Eugene Yelchin

His books were named Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, People Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book, USA Today, Amazon, NPR, School Library Journal, and others. His nephew was actor Anton Yelchin.

• Name — Eugene Yelchin • Native Name — Евгений Аркадьевич Ельчин • Birth Name — Yevgeny Arkadievich Yelchin • Born — 18 October 1956 • Birthplace — Leningrad, Soviet Union • Occupation — Illustrator, writer, designer • Education — Design, Leningrad Institute of Theater Arts, USSR, 1979

Yelchin was born in Saint Petersburg, (Leningrad), Russia, to a Jewish family. In 1979, Yelchin graduated from Leningrad State Theater Academy. From 1979 to 1983 he designed sets and costumes for leading Russian theater companies including Alexandrinsky (Pushkin's) Theater and Akimov Comedy Theater in Leningrad. In 1980, with a group of peers from the Theater Academy he co-founded Tomsk Children's Theater in Siberia. In 1983, Yelchin emigrated to the United States. In 1988, Yelchin graduated from the Southern California Film School in Los Angeles and began directing TV commercials and illustrating advertising campaigns.

Yelchin created original storyboards for the popular Coca-Cola Polar Bears campaign and designed characters for several animated features including 2012 Oscar winner Rango directed by Gore Verbinski (2012 Oscar for Best Animated Feature).

Eugene Yelchin is recorded with the occupation children's writer. Classed in the genre illustration. Classed in the genre decoration. Recorded as writer, painter and illustrator.

• I Wish I Didn’t Have to Tell You This. 2025. Candlewick Press • Boar and Hedgehog. 2025. Candlewick Press • The Genius Under the Table. 2021. Candlewick Press • Spy Runner. 2019. Henry Holt and Company • The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge (with M.T. Anderson). 2018. Candlewick Press • Pip & Pup. 2018. HarperCollins Publishers • Spring Hare. 2017. Henry Holt and Company • The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet. 2017. Scholastic Press • The Haunting of Falcon House. 2016. Henry Holt and Company • Elephant in the Dark. 2015. Scholastic Press • Crybaby. 2015. Henry Holt and Company • Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku. 2015. Henry Holt and Company • Crybaby. 2015. Henry Holt and Company • Arcady's Goal. 2014. Henry Holt and Company • Seeds, Bees, Butterflies and More! 2013. Henry Holt and Company • Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. 2011. Henry Holt and Company • Dog Parade. 2011. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt • Breaking Stalin's Nose. 2011. Henry Holt and Company • The Next Door Bear. 2011. HarperCollins Publishers • The Rooster Prince of Breslov. 2010. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt • Seven Hungry Babies. 2010. Simon & Schuster. • Heart of a Snowman. 2009. HarperCollins Publishers • Ghost Files. 2008. HarperCollins Publishers • Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? 2008. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt • The Cobbler’s Holiday or Why Ants Don’t Wear Shoes. 2008. Roaring Book Press

Yelchin's paintings and drawings have been exhibited along with former Soviet non-conformist artists • 2002: "Russian Revolutions: Generations of Russian Jewish Avant-Garde Artists” at the Mizel Center for Arts and Culture • 2006: “Territories of Terror: Mythologies and Memories of the Gulag in Contemporary Russian-American Art” at Boston University (2006) • 2010: "Shattered Utopia: Russian Art of the Soviet and Post-Soviet Periods" at Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art Yelchin is a member of the Jewish Artists Initiative of Southern California. His paintings and drawings are represented by Sloane Gallery of Contemporary Russian Art.