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Lights Out, Little Dragon (Debra Tidball, illus Rae Tan, HarperCollins)

Lights Out, Little Dragon is an interactive bedtime book for toddlers aged 3+ and their caregivers, with a cute and relatable character that is just too busy to go to bed. It’s written by award-winning author Debra Tidball (Anchored) and illustrated by talented newcomer Rae Tan, who works mainly with watercolours and soft pastels. The child in the story tells the reader in first person about their little dragon—he’s so tired, but he won’t go to sleep. What can they do? Over the coming pages, the reader helps the child with various bedtime strategies, such as tracing shapes, instructing the dragon, yawning, counting, and blowing away Little Dragon’s loud thoughts—all of which, of course, might make the reader sleepy as well. The text is gentle and encouraging, and the dragon’s antics, such as drinking out of the toilet, will likely produce giggles. The book doesn’t employ rhyme but uses soft alliteration and assonance, so it’s soothing to read aloud, particularly when the reader is encouraged to ‘whisper-wish’ the dragon goodnight. The illustrations are soft and dreamy, with an enticing but not overstimulating palette of greens, blues, creams, gold and red. This book is a sweet and helpful addition to bedtime routines for alert toddlers.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Angela Meyer is an author and lecturer in writing and publishing at RMIT. She is a former publisher and bookseller. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

 

Category: Friday Unlocked reviews Reviews