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Courtesy of Author's website.
Chris Cheng Chris Cheng i(A48816 works by) (a.k.a. Christopher Winston Cheng; Christopher W. Cheng)
Born: Established: 1959
c
Australia,
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;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Chinese
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BiographyHistory

Author of children's books.

Chris Cheng identifies as Australian-Chinese. After a childhood in Sydney, he trained as a teacher. He has taught at urban and rural schools in New South Wales, including three years in Bourke. But his favourite 'school', according to his website, was the Taronga Zoo Education Centre, where he worked for a number of years (teaching in the Education Centre and operating the Zoomobile, a mobile zoo) and from where he appeared in television shows with animals. He worked for a further few years at Dulwich Hill Public School as a kindergarten teacher, before leaving teaching.

After teaching, Cheng worked as National Children's Development Manager for a chain of Australian bookshops, and has travelled regularly to the United States to work at Purdue University with the BioScope Initiative, a multimedia project producing instructional science materials for students in the USA. He has been an international consultant for the Purdue University-based online journal First Opinions - Second Reactions, which examines children's and young adult literature.

Cheng holds a Master of Arts in Children's Literature and has been co-regional advisor (Australia and New Zealand) for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI); as of 2017, he is the co-chair of the International Advisory Board for SCBWI. Along with Jackie French, he is one of two ambassadors for the National Centre of Australian Children's Literature.

His work is often about the environment, ecosystems, and animals, or about Chinese-Australian history and culture. He was won wide-ranging awards, including Wilderness Society Environment Awards for non-fiction and picture books, an Aurealis Award, and the Lady Cutler Award for Distinguished Services to Children's Literature in New South Wales. As well as works individually indexed on AustLit, he has also published a wide range of non-fiction works about Australian fauna.

Exhibitions

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Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Wombat Newtown : Walker Books Australia , 2021 20983333 2021 single work picture book children's 'Far underground, where dirt and tree roots mesh, are tunnels that lead to a burrow, and in this burrow Wombat’s day begins. A story about the life of a wombat, looking at the interesting way these animals build their homes, look after their family and protect themselves from predators. Wombat is a new addition to the Nature Storybooks series, which feature a lyrical narrative and engaging nonfiction combined with stunning artwork to pique the curiosity of young minds.' (Publication summary)
2021 commended Whitley Awards Children's Zoology
y separately published work icon One Tree Melbourne : Penguin , 2019 15296331 2019 single work picture book children's

'A touching and uplifting story about love, change and the importance of the natural environment in all our lives. One tall tree on the mountain once marked Grandfather’s farm. Now there is a busy city and Grandfather lives with us in our apartment.

Once he told stories but now he stays silent. Until one day, in the city market, I find something precious . . . something that brings Grandfather’s memories alive again.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

2020 shortlisted The Wilderness Society Environment Award for Children's Literature Picture Books
2020 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Patricia Wrightson Prize for Children's Books
2020 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
y separately published work icon New Year Surprise! Canberra : National Library of Australia , 2016 8850455 2016 single work picture book children's

'Set in snowy rural Northern China this book is about the coming Chinese New Year Spring Festival and one little boy who is told that he’s too small to help out at the Spring Festival. Follow him through his village to see how he finds a way to join in! It’s a very big surprise. The very traditional life depicted in this book, with people wearing thick clothing and where beds are often platforms that are built over small wood-fired furnaces remain the same today.' (Publication summary)

2018 shortlisted West Australian Young Readers' Book Award Picture Books
2017 CBCA Book of the Year Awards Notable Book
Last amended 10 May 2019 11:52:58
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