National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc.

Here be dragons

Our lover of bibliographies, Ruth Nitsche, has excelled with another stunning bibliography of 28 books starring dragons. Our NCACL catalogue reveals we hold more than 700 books starring dragons. Dragons are an ever appealing topic much loved by Australia’s adventurous illustrators and some not so well known. We give you our choice of books about dragons in this bibliography – we’ve mentioned another few in our story
https://www.ncacl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Here-be-dragons.pdf

Who can resist a dragon story? Here you will find a medley of books – everything from a dragon that never stops eating, a child that shape shifts into a dragon, a surprise show-and-tell visit by a dragon – and more! There are heaps of dragons in Emily Rodda’s Deltora Quest series with those amazing ‘lenticular’ jacket covers. There are even encyclopedias about dragons not to mention realia such as card games and calendars.

We recently had a visit from one of the art curators at the State Library of Victoria. She is canvassing the possibility of an exhibition in a few years’ time. She is working with the theme ‘imagined worlds’. What Australian children’s book creators have been inspired to create books about both dragons and imagined worlds? You guessed correctly if you nominated Emily Rodda and Graeme Base.

Think beyond picture books. There’s a much-loved novel, ‘Dragon Skin’ by Karen Foxlee (2021) then returning to our youngest readers, there’s Bob Graham’s ‘Ellie’s Dragon’ (2020) to illustrate the scope of the dragon topic.

Who remembers Carole Wilkinson’s ‘Dragonkeeper’ series? It was a big award-winner around the world both for its literary quality and appeal to young people. I sent this series to my young grandson in America. He continued to ask for them even after he devoured the six books and one prequel.

Australian illustrator, Inga Moore, shared her talents by creating illustrations for the British classic by Kenneth Graeme, ‘The Reluctant Dragon’ (2004). Our Ambassador, Christopher Cheng, has produced four books featuring dragons.

While dragons are plentiful in Australian children’s books, they also have been merchandised into various items of ephemera related to particular books, usually those stories which are loved to bits. We have a list of ephemera that is 95pp in length. Our ephemera collection was a project taken on by the University of Canberra students in Cultural Heritage as a challenging (impossible?) collection to document (describe). This ever-growing list of ephemera is now 95 pages long. Interested? Here’s the link to the Centre’s list of ephemera on our website.
https://www.ncacl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/THE-Ephemera-Catalogue-20251209.pdf

While dragons feature in many contemporary Australian children’s books, they also appear in earlier works. We have a May Gibbs’ Gumnut Babies calendar featuring babies riding home on a dragon. There is Graeme Base’s ‘Dragons, draaks & beasties calendar’. Sadly, Peter Pavey’s ‘One Dragon’s Dream’ book was left out of our bibliography. We worried that this amazing picture book from 1978 would no longer be in libraries – a shame.

Now for the present. Aboriginal author Brenton McKenna has written and illustrated ‘The Return of the Dragons’ in a graphic novel style. Books for young people are constantly changing for the next generation of story lovers. That is as we would want – right? The topic, dragons, may be ancient, but it’s still around inspiring authors and illustrators and capturing readers and viewers.

Remembering May Gibbs

When I left America for Australia I brought with me a long-time interest in children’s books. Upon my arrival, I was given a collection of May Gibbs’ illustrated stories. What an amazing and inventive Aussie creator. Confession time! The big bad banksia men sent shivers down my spine. I adored the imminently lovable gumnut babies. But is the work of May Gibbs still of interest?

Our Centre holds a very large collection of May Gibbs’ books. Not long ago we acquired a four drawer filing cabinet of material on May Gibbs. Jane Brummitt, from Adelaide, is distantly related to May Gibbs. Jane became a collector of everything May Gibbs – ephemera like a May Gibbs letter opener, an apron, a doll, a cup and so much more. Jane scoured Australian libraries and research collections tracing the life of May Gibbs. She photocopied items along the way and filed them by year of publication. As happens such collections can become very large.

What should be done with these collections? Is anyone interested? One day, Jane asked whether our Centre would be interested in her collection. ‘Yes!’ I answered. The collection arrived in many boxes containing hanging folders each with a tab by year of publication. These filled a four drawer filing cabinet. The absolutely lovely Tania McCarney, who has created a picture book biography of May Gibbs, offered to create a guide to this collection. This task took many months and ended up as a gigantic spreadsheet with intricate details of every. single. item. https://www.ncacl.org.au/collections/finding-aid-to-the-may-gibbs-archive/

Would there be interest in this collection?

Recently, I received a request from an academic undertaking a PhD. Virginia Sandell is specifically looking at women suffragettes. May Gibbs was one. Here’s what Virginia Sandell discovered in Jane Brummit’s four drawer filing cabinet of May Gibbs material housed at our Centre.

Virginia Sandell talks about her research below

One of the difficulties in researching little-known figures from the past is they can be hard to find; often leaving few traces of their lives and work in libraries, archives or other repositories. Sometimes a brief mention in newspapers or a casual reference in other works opens new avenues to explore, but more often than not, leads to yet another dead end. And in researching early twentieth century Australian women cartoonists for my thesis there have been lots of dead ends!

So recently I was excited to come across the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature (NCACL) and a treasure trove of files related to one of the women cartoonists I am researching— May Gibbs. While May Gibbs is widely known as the author and illustrator of much-loved children’s classic tales such as ‘Snugglepot and Cuddlepie’—still in print more than 100 years after it was first published in 1918—she is seldom remembered as a cartoonist.

Indeed, few know that May Gibbs was a cartoonist at all. But Gibbs was one of Australia’s earliest cartooning women with her political cartoons appearing from 1902 under the pseudonym ‘Blob’ in the now long-forgotten Western Australian publication, the Social Kodak.

May Gibbs ‘Blob’, Social Kodak, 29 August 1902; and alongside is Jane Brummitt’s annotated version of the cartoon from the original held by a Gibbs family member.

The May Gibbs collection at NCACL was compiled over many years by author and researcher Jane Brummitt and then archived for NCACL by Tania McCartney. It contains a wealth of materials which Jane sourced over the course of many years of her own research, and which she has generously donated to NCACL. Collections such as this are invaluable to future researchers and contribute to building richer and deeper understandings of the past.

The May Gibbs collection is contained in fifty-nine files with a detailed list of hundreds of items ranging over thirty-five pages. There are books, photographs, postcards, cards, posters, flyers, magazines and newspaper clippings, advertisements, copies of paintings and illustrations, cartoons, comic strips, letters and brochures, together with Brummitt’s handwritten or typed notes, emails, and a range of ‘ephemera’.

For my research, I was keen to concentrate on just seven files which covered Gibbs’ early life and work in Western Australia through to the end of the First World War in 1918. Included in these files are photocopies of Gibbs’ cartoon work in support of women’s suffrage in the UK in 1911 which were published in the Common Cause newspaper and in the Christian Commonwealth newspaper—the latter a publication which had proved difficult to trace and access, so it was great to find it here in the NCACL records. Also included in these files are Brummitt’s own notes about many of the issues and protagonists portrayed in May Gibbs’ cartoons.


May Gibbs, ‘Statics and Dynamics’, Common Cause, 13 April 1911; and alongside is Jane Brummitt’s photograph of Gibbs’ preliminary sketches for the debate on women’s suffrage between Cecily Hamilton and G.K. Chesterton.

Many thanks to Belle and her great team who warmly welcomed me to the NCACL, had a trolley full of my requested files ready and waiting for me, and made a comfortable space available for me to undertake my research over the two days I spent with them.

Virginia Sandell is a PhD candidate at the University of New England. Her PhD thesis examines the lives and work of some of Australia’s women cartoonists in the first half of the twentieth century.

Finding Aid to the May Gibbs Archive - NCACL Finding Aid to the May Gibbs Archive May Gibbs – Her Life, Work and Nutcote May Gibbs (1877-1969) was one of Australia’s most well-known and loved illustrators. Her gum nut... Read more

Why review & blog about kids’ books?

Check out this perspective from our latest blog by Ashleigh Meikle
https://www.ncacl.org.au/blog/about-blogging-for-reviews/

Our Centre is interested in reviewers and bloggers who cover the field of Australian children’s literature. Why? We are collectors! We have over 600 research files (paper-based) with material on Australian children’s authors and illustrators. This collection is unique and historically invaluable. Our collection began in the 1950s (yes – that long ago!) so we are tracking changes in attitudes over time — a topic for researchers and everyone interested! Here’s a link to our list of research files – organised by surname

https://www.ncacl.org.au/collections-2/author-and-illustrator-research-files/index-a-to-c/

Our Centre looks for online reviews, articles and various perspectives on books on a day to day basis. We include links to these in our three free databases on Australian children’s books. These databases feature over 1,500 children’s books. Books are annotated, tags/subjects listed, and free, online links provided. Primary English Teaching Association Australia (PETAA)

Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander books
https://www.ncacl.org.au/atsi-resource/

Cultural Diversity
https://www.ncacl.org.au/cd-database/

Picture Books for Older Readers
https://www.ncacl.org.au/pbor-database/

‘The Book Muse’ is one review source we frequently use. Ashleigh Meikle runs this blog which provides in depth reviews and comments on Australian children’s books. There are a number of bloggers around Australia and Ashleigh’s blog points these out. What is their purpose? What do they hope to achieve? Ashleigh says:

‘the reason I focus on children’s and young adult books on my blog is that there is rarely, if ever, any mainstream media coverage. Specialist publications require a subscription though. Or there’s social media. Social media and any mainstream media often focus on the big names or celebrity authors. On what ‘should’ be read rather than what might be interesting from my quick scans. It’s disheartening to see these avenues show the same authors all the time.’

A final point – we at the Centre thank our ‘Clippers’ across Australia who send us reviews and other articles about Australian children’s literature. One day a philanthropist will say, ‘I’d like to fund the digitisation of these paper records!’ What a moment to savour!

Celebrating Australian women!

Love books and bibliographies to pour over?

Our expert bibliographer, Ruth, has produced this bibliography featuring 53 Aussie books, many with hyperlinks to our databases for more details.

A bibliography always comes in handy when a child asks, 'What's a good book?' Hand them one celebrating women past and present including scientists, military heroes, sportspersons, politicians, First Nations women, authors, early convicts +.

https://www.ncacl.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/International-Womens-Day-2025-bibliography.pdf

Kids are like little sponges. They soak up words and images especially when there are creators like Margaret Wild and Ann James Books Illustrated sharing their creative spirit. We adults and the young ones were transfixed!

Note the tansfixed kids inspired by Ann James Books Illustrated and Margaret Wild creators of 'The Midnight Gang'. Just imagine meeting f2f with both the author and the illustrator and having them read to you and draw with you!! 🥰

This session at Wiradjuri Childcare Centre was so inspiring bringing back memories of childhood and the importance of story. We are so lucky to have Ann James (Books Illustrated) and Margaret whose creative gifts are legion

🌙 A Very Special Event at Wiradjuri Early Learning Centre! 🎨✨

This week, thanks to the wonderful team at the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc., we had the absolute honour of welcoming illustrator Ann James and author Margaret Wild—the well-known creators of the award‑winning children’s book The Midnight Gang—into our learning community.

Our children were already very familiar with the story, so seeing the author and illustrator in person made the experience even more magical. Margaret and Ann shared their beautiful book with us, and then Ann led the children in a hands‑on workshop exploring silhouette drawing.

Using rich black oil pastels and the stunning sunset backdrops Ann had prepared herself, the children set to work creating their own silhouette art. The results were incredible—but even more special was the process. The children worked with deep focus, mindfulness, and genuine joy.

We were especially touched to see one child—who doesn’t usually gravitate toward art experiences—form a meaningful connection with Ann. With her gentle encouragement, he approached his artwork thoughtfully and with newfound enthusiasm. Moments like these remind us of the power of creativity, connection, and working with our hands.

We are so grateful to Ann and Margaret for sharing not just their talents, but their passion and warmth with our community.

💛📚Want to learn about their creative process?
The Midnight Gang exhibition is currently showing in the Mura Gadi Gallery at the University of Canberra Library, open weekdays from 9:30am–4:30pm until Friday 27th February. It’s a beautiful opportunity to explore the journey behind this incredible work.

A writer whose picture books reach to the core of our being - no exaggeration. How does she do this? Can she reveal her secrets - Our Center and the University of Canberra are proud to offer her to members of Marion Writers

Join MARION and The National Centre for Australian Children's Literature to hear acclaimed Children's author Margaret Wild talk, with Q&A to follow.

We're delighted to join Margaret Wild for an afternoon author talk, with Q&A to follow. The talk will be taking place at Mura Gadi Gallery, where Margaret's manuscripts are on display, along with the artwork from Margaret and Ann James’ picture book, The Midnight Gang.

Book your ticket: https://events.humanitix.com/margaret-wild-author-talk

National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature Inc.