Sylvia Chen

Sylvia Chen (Chinese: 余愛莉) is an American writer of children's picture books. Her books include Tricky Chopsticks and Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story (2025).

Early life Chen was born and raised in Queens, New York. She has said she later lived and worked in Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Paris, and Tokyo, and that she studied statistics at Columbia University after earlier work in science fairs and piano study at Juilliard Pre-College. Before publishing picture books, she worked in software consulting and market research.

Her debut picture book, Tricky Chopsticks, illustrated by Fanny Liem, was published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, on March 19, 2024. It was the recommended elementary picture book for May 2026 in the National Education Association's Read Across America program.

Her second picture book, Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story, illustrated by Thai My Phuong, was published by Flamingo Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House, on December 2, 2025. Kirkus Reviews described it as "a charming story about honoring traditions while staying true to oneself; Publishers Weekly described it as a "heartening" story about a child navigating "seemingly contradictory wishes". The School Library Journal said that the story "will resonate with youngest children everywhere, regardless of a particular holiday or season", and gave a "highly recommended" verdict.

Sparkles for Sunny was the Atlantic Division winner of the 2026 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, and was a featured book on the January/February 2026 Kids' Indie Next List published by the American Booksellers Association.

Chen is the creator of the social-media series #PBStudyBuddy, which highlights picture books for other writers, teachers, and librarians.

Selected works Tricky Chopsticks. Illustrated by Fanny Liem. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2024. . Sparkles for Sunny: A Lunar New Year Story. Illustrated by Thai My Phuong. Flamingo Books. 2025. .