A small little seed. This is what it takes for children to understand the wisdom of “patience”. Far away in a secluded monastery, an old monk gave three thousand-year lotus seeds to three little monks Ben, Jing and An, and from there sprouts 3 different flower stories.
The 1st Picture Book Award Winning Books
Synopsis
Book Details
- Author：Wang Zaozao
- Illustrator：Huang Li
- Publisher：Haiyan Publishing
- ISBN：978-7-5350-3920-0
- Age Range：4-10
- Publication Date：12-2008
Judge's comment
An's Seeds is a fable about nature's law and is told through three little monks, Ben, Jing, and An, as narrative clues. The text is precise and succinct. The picture is simple and defines the characters' personalities, such as Ben's impetuosity, Jing's discretion, and An's composure. In addition, the combination of text and image presents the charm of story-telling and is admirable. The front endpaper begins the story with the footprints of An and a puppy in a solemn autumn, while the back endpaper resonates with a lushly green summer. The author skillfully shows how composed An is after the blooming of his thousand-year lotus, and ends the story with his water carrying and labor. The rhythm of season and time are beyond description.
Dr. Fok Yuk Ying (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese, the Education University of Hong Kong)
Winners
Wang Zaozao
Author of An's Seeds
Outstanding Children's Picture Book Award
In Wang Zaozao's earlier life, she was a reporter and an editor. She is now living in Beijing and devoting herself to creating picture books and children's literature. Almost 50 of her picture books have been published, including An's Seeds《安的種子》, Guava Guava《吧啦吧啦》, Being With You《和你在一起》, and The Story of Life《生命的故事》. She has also published about 200 fairy tales in various children's publications including Juvenile Literature《少年文藝》, Oriental Baby《東方娃娃》, and The Childhood Times《幼兒時代》. Wang believes that reading and writing is the most beautiful thing in the world.
Huang Li
Illustrator of An's Seeds
Outstanding Children's Picture Book Award
Born in Xinjiang in 1972, Huang Li studied at the Traditional Chinese Painting Department of the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts in 1989, and he learnt the art of portraiture from Mr. Liu Xiwen（劉文西）. Huang worked on children's book illustrations, and designed the bindings and layouts for children's books and magazines. She established the Xi'an Sun Baby Illustration Design Company（西安太陽娃插畫設計有限公司） in 1998 and concentrated on research of children's picture book painting and creating illustrations. Since 2004, she has served as the art director of Youth Science World《少年科普世界》. Her picture books include An's Seeds《安的種子》and New Neighbors in a Small Town《卡諾小鎮的新居民》.
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