Aya Watanabe author page

Aya Watanabe biography

Aya Watanabe is a Japanese illustrator based in Tokyo. After a career in advertising, she began working as a freelance artist, focusing on picture books and children’s editorial content.

She illustrates interactive board books in the Imagine If… series, including Fruits! and Veggies!, released in June 2023. These titles combine simple text with lift-and-slide mechanisms designed for babies and toddlers.

In April 2023, Watanabe published Paper Adventures: A Rip‑and‑Glue Activity Book, part of her Little Hands, Big Creations series. The book leads children through hands-on crafts set within a jungle and ocean exploration theme.

Her illustration style blends traditional media—such as acrylics, coloured pencils and crayons—with digital techniques. In 2017, her work was selected for the Bologna Children’s Book Fair Illustrators Exhibition.

Watanabe has created content across picture books, book covers, stationery and editorial projects, and she draws inspiration from travel experiences in Thailand and Australia.