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O'Brien, Dean (Deano Yipadee)
Writer's File

Dean (Deano Yipadee) O'Brien

O'Brien, Dean (Deano Yipadee)
In brief
Dean O’Brien, (commonly known as Deano Yipadee) is a children’s writer and musician who lives in Hervey Bay in Australia. He has published eight books with Scholastic in collaboration with illustrator Paul Beavis and most have been bestsellers. His albums, which often feature songs to accompany the books, have reached the top spot on UK, New Zealand and Australia children’s bestsellers charts. O’Brien toured New Zealand with Craig Smith, the author of The Wonky Donkey (2009), and headlined the Kidz Field at Glastonbury Music Festival in 2013. He has also worked with the screenwriters of Thomas and Friends and Bob the Builder.
  • Primary publisher
    Scholastic
  • Rights enquiries
    press@yipadee.com
  • Publicity enquiries
    press@yipadee.com
Bio

O’BRIEN, Dean (1978- ) was born and raised in Dunedin. He briefly lived in Japan in 2001 and the UK from 2003 to 2016, working in various roles related to media and music presentation, producing and directing. From 2011 he has worked as a fulltime children’s musician and author.

His first published book is the Christmas-themed Jingle Bells, Rudolf Smells (2016). Kathy Watson described it thus “While Rudolph is unpopular … a problem arises which only he can solve. This twist in the story provides a satisfying take on the importance of individual differences. It is shown in a light-hearted way but the message is clear.” It debuted at number one on the New Zealand bestsellers charts, and even though it was released late in 2016, it was number five on the overall 2016 bestsellers charts.

In 2017, he published two books Nee Naw The Little Fire Engine and Stink-o-saurus. Both books have a common underlying theme, which is the importance of individuality shown through the main characters. Of Stink-o-saurus, Christine Frayling wrote: “this is a stunning story with beautiful illustrations … what appeals to children with this story is the constant sounds made by the storyteller and how Stan reacts”. Both Nee Naw The Little Fire Engine and Stink-o-saurus reached the top 3 in the New Zealand bestsellers charts and Nee Naw stayed there for three months. O’Brien continued to write more books based on these characters.

Stink-o-saurus Saves Christmas (2019), continues on from Stink-o-saurus (2017), where Stan the Stink-o-saurus helps Santa with transportation issues. More picture books published include Monster Slime (2018), which was inspired by children’s love of slime. Also Knock-Knock! (2019) which combines storytelling and knock-knock jokes.

Nee Naw and the Cowtastrophe (2018), is a sequel to Nee Naw The Little Fire Engine (2017) and features two things kids love: animals and fire engines. It continues to interweave important themes into a fun tale, with only Nee Naw, the small fire engine, being able to save the cow from the tree. The most recent book in the Nee Naw series, Nee Naw Goes Bananas (2020) has a similar storyline, and has been a top seller.

In 2019, the books were released in 21 more countries by Scholastic Asia, Scholastic Canada, Scholastic UK and New Frontier publishing. O’Brien has received many accolades for his work by television presenters and educators.

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