When a Dragon Moves in

Jodi Moore was chief contributing editor of The Promo Network, a worldwide information resource to the hospitality and broadcast industries, and her articles have appeared in many local magazines. While she and her husband run a mobile disc-jockey service specializing in private and corporate functions, and love building sandcastles, her first love is writing. This is Jodi's first picture book. She lives in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. Howard McWilliam is the illustrator of the critically acclaimed I Need My Monster. He was chosen as National Young Cartoonist of the Year at the age of 12. A regular cover artist for the Week magazine, he also illustrates for the Sunday Telegraph, Moneyweek, and Outdoor Life. Other clients include PC Pro and Mac User magazines, and Nintendo. He was the Cartoon Art Trust's Cartoonist of the year in 2009. Since I Need My Monster, he has since illustrated six books in the Ghost Detectors series and six books in the Calico Illustrated Classics series (both published by Magic Wagon), six covers in the Alfie the Werewolf series (Hodder, a Hachette UK company), and four covers in the Kit Salter adventures (Quercus Books).

On a beautiful day at the beach, a young boy brings his bucket, shovel, and imagination, and builds a perfect sand castle. Right away, a dragon moves in. The boy decides to befriend his dragon and they spend time roaming the shore, flying a kite, braving the waves, defying bullies, and roasting marshmallows-- all while Dad is busy sunbathing and Mom is engrossed in her book. Unfortunately, no one believes the boy when he tries to share the news of this magnificent creature. That's when the mischief begins, and the dragon becomes a force to be reckoned with. While adults will recognize the naughty antics as a ploy for attention, children will dissolve into giggles as the dragon devours every last sandwich, blows bubbles in the lemonade, and leaves claw prints in the brownies. Maybe the dragon really is running amok on the beach, or maybe it's a little boy's imagination that is running wild.