Children in Edinburgh were delighted to take part in the book launch of ‘Kipper the Sea Dragon’ on Saturday 29 July at Stockbridge Library. The long awaited picture book for 0-6 year olds by local author, Rachel Huggins, with stunning images by award-winning illustrator Eilidh Muldoon, is now available to buy. The children had a reading from the story, some songs and activities from the Sea Dragon show and then made a special hat to leave with as well as specially produced colouring in sheets as a reminder of their special morning with the Sea Dragon.
The coral reef is a great place to swim, have fun and meet lots of friends, but one day, when all the beautiful colours get washed away, Kipper the Sea Dragon must search the ocean wide and find where the colours have gone. Helped by a family of seahorses, a sleepy starfish and a naughty crab, Kipper manages to save the day and bring joy and colour back to the seabed.
A magical experience of storytelling by Rachel Huggins and take-away illustrations of the characters by Eilidh Muldoon, the book launch also shared some sneak peeks with Saturday’s young audience of the ‘Sea Dragon’ Fringe theatre show performed by Rachel Huggins and Corrina Hewat of Dragon Song Productions, showing at the Pleasance Kidzone at 10am and 11am daily from 2 – 20 August 2023.
Sea Dragon author and creator Rachel Huggins said: “I am thrilled to be able to share the new adventures of Sea Kipper both with live audiences on stage, and now in print in the first book of the series. It is wonderful to see the characters come to life in the childrens’ faces and their eyes light up as they see the characters come alive from the page to being their right in front of them! ”
About the author - Rachel Huggins
Rachel is the Creative Director at Dragon Song Productions and Press. She writes and breathes life into the shows and books and her performances are groundbreaking in their approach.
Starting her career training in Community Drama and worked with Theatre Workshop in Edinburgh, Rachel worked in London for several years before returning to Edinburgh to run a music franchise. A pre-school music specialist, Rachel has won many awards for her work and has a unique way with children, capturing her audience’s imagination with her story-telling and musical skills. Rachel’s experience and understanding of pre-school children has been a fundamental part of her writing for Dragon Song Press and she continues to develop new shows and books for the company.
‘Kipper the Sea Dragon’ is Rachel’s first book and is also the first instalment in a trilogy with Eilidh Muldoon. “Bertie the Moon Dragon” is being published Autumn 2023.
About the illustrator - Eilidh Muldoon
Eilidh is an illustrator and designer living by the sea in Scotland. After gaining an undergraduate degree in Art History she went on to study MFA Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating in June 2013 and returning as Illustrator-in-Residence the following year. Eilidh now teaches part-time at the college, runs creative workshops with people of all ages and works freelance from her little home studio.
As well as illustrating books, Eilidh is also interested in typography, surface pattern and the decorative arts, but her key area of interest is in storytelling. Fascinated by the ways we can tell stories in images and create detailed visual narratives for the reader to interpret and explore, Eilidh enjoys playing with the relationship between text and illustrations to create exciting, enjoyable and funny experiences for the reader.
‘Kipper the Sea Dragon’ is available to buy from the Dragon Song Productions website at the price of £7.99, published by Dragon Song Press. An audio version of the book and the show is also available from the Dragon Song Productions website .
Author and Creator Rachel Huggins (credit: Helen Pugh Photography)
For further information contact: Rachel Huggins e: Rachel@dragonsongproductions.co.uk
m: +44 (0)7976 377 153 www.dragonsongproductions.co.uk