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36 pages 1 hour read

Dan Santat

A First Time for Everything

Dan SantatNonfiction | Graphic Memoir | Middle Grade | Published in 2023

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Background

Authorial Context: Dan Santat

Dan Santat is a celebrated author of children’s books and graphic novels. In his early adulthood, he bravely decided to pursue a career that incorporated his passion for drawing. After graduating from the Art Center College of Design in California, Dan began illustrating children’s books and eventually writing and illustrating his own. To date, Dan has authored and/or illustrated more than 100 children’s books. His most renowned work so far is a children’s picture book titled The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, which won the Caldecott Medal in 2015. It was celebrated for including mixed-media art (both traditional and digital illustrations). Dan’s illustrations have depth and a clear attention to detail that many other children’s books and graphic novels lack. In his memoir A First Time for Everything, Dan paid special attention to his architectural drawings and brought well-known historical sites like Notre Dame Cathedral and Wiener Konzerthaus to life by painstakingly including each window, pillar, and doorway. Dan’s career as a children’s author has just begun, and his fans look forward to his additional work.

Historical Context: The Late 1980s and Early 1990s

Dan Santat was 13 years old in 1989. The late 1980s and early 1990s was a time of major political upheaval across Europe and North America. The Cold War ended in 1991, and the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. In the years that followed, the European Union was formed, and neoliberal ideals took hold across the world, making it more connected than ever. Dan and his friends belong to Generation X, a generation born in the 1970s and the last generation to grow up without the internet or cell phones. Dan’s life was shaped and influenced by the people and culture of the times; his hero was John McEnroe, a tennis player famous for his extreme temper and total confidence in his abilities. Attitudes toward child supervision and privileges were different then; parents relied on their children to be responsible and could not track or text them regularly like they can today. Similarly, teens like Dan couldn’t rely on texting or the internet to communicate with one another; instead, they had to face awkward social situations head-on. Dan was born into a rare window in time that allowed him these unique experiences, which taught him valuable lessons and aided in his self-discovery.

Cultural-Geographical Context: Europe

Dan Santat’s memoir takes place (for the most part) in Europe during a school trip he took at the end of eighth grade. Dan and several of his peers toured four different European countries, visited famous monuments and historical sites, and experienced other cultures firsthand. Although Europe is made up of 50 unique countries, it is also a deeply connected continent. As Dan observed throughout his trip, buses and trains make traveling between countries in Europe convenient. During the trip, Dan had experiences that he would have been unable to have in the US. He witnessed and sketched all sorts of beautiful architecture, met people who spoke German and French, watched a Wimbledon tennis tournament, and tried beer at a brewery. While not all of these experiences turned out to be positive, they all widened Dan’s perspective of the world and of himself. By being willing to immerse himself in a new environment, Dan learned to overcome his hesitant nature and live in the moment.

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By Dan Santat