In her book, a little girl draws a wild bar she has never seen before in her life. With her mother, she takes the reader on a bird-scouting journey. The little girl's mother tries to guess what the bird in the drawing is, and they identify all kinds of unique Taiwanese birds that might correspond with the illustration, like the Taiwan Barbet, the Formosan Magpie, the Black Bulbul, the Malaysian Night Heron, and the Black-naped Monarch. The mother looks at the illustration carefully. Some of the bird's appearances, characteristics and attitudes are so similar to the illustrations, but all the birds they've seen haven't matched up with the drawing. So what kind of bird did the girl draw…?
The 3rd Picture Book Award Winning Books
Synopsis
Book Details
- Author：Liu Bor-Leh
- Illustrator：Liu Bor-Leh
- Publisher：Children's Publication Co., Ltd
- ISBN：978-986-274-020-0
- Age Range：6-12
- Publication Date：05 – 2011
Judge's comment
Through children's eyes, words, and script, the author leads readers through elaborate illustrations to observe various birds which show up one by one. The intriguing exploration and daily parent-child conversations enable readers to experience the pleasure of discovery and knowledge. Every bird in the book is vivid and illustrated delicately. Even every feather can be distinguished clearly. On the contrary, the human characters have a more simple style. By using the contrast between reality and fiction, the author differentiates the realistic part and the guide in harmony. It is worth compliments that this popular science work is lively and fascinating illustrated. The author's passion for Nature appears intensely on paper.
It cannot be achieved to depict such a wild bird image that reaches international standard if the author has not sketched and observed wild birds over a long period of time or researched on ecology of bird and forest. It needs perseverance and consistency to keep this invisible diligence in daily life.
Picture books are not picture albums for showing one's talent or for self-satisfaction. The aims of picture books are to bring children pleasure and to provide them with affective interaction. This book contains an affection to communicate with children. The images have not only functions as description and explanation but also the depiction of cheerful and realistic ecological environment. We hope that this book can encourage artists'conscientiousness and perseverance, and that they can diligently create picture books which are worth reading, worth deliberation and able to stand the test of time.
Tang Ya Ming (senior children's book editor of Fukuinkan Shoten Publishers)
Winners
Liu Bor-Leh
Author and Illustrator of I See a Bird
Bor-Leh was born in Puli Township, Nantou County in 1952. He was art editor at the “Education department of Children's reading editorial team”, and is currently an illustrator. While working as art editor of Chinese Children's Encyclopedia, he became incredibly knowledgeable in the field of natural sciences. His strong familiarity with wild birds influenced him to paint vivid images of them, allowing him to express and share his passion with others. He often spends his time birdwatching, learning from and listening to messages from the natural world, which motivate his own thoughts and perspectives toward ecological environments, and inspire his writing about nature. His recent publications include The Cafeteria in the Wilderness, I Cut Down a Taiwan Cherry, I Would Like to Give You a Flower, I See a Bird, and more.
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