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Welcome to my official website. I create picture books for
kids of all ages.
I love to write and illustrate my own stories.
I also enjoy illustrating books by other authors, which
takes my imagination on exciting adventures!
I was born in South Korea. At the age of 8, I moved to Hawaii when my sister and I were adopted by the Soentpiet family. Much later, when I was doing research for my book Peacebound Trains, I had the opportunity
to visit my Korean brother and sisters for the first time since
I was adopted. It was a happy reunion. (I plan to write about my adoption experience sometime in the future.) You can read more about my background
in articles in the NY
Daily News , Wikipedia Encyclopedia, and the New York
Newsday. |
I studied Fine Arts and Education at Pratt Institute in New York
City. There I met two very special friends, Ted and Betsy Lewin, who encouraged
me to pursue my passion for painting by illustrating children's books.
I took
my portfolio, along with some original paintings, around New York
City. The first ten publishers I saw did not want to
take a chance on me, since I had never published a book. After
all these rejections, I felt almost discouraged, but then I had a chance meeting with HarperCollins
Publishers. HarperCollins gave me an opportunity to illustrate and write
my first children's picture book, Around Town. |
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books I create reflect my interest in people, history, and culture.
Teachers around the world use my books in their classrooms, so it's
important that I take the time to do a lot of research, especially if
it's a historical story. I spend weeks in the library, and I also
go to the actual location where the story's events happened so I can sketch
and take pictures.
A book can take me a year or more to finish. |
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In my books that are set in earlier times, I must make sure
that what I paint is historically accurate. For example, on the cover
of my book, More Than Anything Else, Booker
T. Washington is wearing a hat from the 1850s. In order for me to
paint that hat, I went to the library to look for books
on fashion that included the years when Washington was alive. I researched
not only the hat but also the clothes people wore at that time. Every article
of clothing and their colors are carefully thought out before I start painting. |
| Sometimes my research surprises people. In Molly Bannaky, I painted a Holstein cow in one scene. When the artwork for this book was finished, a critic
did not believe there were any Holstein cows in America during the 17th century, although there were Holsteins in England at that time. I
immediately contacted the Holstein Cow Association and asked them to write a letter to prove that there were Holsteins in America during that historical time. |
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Cultural accuracy is also important. In Peacebound
Trains, which centers on a Korean family, I had to make sure
I painted the characters in Korean attire. I wouldn't paint the Korean characters wearing the Chinese cheongsam, the Japanese kimono or the Indian sari. Though Asian communities share similar values and physical
features, each group has its own unique culture that is different from the others. |
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After my research is complete, I ask models
to play the parts of the main characters. This allows me
to achieve a realistic and consistent look from page to page. Using the results of my research, I make the costumes and fix each model's hair
and makeup. A good example can be seen in my book, Coolies which won the Parents' Choice Gold Award. I take
photographs of the models to use as tools to help me during the painting
process. This method of painting is very similar to that of my idol,
Norman Rockwell.
Whatever kind of book I illustrate, I get to know the characters very well. I feel as though they have become my friends, and I'm always a little sorry to leave them when I finish the illustrations. But I know I will soon meet other fascinating characters who will become new friends as I work on my next book.
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All
Chris Soentpiet's books are available through bookstores.
However if you would like an autographed copy, please visit Soentpiet's 
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Chris Soentpiet's web site is updated frequently. So visit again
for new releases and updates. If you would like to share your
comments with Chris, please sign the guest book below. Thanks for stopping by! |
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