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SLJ shares an exclusive sneak peek and cover reveal for Nathan Hale’s The mighty bitewhich comes out April 4, 2023. A Q&A with Hale covers the inspiration for this wacky new graphic novel series, his approach to making nonfiction fun for kids, and his experience as an artist for natural history museums.
Nathan Hale is #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator behind the Nathan Hale Dangerous Stories series, which brings US history to life with irreverent humor as well as graphic novels One trick pony and Apocalypse Taco. We’re pleased to share an exclusive sneak peek and cover reveal for the first book in Hale’s latest series, The mighty bitewhich comes out on April 4, 2023. But first, we talked to Hale about the inspiration for this wacky new graphic novel series, his approach to making nonfiction fun for kids, and his experience as an artist for natural history museums.
Andrew Eliopoulos: Your new graphic novel series that begins with The mighty bite, stars a pair of prehistoric creatures who want to become internet stars. Can you say SLJ readers, what drew you to this strange premise?
Nathan Hale: I visit many schools and talk to many young readers. I often ask kids what job they want to do when they grow up. Over the past decade, more and more, the answer has become “YouTuber!”
Before publishing, I worked at a natural history museum. My job was to illustrate scientifically accurate prehistoric specimens. I missed those strange sea creatures with shells and forgotten proboscis. Drawing dinosaurs and trilobites is a joy for me – even if the ones in my book aren’t exactly scientific.
AE: For readers who may not be familiar with the titular (trilo)bites, what makes these ancient marine arthropods special?
NH: Trilobites were everywhere. Trilobite fossils can be found on every continent. It is a small flat creature; they look kind of like a cockroach in a space suit. As a child I was given a trilobite fossil and played with it like an action figure. Plus, the word itself is fun to say. It sounds both ancient and futuristic.
AE: In your Dangerous Stories series, you use a humorous approach to tell real events from American history. Here you bring your distinctive style to natural history, with protagonists belonging to species that—at least in our world—are extinct. What do you hope young readers will take away from this combination of fact and entertainment?
NH: The research and fact-checking for the Dangerous Stories series is so rigorous and intense – it’s actually the hardest part of making these books. in The mighty bite, it’s all about banter and character jokes. There are a few facts here and there, but the comedy comes first. It’s very liberating to replace informative, well-researched panels with slapstick. This is for fun.
AE: Did your experience as a muralist for natural history exhibitions influence your approach to art for this new series?
NH: Here’s a funny anecdote about this job. We had scientists on staff on this job. On one of my first murals, an underwater scene, a scientist came in and watched me paint a fish. During the break, he stepped forward and pulled a comb from his pocket. He used the comb to start counting the rays on my fish’s dorsal fin. Do you know what rays are? I didn’t until this day. Rays are the small lines in the fin of a fish. The scientist said, “This specimen should have thirty-two rays to be exact.” I had drawn, I don’t know, ten rays. It was interesting work.
AE: Can you give us a hint of what’s to come for our characters in future volumes?
NH: When your protagonists are video creators, the sky’s the limit! Will they make funny videos, documentaries, horror movies? Anything is possible! And as a creative person who has done all sorts of odd jobs as an artist for hire, I can draw on my own experience for inspiration. And I’ll never run out of funny-looking prehistoric creatures to make fun of.
And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: here’s the cover The mighty bitewhich is released on April 4, 2023.
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