2015年CRI When Illustrations Go Beyond Borders

Reporter: Cao Wenxuan is one of China's most popular authors of children's fiction.

His books, such as Cao-Fang-Zi, or literally 1 translated as The Straw House and Qingtong Kuihua (青铜葵花), or translated as Bronze and Sunflower, have collectively sold millions of copies in China.

But what makes him increasingly popular abroad is his book, titled A Feather, with all the illustrations created by Brazil's Hans Christian 2 Andersen Award-winning artist Roger Mello.

Cao recalls his collaboration 3 with Roger Mello in 2013.

"My book would look totally different from what it is now if the pictures in it were created by a Chinese illustrator. There are many differences between the cultures of China and Brazil. The Chinese people are so familiar with blue and white porcelains 5 that we probably wouldn't use it to its fullest potential. While in the eyes of Roger Mello,the blue and white porcelain 4 tends to be synonymous with China. It inspired him to produce the beautiful images including flocks of birds that are painted on the surface of blue-white porcelain, which is almost unattainable for Chinese painters." 

Their words and pictures tell the story of a feather trying to find where it belongs, to whom does it belong. As the wind blows it from place to place, the feather queries 6 one bird after another, "Am I yours?" The questions of origin and belonging are shared by all humanity.

As readers may appreciate the depth of the words and the beauty of the illustrations, the honors awarded to the book's creators are taking this book to faraway destinations. 

Aside from taking Chinese books international, cross-cultural collaboration can also be seen in other areas of the publication industry. Canadian children's publisher Patsy Aldana is a former president of the International Board on Books for Young People, or IBBY, and the current president of IBBY Foundation.

She has helped the China Children's Press and Publications Group, the largest children's book publisher in China, with its launch of a world library of illustrated 7 books for young readers in the local area.

She introduces the illustrated books collected in this world library.

"These are not books that are bestsellers, these are not the books that are easily sold in bookstores. These are books that people need to really look into and see how they can help the children in China to better get to know the rest of the world. And even though there are big differences between us, there are also many similarities between us as human beings. These books really try to portray 8 different realities but at the same time, to deal with subjects that are universal."

The IBBY is a non-profit organization that represents an international network of people from all over the world who are committed to bringing books and children together.

Under the IBBY's goal to connect children worldwide with books, Patsy Aldana has assisted in selecting books concerned with illustrations for the library. To date, a dozen books have been selected.

She thinks the world library project now opens a window for local children to view other cultures and customs on the basis of understanding literature. 

"This is a great place for you to introduce children to other cultures, other kinds of childhood games, other kinds of childhood favorites, riddles 9, songs, rhymes, and they really are a reflection of culture around the world. Some of them are award winners, some of them are simply at that time the most interesting young illustrator in their countries. But we think it's a very good photograph of the world, and that's what the world library is about. It's bringing all of us together and trying to help our children see that they are part of this world."

This world library will expand each year with seven or eight types of illustrated books which are the brainchild of illustrators and writers worldwide.

The China Children's Press and Publications Group would publish them for the library.

The largest children's book publisher in China also convened 10 a forum 11 recently in Beijing discussing the integration 12 of Chinese illustrated-books into the world of literature.

Stories are a great medium to educate the children. Meanwhile, images help the children to understand and identify the things they come across in daily life. When stories combine with images, it would fascinate young readers in their course to pursue new knowledge.

And when authors and illustrators from different nations work together, young readers would definitely harvest more from these publications under international collaborations.

For Studio Plus, I'm Xu Fei.