What do you think?
Mixed Critters
Paperback available through Amazon.com
Take a peek inside the imagination of animation director, Jeff Chiba Stearns, as he blends animals together to create fantastically mixed critters from A to Z!
Inspired by his own multiracial background, MIXED CRITTERS is a children’s book by author and illustrator Jeff Chiba Stearns that serves as an introduction to mixed race identity through the blending of various animals. Chiba Stearns, created this ABC picture book as a way to help educate readers, like his mixed daughter Yuki, to be proud of their multiethnic heritage. Through the various depictions of hybrid animals from A to Z, young readers are encouraged to discover and discuss their own mixed ancestries with their parents.
Chiba Stearns, who is also an award-winning and Emmy nominated filmmaker, often focuses his work on multiethnic identity as seen in his feature length documentaries One Big Hapa Family (2010) and Mixed Match (2016). In 2011, Chiba Stearns also helped co-found the Hapa-palooza Festival, Canada’s largest cultural festival celebrating mixed heritage. With multiethnic people becoming the fastest growing demographic in North America and with the extreme lack of media and books exploring mixed race identity, it was it was of great importance for Chiba Stearns to create MIXED CRITTERS as a way to introduce children to notions of racial mixing and blending in an accessible and creative way.
Take a peek inside the imagination of animation director, Jeff Chiba Stearns, as he blends animals together to create fantastically mixed critters from A to Z!
Inspired by his own multiracial background, MIXED CRITTERS is a children’s book by author and illustrator Jeff Chiba Stearns that serves as an introduction to mixed race identity through the blending of various animals. Chiba Stearns, created this ABC picture book as a way to help educate readers, like his mixed daughter Yuki, to be proud of their multiethnic heritage. Through the various depictions of hybrid animals from A to Z, young readers are encouraged to discover and discuss their own mixed ancestries with their parents.
Chiba Stearns, who is also an award-winning and Emmy nominated filmmaker, often focuses his work on multiethnic identity as seen in his feature length documentaries One Big Hapa Family (2010) and Mixed Match (2016). In 2011, Chiba Stearns also helped co-found the Hapa-palooza Festival, Canada’s largest cultural festival celebrating mixed heritage. With multiethnic people becoming the fastest growing demographic in North America and with the extreme lack of media and books exploring mixed race identity, it was it was of great importance for Chiba Stearns to create MIXED CRITTERS as a way to introduce children to notions of racial mixing and blending in an accessible and creative way.
- GenresFiction
28 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2018
About the author
Jeff Chiba Stearns
5 books7 followersJeff Chiba Stearns is an Emmy® nominated and multi-award-winning animation and documentary filmmaker. He is also an accomplished illustrator and artist. After graduating from Emily Carr University with a degree in Film Animation, he founded the Vancouver-based production and publishing company Meditating Bunny Studio Inc. in 2001.
Jeff has directed and produced nine award-winning short animations and feature length documentaries including “What Are You Anyways?” (2005), Yellow Sticky Notes (2007), One Big Hapa Family (2010) and Mixed Match (2016). His work has broadcast around the world, screened at hundreds of international film festivals, and garnered dozens of awards.
Being yonsei, fourth generation Japanese Canadian, and having mixed Japanese and European heritage, Jeff’s work often deals with themes of multiethnic identity. He coined the term “Hapanimation” to describe his distinctive blend of anime and manga influences with a North American cartoon aesthetic. Jeff is also the co-founder of Canada’s largest festival celebrating multiracial arts and culture, the Hapa-palooza Festival in Vancouver, BC.
In 2018, he wrote and illustrated his first picture book Mixed Critters, an ABC book inspired by his own children’s mixed Japanese backgrounds. His second children’s book, Nori and His Delicious Dreams (2020), follows a Japanese Canadian boy who dreams of sleeping on foods from around the world. In 2021, Jeff collaborated with sansei artist Lillian Michiko Blakey to create the bestselling graphic novel On Being Yukiko. Published by The National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (NCCAAR), Jeff released his second graphic novel Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma in 2025, chronicling the life of Japanese Canadian civil rights leader Tomekichi Homma.
In October 2026, Jeff will be releasing his third graphic novel, Ojiichan’s Dragon, a fantasy-based story that takes place during WWII in a Japanese Canadian internment camp.
Jeff has a Bachelor of Education from UBC and taught at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. As a speaker, Jeff has delivered hundreds of key notes, guest lectures, presentations and workshops at schools and universities across North America and around the world. In 2011, Jeff was awarded the Emily Award from the Emily Carr University for his outstanding achievements as an alumnus and that year was also awarded the Cultural Pioneer Award by Harvard University for his exploration of multi-ethnic identity in his work. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival awarded Jeff the Lifetime Diversity in Film Award in 2017 for his vast catalogue of films exploring multicultural themes and identity.
Jeff has directed and produced nine award-winning short animations and feature length documentaries including “What Are You Anyways?” (2005), Yellow Sticky Notes (2007), One Big Hapa Family (2010) and Mixed Match (2016). His work has broadcast around the world, screened at hundreds of international film festivals, and garnered dozens of awards.
Being yonsei, fourth generation Japanese Canadian, and having mixed Japanese and European heritage, Jeff’s work often deals with themes of multiethnic identity. He coined the term “Hapanimation” to describe his distinctive blend of anime and manga influences with a North American cartoon aesthetic. Jeff is also the co-founder of Canada’s largest festival celebrating multiracial arts and culture, the Hapa-palooza Festival in Vancouver, BC.
In 2018, he wrote and illustrated his first picture book Mixed Critters, an ABC book inspired by his own children’s mixed Japanese backgrounds. His second children’s book, Nori and His Delicious Dreams (2020), follows a Japanese Canadian boy who dreams of sleeping on foods from around the world. In 2021, Jeff collaborated with sansei artist Lillian Michiko Blakey to create the bestselling graphic novel On Being Yukiko. Published by The National Coalition of Canadians Against Anti-Asian Racism (NCCAAR), Jeff released his second graphic novel Tomey: The Unyielding Spirit of Tomekichi Homma in 2025, chronicling the life of Japanese Canadian civil rights leader Tomekichi Homma.
In October 2026, Jeff will be releasing his third graphic novel, Ojiichan’s Dragon, a fantasy-based story that takes place during WWII in a Japanese Canadian internment camp.
Jeff has a Bachelor of Education from UBC and taught at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design. As a speaker, Jeff has delivered hundreds of key notes, guest lectures, presentations and workshops at schools and universities across North America and around the world. In 2011, Jeff was awarded the Emily Award from the Emily Carr University for his outstanding achievements as an alumnus and that year was also awarded the Cultural Pioneer Award by Harvard University for his exploration of multi-ethnic identity in his work. The Vancouver Asian Film Festival awarded Jeff the Lifetime Diversity in Film Award in 2017 for his vast catalogue of films exploring multicultural themes and identity.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2018
This is a wonderful book. The drawings are really funny and imaginative. The book is not just for kids but adults, especially those who love animals, would also find it very, very entertaining. I see a feature length movie and a whole line of plush toys coming. This is a must read for parents looking for something refreshing to share with their kids.
June 20, 2018
I loved writing and illustrating my first children's book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and it makes you and your children smile! Please order hardcover copies of Mixed Critters at www.meditatingbunny.com/shop Use promo code 'mixed' to save 10% per book!
November 18, 2019
Great illustrations! My five year old daughter absolutely loves this book. Her favourite is the otterfly. It was fun to meet the author and get a signed copy at the Nikkei craft and bake market today. She read the book to her bachan when we got home.
June 20, 2018
I loved writing and illustrating my first children's book! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and it makes you and your children smile!
July 27, 2018
This is a well-read book at our childcare and we highly recommend it!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews