Spotlight on Chinese Children's Content Today
Singing Grass MD Alicia Liu hosted a live discussion Spotlight on China Children’s Publishing at the London Book Fair 2022, with a focus on Chinese children’s bestsellers available in English today.
With over 290 million children in school, China today has the second largest children’s population in the world. Children’s books in China have been enjoying an extraordinary double digit growth in the past ten years - now one in three books sold is a children’s title.
International authors represent 58% of children’s picture books in China in 2021 (Open Book). In the top 100 children’s bestseller lists, international titles account for a third of sales, with UK authors ranking the highest. Classic and contemporary children’s stories from all over the world, not only from the UK and the US, but also from non-English speaking countries such as Japan and France - are enjoying immense popularity in the market.
There is also a growing appetite for stories to reflect Chinese cultural heritage, as well as contemporary subjects such as cultural diversity and inclusivity.
Much-loved modern classic Chinese children’s books such as Bronze and Sunflower by author Cao Wenxuan, published by Phoenix children and Juvenile Press in China, was first published in English by Walker Books in the UK in 2015 and received New York Times Notable Children’s Books of the Year 2017. Another Chinese children’s bestseller from Phoenix Publishing, I Want To Be Good by Huang Beijia, one of China’s most important children’s writers, has been republished in English in 2021 after getting a major new English translation by award-winning UK translator Nicky Harman.
At the London Book Fair event, Alicia Liu, founder and MD of Singing Grass hosted a live in-conversation on the art of storytelling with three distinguished guests that bridge the children’s content between the East and the West:
Yu Rong, children’s book illustrator - a visual storyteller, who has successfully illustrated many picture books loved by children in both the East and West
Janetta Otter-Barry, publisher of Otter-Barry Books, whose latest book Shu Lin’s Grandpa, illustrated by Yu Rong, has been shortlisted for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal 2022.
Helen Wang, sinologist and children’s literature translator, who has brought many much-loved modern classic Chinese children’s stories to the English-speaking audience
Yu Rong’s Shu Lin's Grandpa, published in Chinese by Dandelion Children's Bookstore and in English by Otter-Barry Books, was shortlisted in the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal in 2022, bringing the Chinese picture book to the world audience.
Yu Rong, illustrator of Shu Lin’s Grandpa, said:
“I hope my visual expressions - inspired by my background in Chinese painting and contemporary art and design - will show children art as a universal language for inclusivity.”
Helen Wang, translator of Chinese children’s book Bronze and Sunflower, said:
“Books, especially children's books, can take us to a different world. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to translate the Chinese author Cao Wenxuan's bestselling books Bronze and Sunflower and Dragonfly Eyes for English readers. We aim to help international young readers discover more about Chinese children's books."
Janetta Otter-Barry, Founder and Publisher of Otter-Barry Books UK, said:
Shu Lin's Grandpa - this uplifting story shows the transformative power of art and imagination in developing cultural understanding and empathy.
Alicia Liu, Founder and MD of Singing Grass, said:
“Storytelling for children is all about help them understand the world around them. The more we understand, the more we accept and appreciate. Imagine what the world would look like, if you're accepted and appreciated.”
Students from MA Publishing and Creative Writing at Kingston University shared their thoughts on contemporary Chinese children's books in translation at the event.
This event is part of "Global Youth Readers" is an international youth reading exchange initiated by China National Publications Import & Export (Group) Co., Ltd. Through carrying out rich and diverse reading and cultural exchange activities, it aims to promote the exchange of ideas and mutual learning among young people. The Youth Readers Exchange · UK is the platform’s first event in publishing in 2022, and it will hold reading exchange events including the UK China Poetry Night at the Beijing International Book Fair in August 2022.
The event launch at the London Book Fair 2022 was featured by 30+ Chinese and English global press, including The State Council of China International Exchanges.
