This Is My Dad

This is My Dad celebrates families of all shapes and sizes in a heartfelt, beautifully illustrated story that parents and carers will love sharing with their children.

Most of the time, Leo loves Show and Tell at school. But when his teacher announces that next up is Tell Us About Your Dad Day, his tummy ties into knots and he tries to disappear into the corner of the classroom. His classmates can’t wait but all Leo can think is … ‘how can I celebrate someone I’ve never met?’

Leo is an only child living with his mother, and has never known a father figure. His mother is his hero: as a children’s author, she spends most of her time battling monsters and creating awesome new worlds! When Tell Us About Your Dad Day comes around, Leo worries that he won’t have anything to present to his class. After fruitlessly searching high and low for clues about his father, he realises that he already knows someone cool, courageous and clever – someone who’s not his dad, but is his everything.

This is My Dad is a timely, important and heart-warming look at modern family dynamics. It highlights that families come in all shapes and sizes, and they are all worthy of celebration.

About the creators:

Dimity Powell writes for children because she would secretly love to be one again. To support this fantasy she produces sometimes silly, sometimes sad, always sparkly stories for school magazines, anthologies, online apps as creative digital content, and as junior novels and picture books. Many of Dimity’s stories have been shortlisted or won awards including her digital narrative, The Chapel of Unlove for the Story City App, shortlisted for the Western Australian Premier’s Book Awards 2016. Two of her picture books feature on the Kindergo App and appear as part of Virgin Australia’s Inflight Children’s Entertainment Program. Dimity is also Managing Editor of highly respected children’s literature website Kids’ Book Review, and a role model for Books in Homes Australia. Her past adventures include skiing the French Alps, Kombiing around a quarter of Australia, spotting manatees in Florida, and getting lost in the Bermuda Triangle. She’s tried a few grown-up jobs but thinks it’s more fun writing for children now because she believes that great stories (like ice-cream) are life essentials.

Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker and author/illustrator of children’s books. She enjoys every aspect of creating books for kids, especially illustration. Nicky’s illustration style is often described as whimsical, emotive, soft and expressive. She is passionate about promoting emotional resilience in children and raising awareness of mental health issues. Nicky’s love of teaching sees her busy with school visits to share her journey of becoming an author and illustrator, and to show children the process of creating a book using excerpts of her work. She also presents at workshops and conferences. As well as teaching, Nicky works from home writing and illustrating in her art studio, and has contributed to sixteen books including At the End of Holyrood Lane (2018), The Fix-It Man (2017), Grandma Forgets (2017), Saying Goodbye to Barkley (2019) and Upside-Down Friday (2021).