So, Leslie Calimeri decided more than a year ago to commit her words to the written page, and the author and illustrator finished, One Day with Dinosaurs. Her debut book is loosely based on her son’s experiences.

Calimeri’s son was obsessed with dinosaurs. He learned difficult names, played games while traveling in a car on family outings, and had his share of dinosaur costumes.

“He was completely absorbed in them,” Calimeri said of her son’s interest in dinosaurs.

One Day with Dinosaurs, Calimeri said, introduces readers to Sam, a boy whose love for dinosaurs leaps off the page –literally. On a rainy day, Sam finds himself transported into the pages of a new dinosaur book, landing in the middle of a gentle apatosaurus family.

The cover of On Day With Dinosaurs by Leslie Calimeri.

“With vibrant illustrations and a story full of adventure, young readers will follow Sam as he explores a Jurassic world with new friends,” she said.

Calimeri added that she had most of the illustrations completed while she was writing.

“So as I was completing the illustrations, it allowed me to go back through and do some editing, so everything merged and worked together,” Calimeri said. “The story changed a little bit based on how I wanted to do the illustration.”

A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s in commercial art, Calimeri worked in marketing and design before serving as Digital Communications Manager at Chautauqua Institution. In 2018, she opened Chautauqua Art Gallery, 318 N. Main St., which showcases regional and international artists, offers custom framing, and hosts community art events.

She is very interested in art history, and said one of her real world influences is watercolor artist Eugene Smith. In her younger years, Calimeri said, she worked in his art gallery, located in Virginia.

Leslie Calimeri

“I’d say he has a lot of direct influence on what I like to do,” Calimeri added.

Her advice to people who want to get into illustrating and writing is to ask questions – a lot of them.

“And you just keep asking,” she said. “Find people who’ve done it, and ask some questions if somehow they did it. And usually people are really, really kind and helpful, and glad to tell you, and give you advice on how they got started. Just through that process.”

Her book is available at amazon.com, lesliecalimeri.com, and at Chautauqua Art Gallery. For more information, email her at leslie@chautauquaartgallery.com.