Dan Santat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dan Santat
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Santat in 2025
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| Born | 1975 (age 49–50) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Notable awards | Caldecott Medal, National Book Award |
Dan Santat (born 1975) is an American author and illustrator. He is famous for his children's books. His book The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend won the 2015 Caldecott Medal. This award is given for amazing illustrations in children's books.
Santat also wrote The Guild of Geniuses. He created the Disney Channel animated TV show The Replacements. In 2023, he received the National Book Award for Young People's Literature for his book A First Time for Everything.
Contents
About Dan Santat
Dan Santat was born in 1975 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were immigrants from Thailand. When he was three years old, his family moved to California.
Education and Early Career
After high school, Santat studied microbiology at the University of California at San Diego. He then decided to follow his passion for art. He went to the Art Center College of Design and graduated in 2001. There, he became friends with another illustrator, Peter Brown.
Before becoming a full-time children's book creator, Santat worked in video games. He was an environment artist for Activision. He helped create backgrounds for some Spider-Man games.
Becoming a Children's Book Author
Santat's first children's book, The Guild of Geniuses, came out in 2004. It was published by Arthur A Levine books. After that, he started illustrating books for other authors.
He illustrated the first Nanny Piggins book by R. A. Spratt. He also worked on the first Otto Undercover book series by Rhea Perlman. Santat has illustrated books for many other writers. These include Dan Gutman (The Christmas Genie) and Anne Isaacs (The Ghosts of Luckless Gulch).
Creating The Replacements
In 2005, Dan Santat developed a show for Disney Channel. The show was called The Replacements. It was based on an idea he had for a children's book. The show first aired in July 2006.
Santat has shared that working on a TV show was challenging. He found that working with a big company meant making changes to appeal to many kids. He prefers the freedom he gets when illustrating books.
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Other Creative Work
Besides books and TV, Santat is also a commercial illustrator. His artwork has appeared in many well-known magazines. He has also shown his art in galleries.
In 2010, he had a chance to create Google Doodles. These are the special drawings on the Google search page. However, he turned down the offer. He wanted to focus on his dream of making children's books.
By 2014, Santat had illustrated over 60 books. Fourteen of those books were published in that single year!
Dan Santat's Family Life
Dan Santat lives in Southern California. He lives with his wife, Leah, and their two sons, Alek and Kyle. Their home is also full of pets. They have a bird, three dogs, and two cats.
His family's original last name was "Santatevongchai". This name was given to his great-grandfather by the king of Thailand. When his parents moved to the United States, their family name was shortened to "Santat".
See also
In Spanish: Dan Santat para niños
