Ask Nicky Dee to describe herself and this is what you’ll hear: ‘writer and massive dinosaur enthusiast’!

But it wasn’t always like that. Born in Singapore to an army family, Nicky’s father’s postings saw her divide the earliest years of her life between Germany and the UK. From the age of 8 to 18 she attended boarding school at Kent College in Pembury - an experience that she thoroughly enjoyed, then the next stop was off to university to study for her BA in International Relations.

And if you think that a degree comprising politics, law and economics isn’t a natural foundation for a future career writing books about dinosaurs for children aged 6-10, you’d be absolutely right!

After university, Nicky forged a successful career as a business consultant and became something of a specialist in staging large-scale corporate and public events. She’s been behind major exhibitions and launches for blue chip companies, top-name brands and well-known celebrities.

It was one of these exhibitions, which saw her sourcing life-size dinosaur models and transporting them from China to the heart of London, that led to Nicky’s fascination with all things prehistoric.

Seeing a gap on the exhibition shop’s shelves between dinosaur-themed picture books for young children and the encyclopaedia-style reference books aimed at older readers, Nicky decided to do something about it. The result is the ‘What’s so Special about?’ series - fun, factual books for 6-10 year olds. Each book takes in-depth, child-friendly look at one dinosaur and is filled to the brim with pictures, illustrations and structured facts to help children absorb the information.

Nicky’s favourite book as a child was Mrs Tiggywinkle by Beatrix Potter and her favourite dinosaur today – it might change if you ask her tomorrow as she is learning about new dinosaurs every day - is Coelophysis because, she says, ‘it was a survivor, living at a time when dinosaurs were not the dominant species and because they appeared to have had great family values, living in large communities’. On the rare occasions when she’s not doing something dinosaur-related, she’s most likely to be found watching rugby, cooking or riding her motorbike.

Children and adults can learn more about Nicky Dee’s books, join the What’s so Special Club – it’s FREE – download games, quizzes and colouring-in sheets and much more at www.specialdinosaurs.com