A First Time for Everything by Dan Santat

Happy, happy Friday! I'm not exaggerating when I share I COULD NOT PUT DOWN Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat's graphic memoir, A First Time for Everything . I finished reading it thirty-five days ago, which means I have thought about it every day for thirty-five days. It is SOOOOOO good!  I'm honored Dan stopped by to finish my sentences. We discussed Paris, A. A. Milne, story, and more. I wrote the words in purple, and Dan wrote the words in black . Thank you, Dan!  A First Time for Everything tells the story of a young 13 year old Dan Santat in the year 1989 and a three week trip through Europe which broke me out of my shell and laid the foundation for what would be the beginning of the process of learning to like myself and finding solace in the fact that the world is big enough for everyone to find a happy place for themselves. A.A. Milne was an author I ignored for a very long time because of the adverse effect of reciting his poem, Spring Morning, in front of my entire junior high school had on my fragile adolescent ego. The kids at my school kept reminding me over and over again for years, “Hey weren’t you that guy who choked in front of the school doing that stupid poem?” For a long time afterwards I kept wondering if it was the poem that was at fault. I thought maybe the kids wouldn’t have been so harsh if I didn’t recite that particular poem. I hated Spring Morning and A.A. Milne by association. After a few years I realized I was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, the strange thing is that after writing that memory into a memoir and seeing how it shaped my life, if given the chance I wouldn’t change a thing. Paris is arguably the most famous city on the planet. It’s an amazing city filled with gorgeous history and culture that I hope everyone gets to experience once in their lives. I’m also well aware about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful opportunity to experience international travel and while not all folks will have this opportunity I hope that the story I’ve told will at least whet a person’s appetite to explore outside of their comfort zones and try new things. Story is in its purest form, the thing that allows us to be human. When we craft stories we’re creating empathy and emotion. As storytellers, our goal is to make you feel a wide range of feelings from fear, to sadness, laughter, hope, and more. The reader picks up a book hoping the story will give them all those feelings and allows them to take that journey in the privacy of their own minds. To me, that’s what a good book is designed to do. John Schu, you should have asked me if I still keep in touch with all the kids from the trip! It’s been 34 years and I’m happy to say that I keep in touch with quite a few of the folks from the trip thanks to social media and everyone is doing very well. One is a biology teacher, an elementary school principle, PE teacher, a veterinarian, a yoga instructor, and real estate agent and they live all over various parts of the country. They’re all excited for this book to come out and we all thank you for taking an interest in our memorable trip. Thank you, Dan! Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal–winning and N ew York Times –bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend , Are We There Yet? , and After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again . His artwork is also featured in numerous picture books, chapter books, and middle-grade novels, including Dav Pilkey's Ricky Ricotta series. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and many, many pets. Look for A First Time for Everything  on February 28, 2023.