Cover Reveal: ROAR-CHOO! Written by Charlotte Cheng & Illustrated by Dan Santat
ROAR-CHOO! Cover Reveal
Bicultural Mama is honored to do the cover reveal of the picture book ROAR-CHOO! written by Charlotte Cheng and illustrated by Dan Santat. Published by Rocky Pond Books, ROAR-CHOO! (ages 4-8 years) will be on sale April 9, 2024, and is available for pre-order. ROAR-CHOO! highlights Asian culture inspired by the traditional symbolism of the Dragon and Phoenix. Here’s the official description of the book:
Patient, peaceful Phoenix tries to take care of rambunctious and cold-ridden Dragon which leads to hilarious and sweet results (with vibrant illustrations by the Caldecott Medal-winning creator of Beekle).
Everyone knows that dragons are fierce, capable of taking on the world! But this dragon can’t stop sneezing long enough to get a roar out. Even with friendly Phoenix insisting that Dragon get some rest, this powerful creature refuses to stop for any orange ginger tea or a drop of bone broth soup.
It’s only when Dragon realizes Phoenix has caught the same cold that they are both able to take the break they so badly need. This tale of helping your friends and valuing differences is a sure thing for storytime.
Author Charlotte Cheng graciously provided Bicultural Mama with behind-the-scenes insight into how the book came to be. Read on to find out more!
Interview with Author Charlotte Cheng
Bicultural Mama (BM): What inspired you to write ROAR-CHOO? Why did you decide to make your main characters a dragon and a phoenix?
Charlotte Cheng (CC):
As a kid, I grew up going to Chinese restaurants in LA. At one of these restaurants, I remember seeing a golden Dragon and Phoenix mural that took up an entire wall. It looked like they were flying and dancing together. I asked my parents about it, and they explained to me the mythical relationship between Dragon and Phoenix. Dragon is usually masculine and known to be strong and courageous. Phoenix is usually feminine and known to be graceful and generous. Their differences and strengths complement each other.
Many years later, my entire family, unfortunately, caught Covid at the same time. As we all tried to manage our symptoms, I noticed how differently my husband and I recovered from Covid. I, in fact, was a lot like Dragon. I had deadlines to meet and things to do, but the more I rushed trying to get back to normal, the more I would relapse and get worse. My husband, on the other hand, took it more gracefully and helped me to slow down. In the end, we had to lean on each other’s strengths to get our family through Covid.
I then imagined the destruction a Dragon could cause with a cold and how a friendship with Phoenix could help repair the damage.
BM: What were your thoughts when you first saw the cover?
CC: I have admired Dan Santat’s work for years. In fact, I took illustration classes and workshops from him over a decade ago! I knew Dan was going to create an amazing cover and he exceeded my expectations. The cover is full of movement, and you can immediately see the dynamic between Dragon and Phoenix. I also loved how Dan designed our names in the style of Chinese seals. Such a great touch!
BM: What was the process like working with the publishing team?
CC: Dan Santat is a Caldecott medalist and a world-renowned author/illustrator. He is always busy and often juggling so many different projects (including ones with well-known celebrities). I was grateful and shocked that he wanted to take on illustrating Roar-Choo!
In the manuscript, I added art notes for the illustrator about how Dragon and Phoenix would interact. I tried to leave them as general as possible so that the illustrator could make artistic choices. Dan ran with those notes and said he immediately knew exactly how he wanted to illustrate the book the moment he read the manuscript!
As for the revision process, Dan would send sketches and illustrations to the publishing team. I’d then work with the publishing team to share my notes, many of which were really minor around text placement, etc. Dan also posted a lot of his work in progress on social media. It was so fun to see sneak peeks as he worked on different spreads before seeing all of it finished together. Dan and I both live in California. We’ve seen each other at a few book events so I’m hoping we’ll be able to do some events together for ROAR-CHOO! We’ll see how the schedule shakes out (fingers crossed!).
BM: What did you and your publishing team love the most about the illustrations?
CC: Each spread in ROAR-CHOO! is so dynamic. It feels like Dragon and Phoenix are about to burst from the page. I want to frame each one! Dan used so many different layouts and perspectives in the images that the book feels cinematic. In fact, Dan even tried out a new style of background textures that I’ve never seen in his previous work, so I love how he continues to innovate with each project that he takes on.
More importantly, we all loved how Dan managed to capture the complex relationship between Dragon and Phoenix. Even the color choices reflect this. Dragon is green and Phoenix is red. Red and green are complementary colors – which mirrors how the personalities of Dragon and Phoenix complement each other!
BM: Do you have any books or projects coming up?
CC: I actually have three books coming out in 2024! ROAR-CHOO! will be available in April 2024. In May 2024, A NAME FOR SISTER, illustrated by Sophie Diao, will be published by HarperCollins. It’s a magical new sister story inspired by a centuries-old naming tradition from China. I MISS YOU MOST, illustrated by Xindi Yan, will come out in the Fall of 2024 and explores how a girl processes the loss of her grandfather. In 2025, Rocky Pond Books will be coming out with two more books: AMA’S PURSE (2025) illustrated by Xindi Yan and ICY FRUIT (2025) illustrated by Vivian Mineker. To stay updated about these books, you can sign up for my newsletter (sign up is located at the bottom of the home page on charlotte.art) or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), and LinkedIn.
BM: Anything else you’d like to add?
CC: Thank you for the opportunity to share the story of ROAR-CHOO! It’s going to be a great read-aloud for kids. More importantly, it will be a wonderful conversation starter about friendship and self-care.
Where to Purchase ROAR-CHOO!
ROAR-CHOO! releases on April 9, 2024, and is available for pre-order now. Purchase a book on Amazon (Hardcover or Kindle), Barnes & Noble, Book A Million, Bookshop.org, Hudson Booksellers, Powell’s, Target, Walmart, and your local bookstore.
About the Author – Charlotte Cheng
Charlotte Cheng has written and illustrated a variety of books including Night Market Rescue, Roar-Choo! (April 2024), A Name for Sister (May 2024), I Miss You Most (Fall 2024), and BoBo Loves Dumplings. With over 20 years of EdTech experience, Charlotte has also written and published K-12 curriculum for a variety of companies including CodeCombat, Disney, and Wonder Workshop. She hosts the EdTech Adventures podcast which explores the role of technology, STEM, and creative play in education. You can learn more about Charlotte’s work at: www.charlotte.art.
About the Illustrator – Dan Santat
Dan Santat is the author and/or illustrator of more than one hundred titles, including the Caldecott Medal winner The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend. He graduated with honors from the Art Center College of Design and is the creator of the Disney animated hit The Replacements. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets. Find him at dansantat.tumblr.com.
