Celebrate Dan Santat: Books for Picture Book Readers Through Middle School
Dan Santat has created some of the most recognizable artwork in contemporary children’s literature. A Caldecott Medalist and National Book Award winner, Santat has worked on more than 100 books for children—as author, illustrator, or both. His work ranges from imaginative picture books to humorous early graphic novels and deeply personal middle-grade memoir.
Born October 2, Santat makes a wonderful author to celebrate in the school library during October. His books explore friendship, family, courage, belonging, creativity, perseverance, and growing up—often with plenty of humor along the way.
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Here are books for celebratingDan Santat.
Here are some Dan Santat books to introduce to readers across the grades.
Picture Books
The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend — Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B0dE60BUF
On an island where imaginary friends wait to be imagined by real children, one little creature gets tired of waiting. He sets off on an adventure to find the child who needs him.
Santat both wrote and illustrated this celebration of friendship, imagination, and belonging. Beekle received the 2015 Caldecott Medal.
Possible library uses: Friendship, imagination, belonging, Caldecott studies, author/illustrator studies
After the Fall: How Humpty Dumpty Got Back Up Again — Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B02B0EgUU
What happened to Humpty Dumpty after his famous fall? Santat imagines a Humpty who survives but is now afraid of heights. The story becomes a touching exploration of fear, courage, recovery, and trying again.
Possible library uses: Growth mindset, perseverance, overcoming fears, fractured nursery rhymes
Are We There Yet? — Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B0fFFHdXa
Anyone who has endured a seemingly endless car trip will understand the young traveler in this inventive picture book. As boredom takes over, time—and the book itself—begins behaving in unexpected ways.
Possible library uses: Imagination, visual storytelling, book design, predicting, family travel
The Guild of Geniuses — Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B02pNFij8
Two extraordinarily talented friends receive a mysterious invitation that leads to an unusual competition. It’s an early Santat title filled with his characteristic visual humor.
Possible library uses: Friendship, competition, talents and giftedness
Drawn Together — Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B0ciyIntd
A boy and his grandfather don’t share the same language, but they discover that drawing gives them another way to communicate. Santat’s illustrations become central to a story about family, culture, communication, and connection. TeachingBooks lists numerous awards and educational resources for the title.
Possible library uses: Grandparents, family heritage, visual literacy, communication, multicultural literature
Lift — Minh Lê, illustrated by Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B07roj6at
When Iris loses her special job of pushing the elevator button to her younger sibling, a discarded elevator button leads her somewhere much more exciting.
Possible library uses: Sibling relationships, imagination, wordless/visual storytelling, social-emotional learning
The Cookie Fiasco — Dan Santat
Fiction / Early Reader https://link.amazon/B05C0nbLG
Four friends have three cookies. How can they divide them fairly?
Published as part of the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series, this humorous story slips mathematical thinking into an accessible early reader.
Possible library uses: Early reading, fractions, sharing, problem solving, friendship
Harold & Hog Pretend for Real! — Dan Santat
Fiction / Early Reader https://link.amazon/B07YQD1jC
Harold and Hog love Elephant and Piggie so much that they decide to pretend to be them—with predictably funny results.
Possible library uses: Character comparison, friendship, dramatic play, beginning readers
Elementary Books
A Fishboy Named…Sashimi — Dan Santat
Graphic Novel / Fiction https://link.amazon/B03WNcFQE
Sashimi is part fish and part boy—and no one else seems quite like him. He leaves the ocean looking for others like himself and winds up attending an elementary school while trying to disguise exactly who he is.
Published in April 2026, this is the first book in Santat’s new high-energy graphic novel series for younger readers. The publisher describes the series as centered on belonging and standing out, with plenty of slapstick humor along the way.
Possible library uses: Belonging, accepting differences, friendship, humor, graphic-novel studies
Sashimi and the Field Trip of Doom — Dan Santat
Graphic Novel / Fiction https://link.amazon/B0andwrBO
Sashimi is back—and this time there’s a field trip, an unsigned permission slip, the wrong bus, and one missing fishboy.
This second installment was released September 15, 2026, making it an especially timely addition to a Dan Santat birthday display this October.
Possible library uses: Humor, graphic novels, reluctant readers, series reading
Sidekicks — Dan Santat
Graphic Novel / Fiction https://link.amazon/B0hUxVzBD
When superhero Captain Amazing decides he needs a sidekick, his pets decide they’re ready for the job. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones interested in the position.
Superheroes, pets, action, friendship, and humor make this a particularly approachable Santat title for graphic-novel fans.
Possible library uses: Superheroes, teamwork, friendship, graphic-novel conventions
Ricky Ricotta’s Mighty Robot series — Dav Pilkey, illustrated by Dan Santat
Fiction / Illustrated Chapter Books https://link.amazon/B042H6CgP
Dav Pilkey’s mouse-and-robot adventures were reillustrated by Santat for later editions. These fast-moving books combine superheroes, science-fiction silliness, and accessible text.
Possible library uses: Beginning chapter-book readers, reluctant readers, author-versus-illustrator discussions
Middle School
The Aquanaut — Dan Santat
Graphic Novel / Fiction https://link.amazon/B08qOouOp
Sophia is struggling after the loss of her father at sea when an unusual aquanaut arrives at Aqualand, the marine theme park her father and uncle created. Inside the diving suit, however, is a secret she never expected.
The adventure combines family, grief, friendship, science, sea creatures, and plenty of Santat’s visual storytelling.
Possible library uses: Family relationships, grief and loss, ocean themes, graphic novels, STEM connections
A First Time for Everything — Dan Santat
Graphic Memoir / Nonfiction https://link.amazon/B0iv1zTuL
In this National Book Award-winning graphic memoir, Santat looks back at his awkward middle-school years and a class trip to Europe that changed how he saw himself.
It’s a particularly valuable addition to an author study because students get to meet Dan himself, not one of his fictional characters. Macmillan recommends the book for ages 10–14.
Possible library uses: Memoir, autobiography, travel, coming of age, bullying, self-confidence, personal narrative
The Misfits: A Royal Conundrum — Lisa Yee, illustrated by Dan Santat
Fiction https://link.amazon/B09D8Jfhz
Five unusual students attend a school that is secretly training them to become crime-fighting agents. Lisa Yee writes the series, and Santat illustrates it.
Possible library uses: Mystery, teamwork, gifted students, illustrated novels, comparing an author’s and illustrator’s roles
High School
Dan Santat is an interesting case for a K–12 author list because his primary audience is children and middle-grade readers, not YA readers. I wouldn’t pad the high-school section with books that aren’t genuinely appropriate just to make every category equal.
Instead, I’d recommend two of his books for specific high-school uses.
A First Time for Everything
Older students studying graphic memoirs, visual storytelling, or personal narrative can absolutely use this title, even though its primary audience is middle grade. Santat’s reflections on his younger self also provide useful material for discussions about memoir: How does an adult reconstruct and interpret experiences from adolescence?
Drawn Together
Picture books aren’t only for young children. In a high-school art, English, world languages or visual-literacy lesson, Drawn Together can be examined for the way pictures communicate ideas when characters don’t share a spoken language.
Possible high-school uses: Visual literacy, graphic design, illustration, memoir writing, communication, cultural identity, author/illustrator studies
More Dan Santat Books to Explore
Santat’s bibliography is much larger than one school-library book list can reasonably cover. TeachingBooks currently catalogs more than 80 books associated with Santat, including books he authored and books he illustrated.
Other titles you may want to look for include:
- Endlessly Ever After by Laurel Snyder
- No More Poems! by Rhett Miller
- The Alphabet’s Alphabet by Chris Harris
- A New Day by Brad Meltzer
- Crankenstein by Samantha Berger
- The Little Engine That Could — 90th anniversary edition
- Don’t Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson
- The Day the Books Disappeared by Joanna Ho and Caroline Kusin Pritchard
- All the Hulk Feels
- Roar-Choo!
Explore Dan Santat books and teaching resources at TeachingBooks
Celebrating Dan Santat in the Library
One advantage of featuring Dan Santat is that an author study can easily become an author-and-illustrator study.
Younger students can meet an imaginary friend in Beekle, help solve The Cookie Fiasco, or discover how art brings a grandfather and grandson together in Drawn Together. Elementary readers can meet Santat’s brand-new fishboy, Sashimi. Middle-school students can dive into The Aquanaut before meeting the real Dan Santat through A First Time for Everything.
Along the way, students can ask an important question: What does an illustrator add to a story that words alone can’t provide?
Put several Santat books side by side, and students will have plenty of opportunities to find out.
Whether you’re celebrating his October 2 birthday, creating an author display, planning an illustrator study, or simply looking for books that students will enjoy, Dan Santat offers something especially valuable to a K–12 library: a body of work that invites students to read both the words and the pictures.
I have not read all of these books. Please preview them for yourself before adding them to your school library.
Read more Bibliography and Book List posts.
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