Ned's New Home

About Kevin Tseng

Kevin grew up in Thousand Oaks, California with his (great!) parents, an older brother to play & bicker with, and a fluffy white dog named Snowflake. For most of his childhood, he was obsessed with Lego, hermit crabs, and board games. Originally, he wanted to be a marine biologist, but then art began to play a larger and larger role in his life. He majored in both biology and illustration at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri — just in case one of them did not work out – but by the time he graduated, he only wanted to be an artist. After college, he worked at a stationery and giftware company called Michel & Company for several years before going out on his own as a full-time freelancer. In addition to writing/illustrating picture books, he still creates greeting cards, stationery and giftware products.

Author Q&A

1. What is your favorite thing about being an author/illustrator?
My favorite aspect about being both an author and illustrator is that a simple drawing can turn into an entire story and, conversely, a simple phrase can turn into a whole series of illustrations. It works both ways and I love it!

2. What book do you re-read every few years?
I have read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass" numerous times because Carroll's characters and settings are so inspired and Tenniel' s original illustrations are incredibly charming. The fact that Carroll wrote them while suffering from migraine headaches makes his work even more fascinating.

3. What's the history of your first or last name?
My mother is Irish/English and my father is Chinese, so my name is a perfect reflection of this with "Kevin" being Irish and "Tseng" being Chinese. The Tseng name traces back over many generations to Confucius's favorite student, Tseng Tzu. Back when most people thought the earth was flat, he was a very early supporter of the round earth theory – which I also fully support.

4. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
I would either be a giant squid or great white shark since both fascinate and terrify me. Although, I am not sure if I would be a very good squid or shark since I have not been in the ocean since 1993 and will not even go into swimming pools at night. Perhaps I would make a better snowy owl…

5. If you had a superpower, what would it be?
I would love to know any and all statistics that my little mind desired. For example: How many people in the world are eating chocolate cake RIGHT NOW? How many different types of dinosaurs existed? How many times have I said the word "the" in my life? (Of course, I would also have to ask: How many other superpowers are more useful than this one?)

6. Do you have any hobbies?
I do not travel internationally all that often, but when I do, it is usually because I want to visit an exotic landscape that I have seen in films or on television. Two of my most notable trips were to the rock pillars of Meteora in Greece (after seeing a shoe commercial filmed there) and to the endlessly green Shunan Bamboo Sea in China (after seeing a movie filmed there). My next trip will be to see the Northern Lights in either Scandinavia or Alaska.

Praise

The cartoon illustrations are filled with warm colors and comic touches. Endpapers depict the life cycle of the apple from seed to fruit and back to seed. This reassuring tale will be appreciated by the read-aloud crowd while also supplying a subtle lesson in ecology.—School Library Journal


Tseng’s debut picture book is full of tongue-in-cheek humor. His watercolors have just the right touch of whimsy—full of humor and expression yet at the same time simple enough for the youngest listeners. Ned is a worm that is sure to be welcomed into children’s homes, no matter what kind of material they might be made of.—Kirkus Reviews