories and destinations are published. If you spot something in a story that doesn't match what you know, tell us — we'd rather correct it than defend it. hello@maggiesadventuresuniverse.com