Jason Chin (born 1978) is an American picture-book author and illustrator. He grew up in New Hampshire, studied art at Syracuse University, and began his illustration career while working at a children’s bookstore in New York City. His books frequently explore science and nature through visual storytelling. Introducing the ecology of towering trees, “Redwoods,” published in Japanese as “Sekoia: Sekai de Ichiban Takai Ki no Hanashi,” follows a boy who finds a book on the subway and seemingly steps from the city into a redwood forest. Scientific explanations accompany his imaginative journey, revealing the trees’ scale, longevity, and relationships with other forest life. Portraying a Chinese American girl’s encounter with her family’s history, “Watercress,” written by Andrea Wang, features Chin’s illustrations. Initially embarrassed when her parents gather watercress beside the road, the girl gains a different understanding after learning about her mother’s childhood experience of famine in China. Chin combines watercolor with approaches informed by Chinese painting to connect present-day family life with inherited memories. His illustrations won the 2022 Caldecott Medal. Across nonfiction and narrative picture books, he brings close observation together with a child’s perspective, making both natural processes and family experiences visible through images.
