Juhong Chen

Juhong Chen (b. 1941) is an illustrator whose work exemplifies the movement towards multiculturalism in childrens’ literature. Growing up, he rejected formal artistic training in the style mandated by the Chinese Communist Party and instead cultivated a unique and versatile visual language through independent study and exploration. Chen’s art is also informed by his childhood in the Shanghai French Concession, where daily life was a blend of Chinese tradition and European lifestyle. “It was normal to me, but may not [be] so for people outside of this colonial bubble. So it’s reflected in my way of thinking and in the art works I created rather naturally” (Juhong Chen, 2024). 

Chen began his career as a children’s book illustrator after moving to the United States in 1981. The combination of his cultural and artistic backgrounds led to a diverse body of works that do not sensationalize or “other” different cultures for his U.S. American audience. Instead, he cultivates his visual approach to reflect the themes of each story.

His first book, The Magic Leaf (1987), combines three Chinese folktales about foolishness. He evokes Chinese landscape and architecture in bright, whimsical scenes that feel familiar and real. 

Chen’s use of color is always rich and playful; it’s no wonder that he describes the coloring process as “the fun part” of illustrating. While the techniques and mediums change from book to book, his affinity for bold colors remains constant. 

Chen’s brilliant and rainbow-hued renderings of the desert in Tiddalick the Frog, by Susan Nunes, (1989) subvert the often dry and monochromatic representations of arid landscapes. He captures the vibrant actuality of these desert ecosystems and the Aboriginal creation story that inspired this book. 

A Song of Stars, Tom Birdseye’s retelling of a traditional Chinese tale, (1990) is told through fantastical, dreamlike illustrations. Chen creates colorful patterns that veer into abstraction with overlapping forms and distinct silhouette shapes. The style adopted for this book reflects the ethereal nature of the tale, which is a love story that takes place across the Milky Way. 

Rosalind C. Wang’s The Fourth Question (1991) is a Chinese tale that returns to the earthly realm, and the illustrations follow suit. A young man embarks on a quest to meet the Wise Man of the Kunlun Mountains. He wants to know why, despite his hard work, he remains in poverty. On the way, he befriends a woman, a man, and a dragon who each have questions of their own—but the Wise Man will only answer questions in odd numbers. In an act of selfishness, the young man gives up his question to get his friends’ answers. Like in The Magic Leaf, Chen’s scenes of Chinese landscape and community feel warm, vibrant, and lived-in. The style retains a certain geometric flair with striking, squarish forms outlined in black.

His illustrations for The Jade Stone, by Caryn Yacowitz, (1992) were done on homemade rice paper. A more cartoonish and expressive style centers the characters at the heart of the story. 

Chen’s exploration of medium, finally, extends into born-digital works. In Eliza’s Cherry Trees: Japan’s Gift to America (2011), written by Andrea G. Zimmerman, Chen illustrates the importance of working towards cross-cultural understanding and interaction. While he dips into realism to accompany the biographical nature of this book, there is still a distinct care and playfulness that ties the visual narrative together without othering Japan. 

As the gateway to reading both words and images, children’s literature is integral to building the skill of visual analysis. Visual media is a huge part of what shapes how we perceive and interact with the world, and picture books often provide a first exposure to concepts beyond what children experience in their day-to-day life. Chen’s concern with cultivating a unique visual identity rather than leaning on common signifiers and stereotype is what makes him so successful as a multicultural illustrator. Introductory media should project imagery that reflects the diversity and nuance of our world’s social landscape, and expanding the scope of cultural familiarity by engaging with multicultural artists like Juhong Chen is what helps to combat prejudice in each burgeoning generation. 

This essay was written by Francesca Dawn, Mount Holyoke Class of 2025, who was a Community-Based Learning student in the Collections Department from 2023–2025.