Kirrili Lonergan – illustratör

This heart-warming picture book explores the bond between a father and his daughter. One day, a little girl notices her father mowing the lawn - in the process destroying her favourite flowers: the dandelions. She rushes out to stop him, but she's too late, they're all gone. There's nothing for it: she's just going to have to sit outside and wait until they grow back! But fortunately, Dad has another idea. Taking her hand, he leads her to the front step, and there, nestled in a crack in the concrete, are two tiny dandelion puff balls. Father and daughter each blow as hard as they can, and the tiny dandelion parachutes spiral and spin, up, up and away, spreading their seeds to create new generations of dandelions far and wide. And together, father and daughter lie down on the grass, watching as the whirl and twirl through the air. Exquisite watercolour illustrations combine with lyrical text to create a story that's perfect for readers aged 4-8. This is a book that will be cherished by families and recommended by teachers and librarians, exploring as it does the resilience of nature, the art of forgiveness, and the love between a parent and child.

Ollie's Treasure is tale of mindfulness for young, developing minds. It's a story about how simply noticing and taking in what is on offer to our senses can lead to the Holy Grail of treasure - happiness. Ollie's Treasure takes children on a treasure hunt. Ollie's grandma sends him a treasure map that promises to lead him to 'something that will make him happy always'. Of course, Ollie thinks this 'something' will be a toy of some sort, but he gets both a rude shock and a big surprise when his treasure turns out to be him! By following his grandmother's treasure map, he is taken on a journey of his senses, encouraged to notice what he can see, hear, touch, smell and taste. It comes as quite a surprise to him to realise that noticing such things makes him feel happy, and that the key to happiness can be found in his own mind not in material possessions.

Everyone enjoys the cosiness and friendliness of their favourite café . But what happens when the place you love suddenly changes? Mabel loves visiting Miss Plums Sugar Plum Café and drawing pictures for the arty-smarty wall. But one day, Mabel finds the café under renovation by someone new. She misses her favourite café , and she misses Miss Plums smiles. One day, the café reopens, and Mabel reluctantly visits there with her mother. Will this new place provide Mabel with the same joy she felt in the old place? And how will Mabel accept its differences?In The Welcome Cookies, Mabel witnesses what she perceives to be the destruction of a place she loved. The story shows how even though we can sometimes mourn the loss of a place and miss seeing people, if we open ourselves to new things, it can mean new beginnings and a chance for new friendships to develop. The story also shows how a child has the power to make someone feel special and welcome.With sensitive illustrations that give life to Mabels emotional responses, this book will have young and old alike wanting to visit their local café to taste the welcome cookies.

Lessons of a LAC is the first book in the ‘Lessons of a LAC’ series. This gorgeous series, by an author and illustrator who are passionate about giving children ways to think about and manage common emotional difficulties, is a valuable resource for every child to help guide their emotional development.Loppy is a LAC, or ‘Little Anxious Creature’. He always focuses his attention on what could go wrong and can’t seem to stop worrying. Curly the Calmster is just the opposite, and gently encourages Loppy to think differently about his worries. With cheerful illustrations and encouraging messages, this book is perfect for all the little anxious creatures out there.Follow Loppy and learn alongside him with simple, effective ways to reframe anxious thoughts and learn how to reassure yourself when you’re feeling worried. After all, just because bad things might happen, that doesn’t mean they will. Lessons of a LAC is an engaging picture book that gives young readers a unique way to think about feelings they may associate with anxiety. Understanding their anxiety gives them empowerment, and learning that there is an alternative to worrying all the time gives them relief.Quirky illustrations and thoughtful words make this the perfect book for any children who worry, and don’t know how to talk about or deal with their feelings. Join Loppy as he learns to relax and have fun!

The fourth book in the popular ‘Lessons of a LAC’ series, Grey-glasses-itis helps children to understand the link between how they see things and how they feel.Loppy notices that he feels differently when he looks at the world around him through different-coloured glasses. When he’s using green glasses, he feels relaxed. When he’s using yellow glasses, he feels cheerful. But when he’s using grey glasses, he just feels sad. As his friend Curly explains, he has a case of ‘grey-glasses-itis’! Curly shows Loppy that to feel better he can change the colour of the glasses he’s seeing things through.This is a simple but effective way to explain to children how thoughts, perceptions and feelings influence each other. They will grow up knowing that when they are feeling sad, worried or angry, it might be because they have a case of ‘grey-glasses-itis’. They’ll also know that with a shift in perception they can have some influence over their feelings, thereby helping to build their emotional resilience.

Brave, the second book in the Lessons of a LAC series, provides kids with an effective strategy for how to face things that worry them. While kids are blessed with imagination, that can be a source of terror or anxiety. However, it can also be tapped to help them to feel calm, confident and BRAVE! In Brave, Curly teaches Loppy how to manage his worries, specifically his worries about going to school. The technique of helping children to ‘find their brave’ when faced with a challenging situation can be applied to whatever the difficulty might be, so empower your child with the tool of finding their brave!

Issy uses the words ‘what if…’ a lot. What if there is a monster in my cupboard? she wonders before going to sleep. Or What if my floor turns into quicksand and swallows my bed? For her, ‘what if…’ are two little words that start worries and lead to uneasy feelings. But maybe they can be used for something a little more fun…Share Issy’s wonder and excitement as her mum shows her that asking ‘what if…’ can lead to imaginative adventures far beyond the everyday. After all, What if trees had cupcakes hanging from their branches instead of leaves? Or the clouds were purple and orange and green? These kind of ‘what ifs’ are what this creative and hopeful story is all about.Showing children that their ‘what ifs’ can lead to feelings of fun, happiness and freedom is key in teaching them how we can change the way we feel simply by changing the way we choose to think. Written by an experienced author/clinical psychologist and illustrator/art therapist duo, What if…? is an exploration of how little worriers think, and how they can choose to turn those worries into wonders.Young children, parents, carers, teachers and therapists alike will find methods to manage anxiety and to open conversations about worry in this playful and accessible tale. Plus, kids will love the imaginative adventures their ‘what ifs’ can create!

Loppy the Little Anxious Creature is very worried about not doing his homework well enough. He always focuses on what he’s done wrong rather than right, and often becomes very frustrated with himself. In this book of encouragement for those little people who find it hard to make mistakes, Loppy learns that ‘perfect’ means trying your best, and not worrying about getting things wrong.To show Loppy that the best things happen when we don’t try too hard to control everything, Curly Calmster takes him out to the garden, where gorgeous petunias are growing all over the place. The vibrant illustrations highlight the wild beauty of the flowers, and Loppy sees that by trying to control whether he makes mistakes or not, it’s as if he’s trying to grow ‘perfect’ petunias, which sounds pretty boring compared to this sprawling garden! Sometimes, he just needs to accept that things go their own way, and that ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean quite what he thought.Perfect Petunias is the third book in the ‘Lessons of a LAC’ series, which aims to give children ways to think about and manage common emotional difficulties. The passion of the author and illustrator make the series a valuable resource for every child to help guide their emotional development. This instalment is an entertaining and essential resource in shaping perfectionistic tendencies towards being more self-accepting and flexible.

One day, Dad invites Billy into his shed to build something, but Billy soon finds out that he is only allowed to watch. As Dad becomes engrossed in his project, Billy takes Dad’s off-cuts and other items from around the yard and shed and gets to work on his own invention, with Dad blissfully unaware! At the end of the day, they reveal their creations and Dad discovers that Billy has more skills and abilities than his dad had ever imagined!Joining forces, Dad and Billy set out as a team to build a cart together — the best one yet — and enter the upcoming local cart race. Just think what they could do!Up to Something lovingly explores the development of the father–son relationship. Bonding through doing something they both love and encouraging children to take on new challenges are key here, and are illustrated beautifully. The power of inspiration and creativity, and the importance of nurturing them, are also brought to the fore. This is a lovely story of the importance of letting children grow, and the joy of working together.

The fifth book in the popular ‘Lessons of a LAC’ series, Tree is a gentle story of loss that helps children to learn how to say goodbye and process grief.Tree is the much-loved centrepiece of the community, where Calmsters and Little Anxious Creatures come to relax, play and socialize. But one day Curly and Loppy notice that Tree’s leaves are starting to fall — at the wrong time of year — and Tree’s bark is flaking. It seems that it’s Tree’s time to leave.At first, Loppy reacts hysterically. Then sadness sets in. Fortunately, Curly is able to teach Loppy how to handle losing his beloved Tree; how to accept that he is leaving, say goodbye, and both celebrate and commemorate Tree’s life. Loppy is able to find peace in remembering how much Tree meant to him, and in the knowledge that he will never forget what a great friend Tree was.All children come across loss in their life, whether it’s the loss experienced when a family changes, or when they lose a pet, change friendships, or a loved one dies. Their feelings and reactions to loss and change are powerful and it is vitally important for them to know how to deal with them; to acknowledge them as they work through their grief. Tree is a simple and gentle introduction to talking about loss with young people, and helping them manage the difficult emotions that come with it.