Riley and the Sleeping Dragon in Beijing's Little Star Magazine

Riley and the Sleeping Dragon appeared in Beijing's ultimate educational and schools magazine - Little Star. The magazine is also circulated in Shanghai. Exciting!

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Book Readings at Forrest Vacation Care

I had a lovely time reading to the kids at Forrest Vacation Care over the summer holidays. There were over 30 children aged between 4 and 12, who listened to both Riley and the Sleeping Dragon and Riley and the Dancing Lion. I then showed them a presentation on life as an author.

But the best fun of all was the paper plane-folding session we had afterwards. The kids were super-adept at folding and even better at throwing - we had record flights that day.

Huge thanks to Raeline and Rosie for having me! And thanks to Lorraine for the fab photos. Hope to see you and the kids again soon.

Mathilda's Market Book Signing

Sunday 28 February 2010

9am - 1pm

Park Hyatt Canberra, Commonwealth Ave, Canberra

Thrilled to be at Mathilda's Market again. My last book signing at this beautiful kids and baby market was in April last year and it was a triumph - so looking forward to being surrounded by beautiful stalls selling stunning wares, and enjoying the steady stream of shoppers looking for something scrumptious for their kids.

I'll be signing books from 9am to 1pm - come on down and say hi and have a flick through my latest Riley book - Riley and the Dancing Lion: A journey around Hong Kong. I'll also have Riley and the Sleeping Dragon: A journey around Beijing with me, but have only limited quantities in Australia at the moment, so come early if you'd like a copy.

There'll be plenty of free parking surrounding the Park Hyatt Hotel, so come along and enjoy this spectacular market, exclusively for littlies and their mums and dads.

Reading at Rodney's Nursery's Christmas Carols

I had the most glorious time at Rodney's Nursery during their annual Christmas Carols by Candlelight on 17 December. It was an unbelievably warm evening but the nursery was the coolest place to be in Canberra.

A huge table of adults celebrating a festive meal lay smack bang in the middle of plants and flowers, adults and kids mingles and sat on the lawns, played in the playground or browsed the amazing plants and products on sale.

I read to kids on the lawn - first Riley and the Dancing Lion, then Riley and the Sleeping Dragon - to a gaggle of kids ranging in age from around 11 years to a gorgeous little 6 month old, who sat entranced through both books. Adorable.

I particularly loved sitting and having a lovely chat with the gorgeous Katie Dawson from MissChief Maker - in between readings. And the night was made surreal by the dulcet tones of the Woden Valley Youth Choir, who treated us to an amazing repertoire of carols.

What a divine way to herald Christmas. Thanks for having me, Rodney's! and thanks to Katie for organising.

Alphabet Street Spotlight

The lovely Penny Price at Alphabet Street (love that site!) has written a wonderful spotlight on my work (click on the above pic, then scroll down the page), and is currently giving away copies of both Riley books in an online competition.

If you'd like to be in the running to win both Riley books, become a subscriber to Alphabet Street today - it's worth it; the site is absolutely brilliant for anyone with kids in their lives.

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Review: Riley and the Dancing Lion

Many thanks to Vicki Stanton of Buzz Words for kindly allowing publication of this review on my site. Buzz Words, an incredible industry newsletter on children's and young adult literature, is a must-subscribe for anyone interested in children's books. Thanks also to Louise Baker!

Riley and the Dancing Lion is the second book in the Riley travelogue series by Tania McCartney. In this second adventure, Riley travels to Hong Kong, in search of the traditional dancing lion of the Chinese New Year. Having read the first book in the series, in which Riley visited Beijing, I was excited to learn that Tania had released a new book featuring her delightful, adventurous traveller, Riley.

This story introduces the young reader to some magnificent highlights of the city of Hong Kong, from Victoria Harbour, into Kowloon, down the South to Aberdeen and to St Paul’s in Macau. The book features black and white photographs of the city, along with a series of dancing lions; from a rapper, to a ballerina and a highland flinging Scotsman. Kieron Pratt has produced a vast array of colourful illustrations, to complement the photography. The detail of the drawings, featuring highly accessorized lions, is sure to catch the attention of young readers.

The story is well written and the language used is clear and articulate and appropriate to a young age group. The layout is easy to follow with large lettering and plenty of balance between type and illustration.

I particularly liked the last page which features a hand drawn map and shows the reader the places where Riley has travelled. Tania will be releasing the next book in the series in 2010, which will take the reader to Sydney and it would be great to see a map in future years well filled with the travelling adventures of young Riley.

Riley and the Dancing Lion by Tania McCartney, illustrated by Kieron Pratt (Tania McCartney Press, 2009)

AU$16.99RRP

Reviewed by Louise Baker for Buzz Words

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Competition on Alphabet Street

Many thanks to Penny Price at the beautiful website Alphabet Street for featuring Riley and the Dancing Lion and Riley and the Sleeping Dragon on her competition page. You can win a copy of both books via the site during the month of January. Head there now!

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What People Are Saying About Riley and the Dancing Lion

The book has such wonderful illustrations, the colours are superb. I've loved the story and I'm sure any child who's lucky enough to get this book will treasure it forever. - Mary Connor, Northern Ireland

The story is well written and the language used is clear and articulate and appropriate to a young age group. The layout is easy to follow with large lettering and plenty of balance between type and illustration. - Louise Baker, Buzz Words industry newsletter

Tania McCartney takes children on a journey around a beautiful city while keeping them entertained with Riley’s adventurous search. With the combination of a fun adventure story, colourful illustrations and stunning black and white photography, McCartney’s Riley series offers something to entertain both children and adults. - Susan Whelan, Suite 101 World Literatures Feature Writer

[McCartney's books] place emphasis on the stylish black and white photos of scenes from life in modern day Beijing and Hong Kong. The [photos] give a human interest rather than a tourist vision of the countries. The illustrations that hold the photos together have an appealing comic style about them, with each story being a sub text that joins with the photos and illustrations to offer a quite satisfying and surprising ending. The books could well begin discussion about the culture of China. - John Cohen, editor and publisher of Reading Time, the Children's Book Council of Australia

The [books] are brilliant! The words are beautiful, the pictures are stunning... I love them! I love that they inspire excitement about travel, which I've never seen another children's book do. My 17 months old loves the pictures and the sound of the words. I stopped reading aloud at a few points, just reading ahead to myself, and she looked at me with annoyance until I started saying the words again. And if my arm happened to cover part of a picture, she'd push it away - she's finding the pictures intriguing! - Megan Blandford, mum and blogger

See what people are saying about Beijing Tai Tai.
See what people are saying about Riley and the Sleeping Dragon.