Opening the storybook...
New stories arriving in the Dream Machine, behind-the-scenes notes from Eliza's studio, and gentle reading ideas for families.
Ten numbers, eight board pages and the better part of a year. What the Poppy board books taught me about writing for children who cannot read yet.
Read the full post →The age band on the back tells you very little. Here are the five questions I've learned to ask in the bookshop before buying for a small child, and the one about reading aloud that changes everything at bedtime.
When your child demands the same book for the 47th time, their brain is doing something remarkable — the neuroscience of repeated reading and how it builds fluency, confidence, and comprehension.
A practical guide for gift-buyers who want to choose children's books that actually get read — not just shelved. From age brackets to re-readability, here's what matters.
A practical, first-person guide to self-publishing children's books in the UK in 2026. From KDP setup to illustration choices and Amazon marketing, based on our real experience.
The science behind bedtime stories and why those extra fifteen minutes matter more than you think — from a mother who nearly gave up on them.
An honest look at why I chose Amazon KDP over traditional publishing for the Poppy the Dragon series — the trade-offs, the surprises, and what I'd do differently.
How to recognise when your toddler is ready to move from board books to following an actual narrative, and why it matters less than you think.
A guide to choosing between board books and picture books for your child, written by children's author Eliza Dragonthorpe.
Ever wondered how Poppy goes from a pencil sketch to the finished dragon on the page? A behind-the-scenes look at the messy, tea-stained reality of illustrating children's books.
Lessons from reader feedback, school visits, and watching children interact with the Poppy the Dragon books.
The true story of how a bedtime question from my three-year-old led to Poppy the Dragon — and why glitter sneezes turned out to be the most honest thing I could write about.
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New stories arrive in the Dream Machine and new posts appear on the News page. There's no mailing list yet, so pop back any time to see what's new.
