I can't believe that the last time I wrote was on the eve of the launch for Lights Out, Little Dragon! and I think I can safely now say that Little Dragon has well and truly flown!! My radio silence has not been because there’s not been much to celebrate – on the contrary, there’s been so much!!

A big thank you to everyone who has helped champion Little Dragon into the world, whether by coming to my events, posting online, buying the book or just telling others about it, I really appreciate all the help to get this little book to fly! Special mention to the wonderful bookshops who hosted launches, storytimes and signings, especially  Dymocks Neutral Bay, Gleebooks, Harry Hartog Penrith and Berkelouew Hornsby (see photo-dump below!) PS the launch cupcakes were a hit - I can highly recommend Black Velvet Cakes in Sydney – they were yummy!

I’m looking forward to visiting Harry Hartog Warringah Mall this Saturday (23rd Nov) for a book signing.

The reviews for Little Dragon have been overwhelmingly positive! I’ve collected many of them here. Some standouts have been being Readings Bookshop picture book of the month, and the best-selling picture book alongside Bluey (!) at Avenue Bookstore, both in Melbourne, and made Harry Hartog’s Kids’ Winter Reading Guide. I’ve included a few snippets at the end of this post.

As well as the bookshops, I’ve road-tested Lights Out, Little Dragon! on Russ the Story Bus at Darling Harbour, in schools, preschools and the Art Gallery of NSW Library during Book Week, and at the SCBWI professional development day at the State Library. I’ve also been a guest on Picture Book Book Club for a dragon themed chat on x-Twitter.

It’s not just my Little Dragon who has been in the limelight, my little Tug has also been receiving some love. The headline news is that Anchored is going to be read on Playschool next year! I am beyond excited about this and can’t wait to watch!! Anchored was also shortlisted for the peer-voted SCBWI Crystal Kite Award (thank you to those who voted) and PETAA (Primary English Teaching Association Australia) has worked up some fabulous teaching resources.

With Christmas charging up at a rate of knots, it was lovely to see both Anchored and my Little Dragon on the YKNR fave Picture books for 2024!  Thanks YKNR community! If you’re looking for book recommendations for presents, then check out their list of tried and tested books for all the ages.
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It has been making me so heart-happy to see the way my author pen pals – year 1 Niagara Park Primary School – have embraced both my recent books. I have received parcels in the mail with work from all the students – pictures of their favourite boats, book reviews for Little Dragon, and ideas for how to get a dragon to sleep. These latter ideas were deserving of their own blog post, How To Get Your Dragon to Sleep, so please check it out here.

​I’ve attended (and helped organise along with the fabulous committee) several CBCA NSW Northern Sydney regional events. The one for adults was a fascinating behind the scenes look at the children’s publishing industry at the Penguin Random House offices. Then we had two events for children, the first being Lunch With the Stars (20+ authors/illustrators and a room full of kids) which is always a fabulous event (see photo of the stars at the end of this post). This year Belinda Murrell and Mick Elliot were our guest speakers, and Mick opened up a whole new world of drawing for me!

The other was an author event at the Avalon Community Library, with Pamela Freeman, Kristin Darell, Belinda Murrell and Mo Davey, in which I got to dress up in an inflatable dinosaur costume to bring alive Mo Davey’s I Am Tree-Rex – it was such fun.

​CBCA NSW had a delicious high tea to celebrate the Lady Cutler award, this year presented to legendary and inspiring Bronwyn Bancroft, who is a trailblazer in so many areas. With her 48th book out this year, Bronwyn is the first First Nations person to be honoured with this award, and she mused about the difficult journey of being the first of anything.

​From high tea to morning tea – The School Magazine hosted a wonderful morning tea for contributors, and I count myself fortunate to be among them, especially when they receive 2,564 texts and publish only 391! Plus, the reach of the magazines far outstrips the reach of most books – each monthly magazine issue reaches 150,000 students!! That’s pretty incredible! I'm so sexcited to have another nonfiction article published by them next year!

I was thrilled to be asked to speak at the Omega Writers’ Conference, this year held on the northern beaches. I was daunted at first as I still feel like a child in the writing space (as well as so much of life - probably why I write for children!) so speaking to grown-ups about writing was mildly terrifying… until I realised even a child can talk about their day and who they’ve played with and what they learnt at school - so then I had waaaaaay to much to say – ha!

In and around all of that, I have had much joy reading and celebrating new books by friends. There have been a lot!! So much joy!! Rather than list them here, please check out my socials (especially Instagram) to see some fabulous book launches and recommendations: instagram.com/debra_tidball. One book that I will single out, however, is something for all picture book enthusiasts - Lara Cain Gray's A Grown-Ups Guide to Picture Books illustrated by Lorena Carrington and Timothy Ide. It's a clever A to Z of what makes picture books great. This is a fabulous resource for teachers, librarians, parents and writers to help them and the children they read/write for get the most out of any picture book. Lara has had a few Sydney events and annoyingly, I've been unable to get to any of them! But I do have the book!

What I’m looking forward to:

With the end of the year fast approaching, I'm looking forward to a few Christmas catch ups with CBCA and SCBWI friends, as well as a couple of events:

Saturday 23rd (this weekend!) 11-2, Book signing at Harry Hartog, Warringah Mall

Saturday 30th 4pm, Write out west: Western Sydney Libraries and Literature Festival, Penrith Library Book here.

Maybe I'll see you there or somewhere else around KidLitLand.

Wishing you well until next time,

Debra 


Reviews of Lights Out, Little Dragon!:
It’s a beautiful and adorable book to which many a carer and child will be able to relate, as I am sure similar scenes have been experienced in their homes when it is time for certain tiny folk to retire for the evening. For ages 2+. Readings Bookshop

A refreshing bedtime tale that invites the reader and listener to enjoy a story, engage with the storyteller, and the illustrations, and with many positive responses, feel they have somehow contributed to solving this nightly tale. StoryLinks

Lights Little Dragon … is destined to be on read and repeat! Good Reading Magazine

​…was the working title of my latest picture book before publisher extraordinaire Lisa Berryman came up with the much more pithy, child friendly and appealing Lights Out, Little Dragon! But it’s still a good question, isn’t it?

I love sleep! Sleeping in is one of my favourite things. Even though I love snuggling under the covers at bedtime, I still find it hard to go to bed in the first place – a bit like Little Dragon in my book! I don’t know about you, but when my children were little, getting them to go to sleep sometimes felt like wrangling dragons - which proved great inspiration!

My hope is that parents and children find Lights Out, Little Dragon! a cheeky and light-hearted bedtime read, with sneaky opportunities for readers to practice calming bedtime techniques. With the book's release, I’ve been interested to find out what other's find helpful to get little ones (and anyone) to sleep. The fabulous teacher librarian at Niagara Park Public School asked my author pen-pal* year one students what they might do to help get Little Dragon to sleep. They came up with some really clever insights that might help with the human ‘little dragons’ in your life. They recognised the signs of being over-tired, that I too, remember when my ‘little dragon’ was wound up before bedtime and I was desperate for her to nod off! Below are their suggestions - some that you might find helpful, and some imaginative solutions that might be best left to fantasy dragon land!

From Year One: