The Book

Author: Adam Rubin

Writing was simply something Adam Rubin did in his free time. He got his start with picture books, but going into children's literature was not something he thought he would do. Even as an adult, Rubin says he always enjoyed reading books meant for kids. His goal with his writing "was to encourage young readers to express their own creativity."

Illustrator: Daniel Salmiere

Daniel Salmieri grew up drawing. He is an artist, illustrator and author. He knew he wanted to illustrate picture books, and has illustrated many over the years.

Fun Fact: After settling on the sketches for the Dragons, Salmieri gave a black and white copy of the dragons to friends (one dragon for each friend) and asked them what color it should be!

The Partnership and Inspiration for "Dragons Love Tacos"

Rubin and Salmiere were connected through a mutual friends, and got their start as partners with their "Those Darn Squirrels" trilogy. They have worked on nine titles together, including "Dragons Love Tacos" and its sequel, "Dragons Love Tacos 2: The Sequel."

The inspiration for "Dragons Love Tacos" stemmed from a memory of Rubin's about a figurine his father kept on his desk. A dragon, eating a taco. He firgured, with the fire breathing, Dragons wouldn't much like spicy salsa. He pitched it to Salmieri and the rest is history.

"Dragons Love Tacos" is the longest-running picture book on the New York Times bestseller list.

Cultural Significance

In an interview with Betsy Bird for the "School Library Journal" regarding the 10th anniversary of Dragons Love Tacos, Rubin shares some of his thoughts on why the book became so popular.

For starters, Dragons were all the rage in 2012. Once the excitement of Game of Thrones subsided, Rubin thought that the popularity of the book was due to how much people like tacos. However, after the pandemic, Rubin started to believe that it was the love that was drawing people to the book.

While there are many children's books about all types of love, Dragons Love Tacos teaches the unintended consequences of love. "That sometimes, despite our best intentions, the house burns down." Rubin continuously credits the success of the book to its ability to make people laugh. It's not just fun for the kids. It's fun for the parents and the babysitter and the teacher. It's a simple story whose motive is to entertain, and reminds us that even when the house gets burned down, it we can keep our sense of humor and work together, love can win at the end of the day.

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