Chris Soentpiet

Chris K. Soentpiet (born January 3, 1970, in Seoul) is a Korean American children's book illustrator and author. He was born in Seoul, South Korea, in 1970. At age 8, he moved to Hawaii to live with his adoptive family. A year later, the Soentpiets relocated to Portland, Oregon. Soentpiet currently lives and works in New York City.

Around Town, a picture book written and illustrated by Soentpiet, marked the artist's debut in 1994. Today, Soentpiet is recognized as an award-winning illustrator in the children's book industry. His books have received numerous honors, including, but not limited to, the International Reading Association Teachers' Choice Award, NAACP Image Award, Parents' Choice Gold Award, Parents Magazine Best Children's Book of the Year, North Carolina Children's Book Award, Georgia Children's Picture Book Award, International Reading Association Notable Children's Book for a Global Society, and ALA Notable Book. Soentpiet is active on the school visit circuit.

Soentpiet's research for the picture chapter book Peacebound Trains (author: Haemi Balgassi) took him back to his country of birth, South Korea, for the first time since his adoption in 1978. In 1996, Soentpiet won the Society of Illustrators Gold Medal for his paintings in Peacebound Trains. The United States Department of Defense published an online edition of the book and featured it, complete with a Teacher Activity Guide, on the United States of America Korean War Commemoration site. Peacebound Trains is the only book to receive this honor.

On his official website and a number of interviews, the artist credits Ted Lewin and Betsy Lewin for encouraging him to pursue a career as a children's book illustrator.

Awards and honors
Three of the books Soentpiet illustrated are Junior Library Guild selections: So Far from the Sea (1998), Coolies (2001), and Brothers (2007). The Association for Library Service to Children has named three of the books Soentpiet illustrated as Notable Children's Books: More Than Anything Else (1996), Molly Bannaky (2000), and Coolies (2002). In 1995, the Smithsonian named The Last Dragon by Susan Miho Nunes among the year's Notable Books for Children.

Soentpiet's books have also received the following accolades:

• 1995, 1996: American Bookseller Pick of the List

• 1995, 1997: Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies

• 1996: Black History Top 25 Pick for Youth

• 1996: Chicago Tribune Top 10 Children Books

• 1996, 2000, 2004: The International Reading Award Teachers' Choice Award

• 1996, 1997: American Bookseller Pick of the List

• 1998: International Reading Award Notable Book for a Global Society

• 1998: NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in Field of Social Studies

• 1998: Parents Best Children's Book of the Year

• 2000: Texas Bluebonnet Award-Nominee

• 2001: Maryland Children's Book Award-Nominee

• 2001: Nest Literary Classics

• 2003: Child Best Book of the Year

• 2004: Children's Book Sense 76 Pick

• 2005: Kansas State Reading Circle

• 2006-2007: Master Reading List, Volunteer State Book Award

• NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

• San Francisco Chronicles Best Book List

• Peggy Sharp, Ed.D Pick 2000

• North Carolina Children's Book Award

• New York Public Library Top 100 Titles

Media

 * Newsday: "From Dark to Light: An artist paints a new life through his books"
 * New York Daily News: "Children's Book Artist is a Medal Winner"
 * Korean Quarterly: "Evoking History with Art"