Dan Santat
@dsantat
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NY Times bestselling children's book author of Beekle ('15 Caldecott) A First Time for Everything ('24 National Book Award) Creator Disney's The Replacements
Los Angeles, CA
Joined February 2008
I modeled my recent author photo after this cute monkey. I'm perfectly fine with publishers and schools using either one.
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A little toddler threw such a huge crying fit at the grocery store today that the parent had to leave all their groceries in the cart and leave the store. I bought her groceries and a bagging clerk stopped her before driving off. I totally get how parenting can be overwhelming.
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My wife ordered holiday cards online but the cards got screwed up and there was no photo on them and they came blank (also had a typo) so I drew stick figures on them. Here are some hand drawn holiday card stick figure highlights . HAPPY HOLIDAYS
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The funny thing I find about the Paleo diet is that I'm certain a caveman wouldn't hesitate to murder you with a sharpened rock for a chocolate chip cookie if they knew what one was.
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44 (My Annual Birthday Rant) - THE BEST GIFT I EVER RECEIVED FROM A STRANGER.
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Turns out this portrait of @realDonaldTrump also works as a really awesome #SweetValleyHigh cover
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I went to the beach today and I hit record on my little mini GoPro camera and left it resting submerged in a tide pool and this was some of the footage I got.
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FYI, I haven’t posted much because my dad is living his last few weeks/days with Stage 4 liver cancer. While cleaning I found this photo which I learned is a photo of my grandparents (my dad’s parents) This is the first time I’ve ever met them. I’m going to treasure it forever ❤️
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Walked into a Barnes and Noble to sign books (I was wearing my mask). ME: Hi, I’m an author and was wondering if I could sign books to get my parking validated. CLERK: Who do you think you are? Santat or something?. (Removes mask). CLERK: WHAT?! . 😂.
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With the help of friends and family young Ryker converted his wheelchair into his favorite book. #Beekle. Folks this took my breath away. This is why I write for children. #HappyHalloween
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I guess the cat's out of the bag and some of you have discovered that your local @Kohls stores are carrying plush dolls of characters from some of my books. (Beekle, Are We There Yet, Dude, Carnivores, After the Fall) If you've always wanted a Beekle doll then now's your chance!
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I made this poster for my wife for tomorrow's #womensmarch. She chose this quote from US Womens Gymnast, Kyle Stephens, who made this powerful statement against Larry Nasser, yesterday
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Hey folks, @Kohls has asked me to promote the plush toys of my children's book characters so you'll see me retweeting a lot of your awesome pics. Just trying to do my part for the #KohlsCares program. Here is an official picture they even asked me to share with all of you!
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I'm honored to announce that I've spent this whole last Summer illustrating the 90th Anniversary edition of "The Little Engine That Could" and the foreword has been written by the amazing @DollyParton!. In stores April 7th, 2020. Preorder here:
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Holy smokes. I just got the most amazing letter from a prison inmate who was inspired by my work and is asking for art books so he can teach himself how to draw better. I think I found my birthday good deed for 2020 🥲
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Question for teachers and librarians. I know the school year is over but I have so many author copies of books and I’m running out of space. If I offered a large domestic flat rate box of books and stuffed it full and you just paid the cost of shipping would you want/need them?
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Two coyotes came and killed my little Yorkie this evening. There’s no worse experience than to see what I saw, and while I’m angry at the coyotes I also understand that they are just animals of nature. Chewie was a great dog and he will be missed. ❤️
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In 1993 I was a college freshman bored out of my mind in Chemistry class and I wrote my name on the wall of a lecture hall. Yesterday, I got this message from a current student. 30 years later a 5th student has reached out to me from my act of vandalism. No regrets 😂❤️
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CNN called me this morning and they were going to do a piece about the stick figure holiday cards but it got killed at the last second. That’s the news, I guess. This was a card I made for the occasion
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Dreading the thought of being quarantined at home with your family? I've created a new online learning program to hopefully help fix that anxiety. I call it the SANTAT ONLINE SURVIVAL SCHOOL FOR THE PANDEMIC. Earn Badges. Learn skills. Don't panic!. Follow me here or on Instagram
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The first time I met him he gave me the my first award. A Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He was being honored for a lifetime achievement award. "I'm honored to meet you Mr Carle. I'm a huge fan". "Heh-heh. Just call me Eric.". RIP Eric Carle. You were a legend
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Despite a neighborhood power outage, the Santats are giving out books and candy tonight
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I've received over 600 new followers in the past four days. Thanks, but I'm not sure what warrants this?. I'm not toilet paper. #panicfollowDanSantat.
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If you are participating in #MarchForOurLives I designed a poster and provided a folder with 3 different sizes for you to print out. Here is a link: …
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You all thought I was crazy for having a condiment drawer but here in the Apocalypse I have KETCHUP FOR DAYS! WHO'S LAUGHING NOW??!
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Nothing is giving more pleasure than drawing this elephant, right now.
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I woke up this morning to learn that A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING has been long listed for the National Book Award.No one thought that a 5'9" Asian man with a horrible jump shot would ever make the NBA, let alone be mentioned in the pages of The New Yorker, but here we are.
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YESTERDAY. MOM: I hate when you travel. I worry. ME: Why do you worry?. MOM: I don’t know the words. (Pauses for a moment) I watched an old movie yesterday, I don’t remember the name but the woman says to the man, “You are my oxygen.” Does that make sense?. ME: Perfect. ❤️
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I think this is my holiday card this year. HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE SANTAT FAMILY
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When you watch the first commercial it's absurd. When you get to the fifth commercial it takes a turn to greatness. By the end it goes full circle and becomes legend. I have no words.
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Look at this cool jacket I picked up at Goodwill for a couple bucks! It looks slightly tattered and there are a few red stains on it (probably paint) but it fits nicely and keeps me warm
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I'm happy to announce that "After the Fall" is the winner of the 2019 Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award. I'll see you in November, Kansas! (I promise no Wizard of Oz jokes).
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I think the news today just supremely bummed me out and I just wanted to do something nice for someone.
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Super thrilled to see my pal, LeUyen Pham, receive a Caldecott Honor Award for BEAR CAME ALONG! She and I are birds of a feather constantly questioning why we beat each other up with such intense work ethic. I'm thrilled that after all these years she FINALLY receives recognition
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This battle of book censorship has come to the point where the side that chooses to defund libraries doesn’t have the foresight to see the damage it is committing to their community in much greater ways. Everyone deserves access to knowledge and a free public space.
Missouri Republicans have just voted to defund all public libraries
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My ten year old son has had a crush on this one girl at school for three years, and today for the first time the girl told him that she liked him back. It’s the most adorable thing ever and I’m a giddy dad just hanging out in the background pretending I know nothing 😋.
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RESEARCH QUESTION. Have you ever at any point of your childhood told your parents or even attempted to run away from home because you were mad at them (and eventually coming home a few hours later after cooling off)?.
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YOU GUYS. I just found out that actor, Harry Melling, who played Harry Beltik in #TheQueensGambit was also DUDLEY DURSLEY from Harry Potter. WHAT.
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My kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Manzer, died this week. She taught me how to tie my shoes, how to skip, how to sing, and allowed me to be myself. Years later after the publication of my first picture book (The Guild of Geniuses) she showed up at one of my very first book events 1/3
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@VictorOcampo Sorry Ramesses, you'll have to dump out all the contents of your urns. You can't have containers holding over 6oz of liquid, or you could divide the contents and put all your innards into these separate 6 oz plastic mini urns".
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Went and saw my mom after 3 weeks on the road and shared my NBA finalist medal with her. Without her this trip never would have happened. ❤️
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I just spent the morning sketching a room filled with thousands of books. I'm now going to take a nap until March.
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I modeled this author photo after the 40 Year Old Virgin. I suck at author photos 🤣🤣🤣
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It’s been so long I forgot what it sounded like to have a President who spoke to every American and not to just 43% of the nation
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I’ve had a sweet connection with this kid over the many years. Every time I stop in around Rhode Island she makes an appearance at one of my events and I get to take a picture and see her in various stages of growing up. I think she’s my favorite kid person 🙏❤️
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It’s been exactly one year since I passed out in my home and almost died. Since then I’ve thought a lot about the value of life and appreciate how lucky I am for simply living in this fine world. ❤️
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This is a FANTASTIC article. For those of you who want to censor books I say we're not pushing kids books far enough and you all need to loosen your grip on your own children.
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Last picture of me in the old studio before I shut down this computer and move to the new place. For 16 years it's been a spot where a lot of great books were made and school presentations were done. Hope inspiration follows me to the new space. PEACE❤️
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I'm pleased to announce that I am being honored by the Children's Literature Council of Southern California for Distinguished Body of Work for 2024. In a part of the country filled with immense literary talent I am humbled and truly grateful to receive this recognition.
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Worked on two book ideas which resulted in dead ends but managed to knock a new idea loose and into a completely different direction AND I LOVE IT AND I HAVEN’T FELT THIS GOOD IN MONTHS. This is why I write in pen and paper. Let the thoughts go free and don’t be precious. Find it
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So I didn’t finish as well as I had hoped. My legs cramped up at Mile 14 and I could never recover after that, which was absolutely frustrating. It was still an amazing experience and hopefully things will be better NEXT TIME 💪🏼
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So, I didn’t get to check out all the good stuff in Singapore because I had to leave two days early. Because…. I got invited by the First Lady of Uzbekistan to speak at an UNESCO event in front of UN diplomats and foreign dignitaries this TODAY. I’ll explain later 😂
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My 15 and 12 year old teenager sons wanted to sit and chat with me last night, and so, taking the opportunities where I can, I stayed up until 4AM just talking with them about all sorts of things. My body hurts today, but it was worth it ❤️.
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Baby wants to be up at 5 AM so we all have to be up at 5AM. Ah, parenthood. 😵💫😵💫😵💫
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I don't want to sound old and lame but the half paper towels are the greatest invention EVER.
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On a personal note I’ve been dealing with a few things and while here in Hawaii I wanted to get “lost” and during my three hour hike I found that the world was telling me that things would be okay
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Sigh. We lost Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert on the same day. My heart is broken 😧.
Very sad news: Lois Ehlert, creator of more than 30 picture books including the Caldecott Honor-winning ‘Color Zoo,’ died yesterday at age 85
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It was exactly 33 years ago today when I was 13 years old and began a 3 week journey on a life changing trip. You don’t know who you really are as a person until you go out of your comfort zone and experience life. See you February 2023. #AFirstTimeForEverything
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So I thought I'd share this poster I designed for the upcoming ALA store celebrating Asian/American Heritage through the APALA. You can still order it here if you have the funds:
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Man, when “this” is all over I’m gonna gonna school visit the hell out of this country.
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When I speak to kids they always call me "Dansantat". One word. Not Dan. Not Mr. Santat, BUT. Dansantat. and it's adorable. ♥️.
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