Christmas might be two long months away, but two New West authors can’t wait to get people in the spirit of the holiday season.
Steven Kothlow and his partner Bryce Raffle launched their new children's book, The Littlest Dinosaur’s First Christmas, in September; and are gearing up to go on a mini book tour around the Lower Mainland, with a visit to New West’s Kinder Books on Nov. 19.
The book is the fourth in The Littlest Dinosaur series that launched in the midst of the COVID-19 lock-down in 2020.
The littlest dinosaur (“he doesn’t have a name”) has come a long way from being just an egg in the first book, to making a friend with a Tyrannosaurus, Ty, and finding a home and a family.
Now, in the fourth and most recent book, the littlest dinosaur is very excited for Christmas, said Kothlow.
“It’s the littlest dino’s first time seeing snow and learning about Christmas; and he thinks that he and (his friend) Ty are both going to get lots of presents, and all the presents are for themselves.”
But how does the little one take in the news that Ty’s mother, Mama Tyrannosaur, has planned to donate many of the presents that he thought were for him, to children and families in need?
In the illustrations-heavy story, the littlest dinosaur goes on to understand that there is something more precious than a gift with a bow — ”’Are you sad that we gave away all those presents?' mama Tyrannosaur asks him; and he says, ‘No, because we have the greatest gift of all, which is family’,” Kothlow read out from the book.
A book about inclusion and respect
By writing a story about a little dino who makes friends with a Tyrannosaurus whom everyone thinks is scary; and gets adopted into a family with a single parent, Kothlow and Raffle know that they have dealt with big topics such as adoption, single parenting, inclusion, and the importance of seeing everyone without judgment.
“Inclusion is a very important thing for the both of us, especially nowadays, when there's so much going on in the world, and not everyone feels like they have a voice. But, we all do have a voice," said Kothlow.
"And we all have the ability to speak up and talk about subjects that are uncomfortable to talk about. And that's just a part of life,” he added.
“And if you are putting that in books, or even talking about it, in general, then it is a good way of bringing us closer together — we might look different, but really, we're all pretty much the same. We're all humans, and we all have emotions, and feel feelings. But in the end, we're all one really.”
Kothlow and Raffle, who are part of the LGBT+ community, always wanted to write a children’s book, but what brought the real push is the desire to be “the best role models” for their nieces and nephews.
And it just happened that their oldest niece and nephew were fascinated by dinosaurs, just as Kothlow and Raffle were as kids, and still are. “I still find it very fascinating that they used to walk this earth a long time ago,” said Kothlow.
And just as an idea of using the prehistoric animal as the protagonist was brewing, they had another nephew born around that time. “So he was also a bit of inspiration as well [for starting the book with a dino baby as the star].”
In two years, the author duo has already come out with four books in the series, including a full-blown website with downloadable recipes of hummus (Ty’s favourite dish) and Mama Tyrannosaurus' vegan waffles.
What’s next for the smol dino? Will the littlest one ever grow up?
“I don't know. Maybe he does grow up or maybe he stays a kid forever.”
Meet Raffle and Kothlow at the book-signing event at Kinder Books, 810 Quayside Dr., on Saturday, Nov. 19, 12 to 3 p.m.
