All rights reserved. Dahlia Jean: the Jungle Queen first published in Canada by Brighter Books Publishing House.

Crocodillo, an Imprint of Brighter Books Publishing House.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopy,

recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission from the publisher.

We use only kid and environmentally-friendly paper. One tree has been planted for this book.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Smith, Matthew, 1975- Dahlia Jean : the jungle queen [electronic resource] / Matthew

Smith, Kim Johnson.

Electronic monograph in PDF format.Issued also in print format.ISBN 978-1-927004-12-8

I. Johnson, Kim, 1966- II. Title.

PZ7.S6554Da 2012 j813’.6 C2012-900940-7

For Dahlia Jean

An Imprint Of Brighter Books Publishing House

Written by Matthew Smith - Illustrated by Kim Johnson

Dahlia Jean, the Jungle Queen,

lived deep in the heart of the Congo.

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She could dance with monkeys all day long,

and loved to play her bongo.

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Her castle was a big ol’ Baobab tree

with tons of little pink flowers.

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Stretched on her favorite Baobab branch

she’d read jungle books for hours.

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She’d ride her pal Laura the Lion

all the way to the Great Jungle Market.

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at the Baobab Castle,

and everyone is invited!

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Matthew Smith is a husband, father, amateur strong-

man, and telecommunications repair technician who grew

up all over California. He currently resides in Santa Rosa,

CA, about an hours drive north of San Francisco. When

he’s not at work, or lifting heavy things, he loves spending

time with his two young kids, Dax & Dahlia, his wife Carrie,

and his old, wise dog Rouger. Matt has always had a creative

spirit, whether it be in stone sculpture, on paper, or in the

kitchen. When his wife Carrie was pregnant with their fi rst

child, Dahlia, Matt began writing poems for his daughter.

Even in utero, Dahlia loved to be read to. Today, 9 years lat-

er, Matt draws much of his inspiration from Dahlia and her

amazement of the world around her. Her heartfelt

empathy for others, her love for all animals, and

her fascination with diff erent cultures and places of

the world, make her a perfect subject for a father’s

stories -- about a little girl who loves to dream.

Kim Johnson is a Canadian illustrator and designer

based out of Miami, FL. She is a member of Th e Society

of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Th e Graphic

Artists Guild and Children’s Illustrators. Kim is a graduate

of George Brown College in Toronto, Canada for Graphic

Design and Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand

Rapids, MI for Illustration. She worked in children’s

educational publishing for many years as a designer,

which gave her the insight and inspiration for writing and

illustrating her own children’s books. Her illustration work

has appeared in children’s magazines and she has a beautiful

self-published children’s book, Jungle Dream, available on

her website, www.kimjohnsonillustration.com. Dahlia Jean

is Kim’s fi rst children’s book through a book publisher, and

she has done a superb job building Dahlia’s world in her

sweet watercolor style.

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BRIGHTERBOOKSTM

PUBLISHING HOUSE

We like to balance things! One tree has been planted for this book!

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire

world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”- Albert Einstein

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