For Maria Volodkevich, entrepreneurship did not begin with a broad ambition to enter children’s publishing. It began with a group of young readers she felt deserved more attention.
An Air Force veteran and United States Air Force Academy graduate, Volodkevich is the founder of Little Wingmen Press, LLC, a Charlotte, North Carolina based children’s publishing company focused on military families. Its first release, Operation: Care Package, launched in April 2026 as the opening title in the Zooming Zoey & Wingman Willie series.
The book has since sold more than 500 copies globally, while Little Wingmen Press has sponsored 80 additional books for military families.
For Volodkevich, those numbers represent something larger: evidence that military children want stories that recognize the lives they are already living.
Turning Service Into Entrepreneurship
Military children grow accustomed to experiences many of their civilian peers may never encounter. Deployments can reshape family routines. Moves mean new homes, friendships, and schools. Change arrives often and sometimes without much warning.
Volodkevich saw room for children’s stories that addressed those realities while still giving young readers adventure, warmth, and characters they could enjoy.
“Military kids are little heroes who face deployments, new schools, constant moves, and change. They deserve to see themselves in books too,” she says.
Working with illustrator Garry Vaux, she developed Operation: Care Package around that idea.
The company has since taken the story directly into military communities. Volodkevich has hosted storytimes at USO North Carolina Fort Bragg and Fort Belvoir, with plans to reach additional military bases.
A Veteran Founder Steps Onto a Larger Stage
Volodkevich’s work is also gaining recognition beyond children’s publishing.
She was selected from thousands of applicants to appear on Operation: CEO, a television series produced by Inside Success TV. Scheduled to air this fall, the program focuses on veteran entrepreneurs who are making an impact within their industries.
The opportunity brings together two chapters of Volodkevich’s life that might otherwise appear separate: military service and entrepreneurship. In Little Wingmen Press, they are closely connected.
Her experience informs the audience she serves, while publishing gives her a way to translate that understanding into something families can hold, read, and share.
Building Around a Clear Mission
Little Wingmen Press is still early in its story. Yet its direction is already defined.
Through the Zooming Zoey & Wingman Willie series, Volodkevich plans to continue creating adventure driven, emotionally meaningful books that place military children at the center.
For a founder whose work began with representation, growth has a practical meaning. Every new reader is another military child with the chance to open a book and recognize something familiar.
Learn More
Learn more about Maria Volodkevich, Little Wingmen Press, and the Zooming Zoey & Wingman Willie series at www.zoeyandwillie.com.
Instagram: @zoeyandwillie
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