Jack

Wong

Award Winning Children’s Author

Illustrator of Children’s Books

Travels from: Halifax, NS

“The WORDS WE SHARE is exactly the type of book I wish existed when I was a kid.” — Bao Phi, author of the Caldecott Honor and Zolotow Award-winning A Different Pond

Jack Wong (黃雋喬) is the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning author/illustrator of WHEN YOU CAN SWIM (Scholastic) as well as the picture books THE WORDS WE SHARE (Annick Press, Fall 2023), and ALL THAT GROWS (Groundwood Books, Spring 2024) and The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma & His Gifts to the World (Spring 2025).

Jack was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver. In 2010, he left behind a life as a bridge engineer to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts at NSCAD University (Kjipuktuk / Halifax, Canada). A self-declared actual Jack-of-all-trades, he has also tried his hand at bookkeeping, teaching art, managing a psychology research lab, and running his own bicycle repair shop, just to name a few—a real education for creating children’s books, if you ask him! The books that Jack writes and illustrates are indelibly marked by his hodgepodge journey—a perspective he seeks to share with young readers so that they may embrace the unique amalgams of experiences that make up their own lives.

Jack's Featured Titles

When You Can Swim: Reading, Drawing Activity (for young audiences)

In this presentation (best suited for young audiences Pre-K to Grade 2), I first introduce the inspiration behind my picture book, WHEN YOU CAN SWIM, in kid-friendly terms: “I didn’t always like swimming, and I’m still a little scared of the water. So how did I become someone who wrote a book about it?” I then read the book, and finally, I give a drawing demo: a trick for drawing things floating in water! Depending on the group, audiences can follow along during the demo, or try out the trick for themselves—when done as a group drawing on a large sheet of paper, this creates the effect of a big lake with all manner of characters and objects floating together.

The Words We Share: Reading, Writing Activity (for elementary grade audiences)

In this presentation (envisioned for students in Grades 2-4), I first introduce and read my school-aged picture book THE WORDS WE SHARE, then lead participants in a prompted follow-along writing activity: take something that’s mundane, make it the extreme version of that thing, make it go wrong, and come up with a solution! Participants will see that this is the pattern my book also follows, and learn that they can use inspiration from real life to share their experiences and perspectives with others in an engaging way.

Writing/Illustrating Workshop (for adult writers)

In this presentation for aspiring writers and artists, I share stories from the writing and illustrating of my various picture books — with each anecdote illustrating a hard lesson learned that now informs a principle I hold about the creative process.

"How Basketball Made Me a Better Artist" (for creatives, high school-aged and up)

No interest or experience in basketball necessary! In this deceptively oddball but analytical and engaging narrative talk, my interest in basketball is used as an example to introduce and illustrate my notion that the best way to learn an artistic skill is to learn something else at the same time.

“Jack Wong was such an amazing speaker (not to mention author and illustrator). As a school who values introverts, he did such a good job showing that introverts can do big things in a quiet way. The world needs more gentle, intuitive speakers and authors for today’s children. We would have him back in a heartbeat. All the kids connected with him and loved his book!” — Heather Maxwell (Library Director, Trinity School), 2023

“Jack had an easy way with students and kept them engaged by sharing pieces of his life as a child and by helping students relate to his personal stories and struggles—thus developing a connection with the students. The added bonus of showing students how to draw characters was a huge hit.” — David O’Connell (Head of School, The Saklan School), 2023

“Our students loved spending time with Jack! His storytelling is so authentic and our students particularly enjoyed drawing with him, too! We all learned that we could draw anything if we just put it in water!” — Annette Sodergren (Library Media Assistant, Walnut Grove Elementary School), 2023

“Jack had a short and strong presentation, and his ease with the kids was great. And of course, his book is a stand out. All around it was a wonderful visit.” — Joe Corbett (Librarian, New City School), 2023

“Our schools loved Jack’s visit. He did such a great job interacting with the kids.” — Jenny Chou (School Event Coordinator, Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee), 2023

“The schools were especially appreciative of the interactive portion of Jack’s visit.” — Lorie Barber (Education Director, Anderson’s Bookshop, Chicago), 2023

“Beautifully captures a tale of community solidarity and the unifying power of language. This heartwarming story highlights the collaborative efforts of an immigrant family striving for success…. VERDICT: A must-buy for every library.” — Review of THE WORDS WE SHARE from School Library Journal

“The hopeful ending provides quiet reassurance to curious beginners daunted by the unknown. Wong’s impressive command of color, light, and shadow in his textured pastel illustrations makes each scene thrum with life. Readers can almost feel the sunlight on their skin and hear the busy sounds of a fertile springtime garden. The protagonist’s thoughtful musings are bound to spark further curiosity in readers as they examine their own observations and ideas about the natural world.” — Starred review of ALL THAT GROWS from Kirkus Reviews

“Dreamy, earth-toned pastel drawings and quiet, spare text are used to great effect in this lovely book about a boy’s curiosity and wonder about the natural world. […] A thought-provoking book about the joys of the natural world, with a sprinkling of kid-friendly philosophy; this gentle book could be slipped into the gardening shelves or left out for browsers as curious as the main characters.” — Starred review of ALL THAT GROWS from School Library Journal

“In visually inventive, lovingly finished pastel-and-watercolor spreads and sinuous lines of prose-poetry, debut author-illustrator Wong showcases myriad children encountering the joys of swimming…. Such belonging is precisely the triumph that the story envisions, offering swimming’s freedoms widely, and imagining the way that swimming can lend a feeling of autonomy and connection.” — Starred review of WHEN YOU CAN SWIM from Publisher’s Weekly

“Each frame immediately immerses readers in the sights, sounds, and sensations of summer. Swimmers who are diverse in terms of body type, age, skin tone, and ability can be seen enjoying the natural world…. The title is bound to inspire all swimmers to embrace nature, no matter where they are on their journey.” — Starred review of WHEN YOU CAN SWIM from Kirkus Reviews

“Text and illustrations merge seamlessly to illuminate the ways in which swimming animates all the senses, and Wong writes with beguiling lyricism and figurative language.” — Starred review of WHEN YOU CAN SWIM from BookPage

“With poetic text and gorgeous, inclusive illustrations, Wong invites readers to learn how to swim — to conquer fear of the water, and also to reclaim aquatic spaces for Brown, Black, and differently abled bodies…. This isn’t just a book about swimming but also ‘about our ideas of the world’; it’s a manifesto that ‘this belongs to you, too.’” — Starred review of WHEN YOU CAN SWIM from The Horn Book Magazine

When You Can Swim Draw Along Link

The Words We Share Educator Guide Link

Jack’s Sketchbook Link

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Ezra Jack Keats Award (Finalist), 2024
Atlantic Book Award, 2024
Governor General’s Literary Award in Canada, 2023
Blue Spruce Award (Finalist), 2023
Horn Book Award in Picture Books, 2023
USA Today Bestseller, 2023
Best Books of 2023 for WHEN YOU CAN SWIM from: New York Public Library, Seattle Public Library, American Library Association (ALA), National Council of Teachers of English, Center for Equitable Library Access (CELA), Canadian Children’s Book Centre, Smithsonian Magazine, The Globe and Mail, CBC
Best Books of 2023 for THE WORDS WE SHARE from: Cooperative Children’s Book Center (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Bank Street College of Education
30 Canadian Writers to Watch in 2023, CBC Books
Editors’ Best Book Pick, Amazon
Book of the Month, FOLD Kids (Festival of Literary Diversity)
11 starred reviews from:
Publishers Weekly,
Kirkus Reviews,
BookPage,
The Horn Book,
Quill & Quire,
School Library Journal,
Youth Services Book Review,
Shelf Awareness