Picture books are books that use pictures to tell children stories, which can help parents accompany their children to get their first reading experience in life. For more than 20 years, China has introduced a large number of european and American classic picture books, the introduction of picture books has quickly become the mainstream of the children's book market, on the one hand, parents recognize that excellent picture books are good at capturing children's unique characteristics, full of flexible childlike hearts, on the other hand, the start and development are later than the West of the original Chinese picture books but in the "not seen" situation. From topic planning to content editing to marketing campaigns, there are many reasons for this.
In the publishing world, the editor of a book is often considered to be more like the "mother" of the book than the author, and it is necessary to pool resources from all sides to achieve the publication of the book. In this issue, from the perspective of making books, we ask the editors responsible for the children's book publishing process to come to the front of the stage from behind the scenes to talk about the problems of The original Chinese picture books they see in actual operation, the joy of making books and the vision of the future of original picture books.
This article is from B02-03 of the Beijing News Book Review Weekly's January 28, 2022 feature "Seeing" China's Original Picture Book.
"Theme" B01 丨 "See" Original Chinese Picture Book
"Theme" B02-03 丨 The rise of original picture books, obstacles and long
"Theme" B04-05 丨 "Editing" our spiritual garden in an original picture book
"Literature" B06 | Forty Degrees North Latitude: Historical Possibilities and Historical Facts
"Literature" B07 | Reconnaissance Machine: Can the new machine help people live better?
"Literature" B08丨 Wallace Stevens: Fictional Angels
Written by | Lee Indou
On September 17, 2021, the 7th "Feng Zikai Children's Picture Book Award" announced the list of winners. Unlike previous years, the jury also published a list of "recommendations," including 11 original innovations published within two years. Due to the increasing number of original picture books with excellent graphics and moving stories, the jury hopes to praise creators and publishers and provide readers with more choices. In recent years, children's book publishing institutions have also increased their investment in original picture books, and in November 2021, the Ministry of Education organized experts to recommend 347 kinds of children's picture books, of which original picture books accounted for 78%.
But on another level, China's original picture books are still "not valued" on the international picture book map. Before the epidemic in 2020, every April in Bologna, Italy, the world's largest children's book fair was held, with publishing displays and international copyright transactions. There is a booth in China, accounting for a large proportion of the "Twenty-four Solar Terms" and "Zodiac" and other set series, Chinese children's literature writers represented by Cao Wenxuan, Mei Zihan, Peng Yi, etc. and well-known domestic and foreign painters to cooperate with picture books, with children's behavior and emotional education as the purpose, didactic sense and functional strong picture books, only a small part of the visible "personal expression", called "creative" picture book works. Few people stopped.
For parents and child readers who buy books, a wide variety of original picture books seem to be far from satisfying their reading expectations of "letting children see more stories close to their lives", and for creators and editors engaged in original picture book work, they are still "fighting a tougher battle". Sooner or later, these "harsh realities" may be becoming history, and what kind of future do we want to create? Several editors who have been closely watching the children's book market talked about their thoughts and suggestions for original picture books.
Illustration of the original picture book "Tiger, It's Snowing". (By Ma Daishu, the waves and flowers are |.) Beijing United Publishing Company February 2021 Edition)
01
The definition of "original picture book" should go beyond "traditional culture"
"Original picture book" is a publishing concept, not a cultural one. "Original Chinese picture book" is not the same as "picture book showing traditional culture". In terms of publishing houses, the bibliography distinguishes between "original titles" and "foreign titles", not to indicate cultural attributes, but to copyright attribution. Publishers invest in making originals, in addition to meeting the reading needs of local readers, there are also considerations for the interests of selling global copyrights. In the more developed areas of the children's book industry such as Europe, the United States and Japan, under the "original" category of several large children's book publishing houses, there will be works created by authors from all over the world expressing various cultures.
In the history of picture book development, Ursula, who pushed American children's literature into the golden age, published picture books by authors from various countries and cultural backgrounds when he was the editor-in-chief of the Harper Children's Book Department, such as Tommy Wenger, who was born and raised on the Franco-German border and went to Canada, Maurice Sandak, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, and Ezra Jack Jiz... This led to the most brilliant chapter in the history of American picture book publishing. The French Happy School Press publishes picture books by chinese painter Chen Jianghong, as well as picture books created by Rimi Ichikawa, who was born and raised in Japan and lives in Paris, with African countries and India as the background, such as "Africa Has No Bears" and "Little Elephant Mammoth". "The White Horse of Suhe" by Suhe's White Horse by The International Andersen Prize-winning Akabane Sueyoshi published by the Japan Gospel Museum Publishing House is also adapted from a folk tale in Inner Mongolia.
These veteran children's book publishers have never taken their own culture as the starting point when making original picture books, but they have followed the original heart of each creator and their life and cultural background, and provided picture books that have touched people's hearts and stood the test of time for children readers in their own country and even the world.
In 2002, the Nippon Gospel Museum published The Story of Peach Blossom Origin, which was based on Tao Yuanming's painting by Cai Gao and translated into Japanese by Nao Matsui, and in 2009 the book was introduced back to China. Children's book publisher Tang Yaming translated Nao Matsui's Japanese back to Chinese. Chinese painter Chen Jianghong's "Tiger Prince", "Shenma", "Little Eagle" and other picture books that tell the background story of traditional Chinese history with traditional Chinese painting techniques are also published in cooperation with French editors at the French Happy School Publishing House, and only after attracting attention in the West were translated into Chinese and introduced back to China. Guo Jing's "Only Child" and Nie Jun's "Fairy Tale of Old Street", which have been recommended by the New York Times in recent years... They are created by Chinese authors and tell stories rooted in local culture, but they are "imported picture books" rather than originals. At the same time, if there is a domestic publishing house that cooperates with foreign authors to publish picture books that have nothing to do with traditional culture, this is also an "original picture book", perhaps this is the true embodiment of the "originality" of a publishing house.
Illustration of the introductory picture book Everest. (by Sangmar Francis, illustrated by Lisk Feng, translated by Deng, Love Tree, |.) Jiangsu Phoenix Children's Publishing House, August 2019 edition)
In 2019, "Everest", which won the Bologna State Best Children's Book Newcomer Award, was quite eye-catching at the book fair. The illustrator is Lisk Feng, a Chinese illustrator living in New York. This is the first time that a Chinese illustrator's work has won the Bologna Children's Book Award. Everest is published by a small independent british publisher called Flying Eye Books. In addition to Lisk Feng, Flying Eye Publishing house has also collaborated with Chinese illustrator Miao Sang on picture books such as "Go Away, Go Away, Bad Emotions" and "Lighthouse Jellyfish". Lisk Feng and Miao Sang are young creators who were born and raised in China and studied illustration in the United States and the United Kingdom. Lisk Feng mentioned in an interview after the Everest award:
"A Chinese-American editor told me that most of the books he bought when he was a child were yellow-haired, blue-eyed children doing things that we ordinary people would do, but rarely saw Chinese children doing this in books. I think traditional culture has a need to exist, but we also need to do something else. How to define 'Chinese style'? My thinking is: I am not an ancient person, but a 'post-90s', when I was a child, I grew up eating white rabbit milk candy and big bubble gum, which is also traditional for me. But now when many people talk about tradition, they can only think of traditional folk tales and ancient myths and legends.
In contrast, many children's books in Japan are describing the daily life of Japanese people, such as a book ("The First Time to Buy Something on the Street") is about a child who is called by his mother to go to the street to buy milk, this is her first time to buy something on the street, the style of this book is Japanese at first glance, but Chinese illustrations may not be able to see that it is Chinese. Sometimes he may paint very European and American or very similar to China 40 years ago, such as always painting people who live in hutongs, but how many people still live in hutongs now? ”
The generation that grew up in the context of globalization is very far from the "traditional life" constructed in the picture book, and too much emphasis on "the embodiment of Chinese culture in the original picture book" may force the creator to be close to a concept and label, rather than their own inner feelings and current life, and "creativity" cannot be reflected.
Ling Yanming, the original picture book editor of Tomorrow Publishing House and the editor-in-charge of "Little Bear Run", described her original intention of making an original picture book like this:
"I hope that the children can see picture books that are born from the local culture." It is necessary to make picture books that can embody the Chinese spirit and tell the story of China well. It can come from the child's life and inspire the child's growth. ——The Chinese story I am talking about is not only a traditional story and a story with Chinese characteristics, but also a Chinese story that is currently Chinese, suitable for children's current life, and fits the current children's spiritual outlook. ”
The most basic creative unit of "original picture book" is an independent creator. Compared with "inheriting classics" and "cultural output", the author first needs to satisfy himself, frankly face his real life and inner feelings, talk to his childhood self, and tell the story to the reader with pictures. It's not easy to do this, but as Xiang Biao expects in "Take Yourself as a Method", "Showing yourself is never the goal", what you expect is action, it is practice - everyone can bravely reflect on their past, break through the original inherent rules, and try to tell themselves and the stories around them in their own words.
Introduced the cover of the picture book "First Time shopping on the street".
02
Young creators need more opportunities from children's book publishers
Some domestic publishing houses are good at doing "big projects", asking big-name children's literature writers to write texts, and then inviting illustrators who have won foreign awards to draw illustrations, such as "Feathers" cooperated by Cao Wenxuan and Brazilian illustrator Roger Miro, "The Sound of Snowy Days" cooperated by Mei Zihan and Russian illustrator Igor Oreynikov, or "I Defeated the Sleeping Devil with 32 Farts" cooperated by Peng Yi and Tian Yu of the Picture Book Creation Studio of the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
At the same time, young creators struggle to find opportunities to collaborate or are forced to accept harsh contractual terms such as lower royalties, lower first prints, and longer-term global full-copyright agency contracts.
Many domestic children's book editors believe that "domestic illustrators are inferior to foreign ones", and the excellent works published by Chinese illustrators and foreign editors are obviously the most powerful refutation of this concept. Sam Arthur, editor-in-chief of Feiyan Publishing House, once said: "More attractive to me than China's children's book consumer market is the potential of Chinese creators." I believe there are still many very good illustrators in China, waiting to be discovered. ”
This situation has also improved in recent years. The winners of the 2021 "Feng Zikai Children's Picture Book Award" reflect the creativity and vitality of young authors. The biggest selling point of a book should not be the name of the author, a good author is not how many fame and fans, get too many awards and honors, but can express their inner feelings to their children in the form of picture books.
Illustration of the original picture book "Little Bear Run". (By Shi Lei, illustrated by Ma Penghao, October 2020 edition of Tomorrow Publishing House)
03
The children's book publishing industry needs to cultivate a long-term thinking of creation
Those Chinese authors who have published excellent works in cooperation with foreign publishing houses are difficult to cooperate with domestic publishing houses to produce high-level works, which is also a reflection of the lack of editing power of original picture books in China.
Illustrator Lisk Feng once mentioned the difference between working with Chinese and foreign publishing houses:
"The main thing is the difference in the way we work. The domestic picture book market is still developing, and it has not formed a mature creative system, which puts a very tight pressure on the creative time of illustrators. In countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, illustrations and picture books have been developed for at least one or two hundred years, and have long formed certain industry norms... There are very clear ideas for the rotation of the draft, the review of the draft, and the final draft of the final draft.
I have always stood firmly on the side of the independent publishing houses I like, because I feel the high requirements for the quality of children's books, and my aesthetic fit with them is very high, and everyone will cooperate well, cooperate with each other, and do books without seeking monetary returns. ”
Illustration of the original picture book "Today I Am a Soybean". (By Li Yan, painted by Li Zhuoying, magic elephant |.) Guangxi Normal University Press, October 2020 edition)
This is not a personal problem of the editors involved in the work of the original picture book, but the rapid development and large structure of the entire Chinese picture book publishing. Liu Ben, editor of "Today I Am a Soybean" and editor-in-chief of Songque Bookstore, an original picture book planning studio, said when talking about the difficulties faced in the work of original picture books:
"As a person who is both an editor and an author of original picture books, I found that the field of original picture book publishing has always lacked (and may be actively abandoned) a long-term thinking - planning topic selection, training authors, work creation, marketing promotion, etc., almost all the links require shortening the length and speeding up the pace - that is, the so-called 'short, flat, fast'. This has spawned a large number of paperback suits, and even hardcover suits, that are now prevalent on the market. The same genre, the vast majority of children's publishing houses, non-children's publishing houses are doing. Such a publishing status quo will bring great misleading to the creation, publication, talent training, promotion and development of original picture books - original picture books can do this! In fact, such picture books are difficult to stand on a horizontal line with the world's best picture books. ”
The observations of Xiao Yu, the original picture book editor of Houlang Publishing Company, are:
"The painting technology and aesthetic level of domestic illustrators are not bad, some illustrators have gone far in the pursuit of techniques or picture aesthetics, but they are lacking in the depth of theme thinking and storytelling skills, which should have been supplemented by publishers with resources and experienced editors, but in the domestic impetuous publishing environment, it is difficult for an ordinary editor to maintain his professional enthusiasm, let alone spend time in a certain field with long-term experience accumulation and innovation in work." This is also the 'biggest difficulty' I am facing at the moment. ”
Illustration of the original picture book Monster Mountain. (by Peng Yi, Jiu'er Painting, Pu Pulan |.) Beijing Comic Strip Publishing House, December 2014 edition)
Haoyue, the original picture book editor of Pu Pulan Picture Book Museum, started from "Monster Mountain" and studied with an experienced japanese editorial team until he became an editor trusted by a new generation of young domestic authors such as Li Xingming and Dawu. In more than ten years of editing original picture books, she believes that the biggest difficulty in her work comes from the very specific process of graphic revision of each book. Editors need to think holistically, be able to suggest professional changes to authors, and work together to make the book better, she said:
"In editing an original picture book, there are two situations: one is that the author of the text is separated. Usually, the text writer submits the story manuscript first, and after our topic selection is passed, the editor begins to find the most suitable picture style for the story. In this case, the biggest difficulty is how to find the most suitable painter. It needs to be done at the same time that the painter likes the story and the painter has a schedule. Because now some painters want to give priority to drawing their own stories and creating their own IP. Some painters will be scheduled for two years later. It was not easy to find a painter in the early stages, but each book had its own fate. Editors should open their own 'radar', search for more possibilities, meet more painters through various channels such as the Internet or peers and friends, look through all the paintings of painters, use various painting styles in their minds to match stories, form a sense of picture, and then make the most sensitive choices. This step is like the work of a casting director. Often the success or failure of a play depends on whether the actors fit the role of the story. Even if you are an editor with a 'social avoidance' in your own right, you have to become a 'socialist' in order to help the story match the most successful painter. As long as the story script and the painter are in place, for experienced editors, it is logical to move forward.
In the process of cooperation, if there is a disagreement between the writer and the painter, it is best for the editor to communicate with the writer and the painter separately, and then digest the opinions of the other party into the official opinions of the publisher, from the perspective of whether the revision opinions are good for the book and whether they are suitable for child readers, and then persuade the writers and painters separately to form a unified opinion. Remember not to let the writer and the painter clash directly when glued, so that it is easy to shoot and scatter. Editors are the buffer zone for opinions, we must find the most appropriate context and tone, consider the different professional backgrounds and positions of both sides, and strive to let everyone understand each other. Everything is for the good of the book.
Another case is that the venturi author is the same person. For the creator of the novice picture book, the most important thing is to let him understand the child's position, recall his childhood feelings or go to the place where there are many children to understand the real life and ideas of the child, look for childlike fun, and avoid letting the work stand in the position of an adult. For mature picture book creators, editors are often assisting and learning from the side, making their own pertinent suggestions when the creator needs it, and trying not to interfere with the creator.
Regardless of which of the above situations, it is necessary to do a good job of sub-mirroring in the sketch stage, and can be fully discussed at the time of draft, so that the original draft does not need to be repeatedly modified, almost as long as the details are modified slightly, and it will not involve the structural modification, saving time, improving efficiency, and avoiding conflicts and contradictions due to repeated revision of the original draft. ”
The introduction of picture book editors and original picture book editors requires completely different professional abilities, the former pointing to foreign language ability, communication ability with translators, meticulous and patient editing process and the ability to judge the quality of a book; the latter points to the grasp of the story theme and narrative, the comprehensive control of picture book narrative methods, the understanding of the author, the ability to judge whether an author is "good" or how to make a book "better". Young authors and editors need to grow in practice.
Illustration of the original picture book "Grandma's Blue Tin Cabinet Wheelchair". (Written/painted by Liu Maoning, the waves and flowers are |.) Beijing United Publishing Company, July 2020 Edition)
04
Picture book education needs to transcend professional restrictions
In addition to the Central American Picture Book Studio, more and more art academies in China have opened picture book creation majors, but the domestic picture book education system is still relatively backward. Students in art schools undergo rigorous art examination training, and education in this process focuses more on picture performance and "artistic value", but picture books are not only "picture art", it also carries stories, and good picture books are also part of "children's literature".
In recent years, there have been many outstanding creators who have stood out from the animation major and the comic book major, such as Liu Maoning, the author of "Grandma's Blue Tin Cabinet Wheelchair", who graduated from the Communication University of China as an animation director. The animation department attaches great importance to film and television narrative, lens language, and story telling, which may also be something that picture book majors can learn from.
Art schools use the "graduation design" as a node when training students, hoping that students will be able to come up with complete exhibits after several years of undergraduate or graduate education. However, when publishing works, publishing works, it is more about the commercial value of the works, and the works are ultimately facing the readers. Instead of waiting for students to run to the publishing house on the eve of graduation with nearly completed works to seek publishing opportunities, it is better to strengthen the connection with local publishing institutions in the training process, so that students can contact future editors and readers earlier, and enhance understanding and growth in exchanges.
In addition to professional colleges, there are also institutions such as the 32-page picture book studio that introduce the curriculum and knowledge concepts of foreign picture book colleges such as the Cambridge Academy of Art into China, and many children's book publishing houses have also invited senior children's book editors and creators at home and abroad to hold creation camps for picture book beginners, which has played a good role in popularizing the basic concepts of picture book creation among young creators. Dong Yang, founder of the 32-page picture book studio, also said that doing such promotion work in China is "under great pressure and has little effect."
05
Reading universality needs more policy support
Although picture book publishing has been saturated in recent years, and the proportion of "picture books" occupying children's book publications is almost out of balance, "picture books" are still strange and luxurious for children in second- and third-tier cities and even rural areas. And now engaged in the work and creation of picture books , even the younger generation of "post-90s" and "post-95s", most of them have not been exposed to picture books in childhood.
Many people still regard picture books as "pediatrics", "only a few pages, why is it so expensive", "ten minutes to read, what is the use", or impose many educational intentions on picture books, trying to make it a "parenting tool".
Original picture book editor Xiao Yu said:
"It wasn't until I actually started making original picture books that I discovered that the author, editor, publisher, and reader (mainly referring to adults with the right to buy) could be said to be very different in their understanding of picture books. In my contact with many illustrators and comic book authors, I found that they are resistant to doing 'children's books' in their hearts, probably because they don't want people to think that the books they are making are 'childish'. At this time, the dilemma of being an original picture book editor is that having to explain and pass on to them that a good picture book is not as 'childish' as they see it, and at the same time constantly reminding them that they are making books for children and not to pursue 'art' excessively. In addition, I believe that many authors and editors really started the industry because they like picture books, but in the face of some publishing predecessors who have outdated values and outdated aesthetics, but who hold the publishing resources and discourse power, they often feel the difficulty of equal dialogue and the ineffectiveness of communication, and the difficulty of this dialogue is also a great dilemma. ”
The children's book publishing industry in the United States is based on the popularity of public libraries and the improvement of residents' reading level after World War I. France's children's book publishing industry also flourished in the 1960s after the government invested heavily in establishing a public library system from the state to the local level. In Europe and the United States, parents and children can easily borrow the latest picture books or old books they want to read from the community libraries near their homes. The library holds a variety of picture book reading activities every day, and the staff is also involved in many picture book reviews and promotions.
In China, private chain picture book lending institutions such as "Old John" and "Youbei" have also developed well in recent years, and many public welfare institutions have established rural libraries to popularize picture book reading, but the popularization of picture book reading still needs more policy support. The improvement of readers' reading level and the expansion of demand will also become a force to promote the production of original picture books. Children can feel the fun of reading picture books and will like picture books. When a part of the new generation of children who "grew up reading picture books" participate in the creation and publication of picture books, original picture books may show some new faces.