Exclusive Book Trailer Premiere: Dad and the Dinosaur by Gennifer Choldenko and Dan Santat

Gennifer Choldenko: Newbery Honor winner.

Dan Santat: Caldecott Medal winner.

These two got together and made a book:

It’s called Dad and the Dinosaur. It arrives on March 28, 2017. Today we have a first look at the trailer.

But first – a little about the book from the publisher:

The story follows a boy named Nicholas whose father isn’t afraid of anything. Not Nicholas—he’s afraid of the dark outside his door, the bushes where the giant bugs live and the underside of manhole covers. But with his toy dinosaur by his side, Nicholas can be as brave as his father. So when his dinosaur goes missing, Nicholas knows exactly who to turn to: Dad. Dads know that needing a little help to tackle your fears isn’t something to be embarrassed about. It’s just guy stuff.

Let’s check the trailer:

A bit more about the making of Dad and the Dinosaur:

Dan Santat, who is a father himself, actually found that he really related to the son in the story, Nicholas. “I played soccer, I was afraid of the dark (among many other things), and I actually had a tiny cheap plastic dinosaur toy. When I was about 4 or 5 years old I was always holding it in my hand or in my pocket. One day, I accidently dropped my dinosaur while flushing the toilet and lost it forever. I was devastated and not quite as lucky as Nicholas.”

Similarly, Choldenko describes herself as having been a “superstitious” child. “From the ages of 4 to 7, I carried a yellow rabbit’s foot with me wherever I went,” says the author. “I can’t say that I thought the rabbit’s foot was magic, but I definitely felt more comfortable when I had my rabbit’s foot with me.”

Of the illustrations in the book, Santat says he was drawn to the darker tone of the story. “The references to giant bugs and creatures under manhole covers was something I had never had the opportunity to try out in a picture book and I wanted to take the opportunity to push myself in the picture book medium in terms of content and tone. I’ve been experimenting with watercolor and ink a lot lately and I loved how it could give off that smoky, magical feel which I felt landed itself well to the mood of the illustrations. I’m a huge fan of Dave McKean’s earlier book work with Neil Gaiman (The Wolves in the Walls, The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish) and I tried reflecting that mood in my own work.

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