Don't Ask a Dinosaur

As a New Hampshire and Vermont radio broadcaster, Matt Forrest Esenwine spent a good part of his time writing and producing commercials and comedy bits. He also wrote poetry, which was published in various national journals and anthologies including the Donald Hall tribute, “Except for Love” (Encircle, 2019). Little did Matt know all this short-form writing would lead to his debut picture book, “Flashlight Night” (Astra Young Readers, 2017), which received numerous positive reviews including a Kirkus star and was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the Best Books for Kids 2017. Encyclopedia Brittanica also featured it in their list of“11 Children’s Books That Inspire Imagination!” Other childern’s books fllowed, including “Don’t Ask a Dinosaur” (POW! Kids, 2018), co-authored with Deborah Bruss, “Once Upon Another Time” (Beaming Books, 2021), co-authored with Charles Ghigna, and “I Am Today” (POW! Kids Books, 2022), recipient of the 2023 NH State Literary Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. Meanwhile, Matt’s children’s poetry can be found in numerous anthologies like “The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry” (National Geographic Children’s Books, 2015), “Construction People” (Wordsong, 2019) and ‘Highlights for Children’ magazine. Feel free to connect with Matt at www.MattForrest.com.

Some children know what they want to be when they grow up. Not Deborah Bruss. Her passion for writing did not develop until after she had read thousands of pages out loud to her two boys. Once she discovered a love of writing for children, her career took off. She has written humorous, educational pieces for a newspaper on subjects ranging from a porcupine bent on revenge and some seasick children on a whale watch, an award winning picture book, and a board book too. For six years she also worked as a librarian at a small public elementary school, and is also collaborating on an historical fiction middle grade novel. In 1999, Deborah, her husband and two sons adopted two girls. All of her children have grown up. She now lives in Concord, NH, with her husband and rescued-dog.

Louie Chin was born in New York City. His comics and illustrations have appeared in a variety of publications and projects, including The New York Times, Boston Globe, and Nike. Louie is especially happy to illustrate this book, since he spent hours reading the dinosaur edition of Childcraft as a kid, being fascinated, yet scared learning about them. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.