NIghty NIght Dinos, Hello Debut PB! Craft Chat with Deborah Holt Williams & Book Review by Kathy Halsey
Congratulations to Deborah Holt Williams and illustrator Anna Doherty on their debut picture Nighty Night Dinos scheduled to release June 16, 2026! Deb and I have been longtime friends and have supported each other on what can be a loooong journey over the years. It’s so dino-rrific to witness her debut book! Big congrats and dinosaur roars!
Nighty NIght Dinos Book Review
By Kathy Halsey
I’ll put on my educator-librarian-book reviewer hat to discuss this appealing book. How does one take an evergreen topic like a bedtime story and make it stand out? Deb took the path of adding another perennial topic, dinosaurs, to the mix along with rhyme to make a lyrical read aloud that also shares the importance of sleep.
I can picture parents gently rocking their children to sleep as they read this or taking an active kiddo, not ready for sleep, and imitating the dinosaur’s motions of romping, splashing, swimming, and flying. Once the cadence of the book slows, the little dinos yawn, find their stuffies, curl up in their favorite blanket, and rest their crests on the best pillows, hopefully as a nudge to their young readers! Shh!
I was surprised to learn about dinosaurs I’d never heard of before. Curious kids will be interested in discovering these less traditional dinosaur classifications, too.
Illustrator Anna Doherty has created a soft, unique palette that amplifies dreams and sleep. I’ve never seen such cute, cuddly dinosaurs. The end papers feature a striking sky of dinosaur clouds that lend whimsy to this picture book, too.
This is a winning combination for kids and parents that will last through many a storytime and be a welcome addition to public libraries, too.
Craft Chat with Deborah Holt Williams
Kathy: It's a pleasure to be in conversation with you today, Deb. My copy of NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS arrived earlier than I thought, and it's such a fun, charming book featuring one children's literature's favorite animal, DINOSAURS!This is such a delightful story. What is the origin of this book? Did you envision it as a board book or a poem, or did you always see it as a picture book?
Deb: First let me say it’s an honor to be featured on your blog, Kathy! We’ve been in the submitting trenches together a long time. NIGHTY NIGHT, DINOS started off as an entry in a bedtime story poetry contest in January of 2020. It was not a winner, but I really liked it, so I made it a bit longer and envisioned it as a board book. I sent it to Familius publishing in February of 2021 and heard back the very next day! (How rare is that?) The company’s owner, with the wonderful name of Christopher Robbins, liked it but they had a few other dinosaur books in the pipeline already. We kept in touch but a couple years went by. Then in October of 2023, Christopher wrote and asked if I would add four more stanzas so they could turn it into a 32-page picture book! Absolutely! I sent them off, and then in November of 2023 I was in the hospital after a procedure, couldn’t sleep, turned on my laptop and there was the contract! Just what the doctor ordered! I first saw the artwork for DINOS in September of 2024, while we were in Greece for a wedding, and I loved it! Anna Doherty is so talented, and a lovely person, too.
Kathy: Yes, we've been writer friends for years. It's delightful to host you on the GROG! Congrats!
I understand there will be two more books in this series, Nighty Night Bears and Nighty Night Puppies, both due out in 2028. Did you have these others waiting in the wings, or how did you approach this as a series for Familius?&n...