It has been three years since I first served as a judge at the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award in 2018. When I first served as a judge, the competition and the awards were all new to me, and it was the first time I had seen a large number of picture book works by contemporary Chinese artists. The quality of these Chinese picture books is uneven, and only a few works of high quality can be felt that most creators have only a preliminary understanding of picture books.
In 2021, the number of entries is quite large. I noticed two huge changes in the Chinese works submitted. First, the overall quality of picture books has been greatly improved. Compared with previous works, this year's drawings are not only more technically mature, but also have a stronger and lasting impact emotionally and aesthetically. This is completely different from what I saw in 2018, and in just 3 years, the artists seem to have made a lot of progress. The second change is that the author has a deeper understanding of the characters.
The protagonist or hero of a picture book is the element that unites the story and is the emotional focal point for the reader. When a child opens a picture book, it is like opening the door to a strange new world. In most picture books, the protagonist's "job" is to lead the child through that world, and is a role that the child can take. It is precisely because of this role that children will not feel lonely in the strange new world, and they can explore with confidence and a sense of mission.
Part of Marcus's work
This year, I was also pleased to see many Chinese picture books that tell the daily life and traditional Chinese customs of Chinese. Many Western readers are eager to learn more about China, and I think that in the near future, more Chinese picture books will be published in Western countries.
My relationship with the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award also stemmed from a very pleasant experience. In 2019, a friend of mine tapped me on the shoulder and told me that I had won the Special Contribution Award that year, and that I was joined by Ren Rongrong, one of China's outstanding children's poets, writers and translators. It was a bonus for me and arguably one of the best surprises of my life.
I've been working on this since 2016, including visiting China, hosting workshops, publishing books on the history of children's literature, advising Chinese publishers on which Western books can be introduced to China. Happily, all of the work I've done has been recognized. I really appreciate the Foundation for recognizing me in this way.
In addition, in the first few years of my visit to China, I also had a certain understanding of Mr. Chen Bochui, I had not heard of this important historical figure before, but I visited the Chen Bochui Exhibition in Shanghai and learned about his own life and work through the exhibition. I am very pleased that there are people in China who have such a deep understanding of Western children's books and have translated so many books for Chinese children.
The contribution of the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Prize to culture is that it attracts the most talented people to create the forms of art awarded by the award. On the other hand, for parents, this award also serves as a guide. In addition, the value of the award is that it helps a country's books to increase their visibility in other parts of the world, and the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award is exactly the same. In the future, with the development of this activity, more and more books will participate in the election, and its popularity will become higher and higher.
(USA) Leonard Marcus