Bernardosaurus says:

I have to thank our son Glenn for giving me the inspiration for my first published book.  I was a graphic artist in advertising, but I also had a growing love of children's books.  Many of my favorite author/illustrators like Leo Lionni, Dr. Seuss, and Bernard Waber, among others, had a connection to advertising.

I came very close to getting my work published, and my dream was to have a book published while our sons Glenn and Eric were still young.  Reading books to them inspired me even more.

When Glenn was in the second grade, he came home with a little piece of paper he had written in school.  He made three funny wishes.  Among them, he wished the dinosaurs would come back to life.

I remember coming home from work with lots of ideas for children's books floating around in my mind.  I saw Glenn's paper and I immediately started imagining what it would be like if the dinosaurs came back.  The little boy in the book is my son Glenn, and I dedicated it "for Eric, and especially for Glenn who wished the dinosaurs would come back."

On school visits I love sharing my original rough dummy along with changes my publisher asked me to make before they would publish it.  (Two publishers had already rejected it, and I sometimes share my rejection letters also).  My favorite theme is persistence, and I talk about how I'm glad I didn't give up.

There are so many different versions that have been published including a big book, a mini-book, Japanese, Chinese, French and Spanish language editions, along with many book club editions.  It is very gratifying when I see the projects schools do based on If the Dinosaurs Came Back.