Tin-An Chen
About the Author
"I believe good books
lead to good days ahead."
At a Glance
📚 Librarian & Teacher (2005–present)
🖊️ Author & Illustrator of children's books since 2004
🏆 CHIRP Magazine's Summer Pick 2004
🎓 Bachelor of Education, OISE at the University of Toronto
🌍 Honours Sociology, Arts & Business, University of Waterloo
📍 Ontario, Canada
Stories should make children feel seen — not spoken at. Ordinary moments, told truthfully, make the biggest impact.
Hello! I'm Tin-An.
I've spent over two decades in classrooms and libraries, watching children discover the magic of stories — and noticing which ones made their faces light up, their shoulders relax, or their hands shoot up with excitement to share.
My books are built on a simple belief: that optimism isn't naive — it's a skill. Children who learn to name their feelings, embrace new beginnings, laugh at themselves, and see the world with curiosity, kindness and hope, grow into people who change it for the better.
The Optimist Press is dedicated to this powerful idea.
Reducing school anxiety
New beginnings are scary and exciting. Books that normalize both feelings give children
a safe way to rehearse courage.
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Celebrating belonging
Every child deserves to see their own story reflected back at them.
🌍
💛
Life lessons, lightly held
The best lessons are embedded in stories of self discovery.
What I write — and why
☀️
Cultivating optimism
Optimism isn't pretending everything is fine — it's believing that hard things are worth trying anyway.