On March 11, sweden's Peter Pan Prize was announced, and the picture book "Never Stop Running", jointly created by Chinese writer Cao Wenxuan and Russian painter Igor Onikov, won this award.
Established in 2000 by the Swedish chapter of the International Children's Book Federation (IBBY) and the Gothenburg Book Fair, the Peter Pan Awards are awarded annually for high-quality children's books that are both literary and thematic.
It is reported that the simplified version of "Never Stop Running" Chinese was published by Relay Press in March 2019. The Peter Pan Award-winning "Never Stop Running" is the first original work of the Swedish Peter Pan Award to be translated into Chinese mainland Swedish since its establishment in 2000.
"Never Stop Running"
Cao Wenxuan by [Russian] Igor Onikov
Published by Relay Press
Two international Hans Christian Andersen Award winners have joined forces
The jury wrote to Never Stop Running: "MaoMao tirelessly runs between two owners who have been separated. Mao Mao's longing for the people who loved him the most has become a symbol of their longings—perhaps not for each other, but for the past and the feelings that no longer exist. Cao Wenxuan's writings and Igor Onikov's illustrations capture in a superb way an elusive nostalgia that affects us all in a more or less way by figuring out thoughts. The translator also subtly conveys these nuances in the translation. "Never Stop Running" evokes the strongest emotions in people's hearts with its simplicity, and is a well-deserved Peter Pan Award-winning work. ”
This is not the first time that the writer Cao Wenxuan and the painter Igor Onikov have won an international award, both are very outstanding creators and have long been internationally renowned.
Cao Wenxuan, a well-known Chinese children's literature writer, winner of the 2016 International Hans Christian Andersen Award, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Department of Chinese of Peking University. He is the author of novels such as "Goats Don't Eat Paradise Grass", "Grass House", "Red Tile House, Black Tile House", "Bronze Sunflower", "Fire Seal", "Dragonfly Eyes" and so on. More than 70 works have been translated into English, French, German, Greek, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, Danish, Portuguese, Russian, Italian and other languages. His works have won important awards such as the National Outstanding Children's Literature Award, the China Publishing Government Award, and the National Book Award.
Igor Onikov, a famous Russian illustrator and winner of the 2018 International Hans Christian Andersen Prize. Born in Moscow in 1953. In his early years, he worked in animation design, creating illustrations for children's periodicals and children's books, and creating and designing a large number of exquisite books. His works have won the "Best Book of the Year" at the Moscow International Book Fair and have been selected for the "Bologna International Children's Book Illustration Exhibition" many times. The international Hans Christian Andersen Awards speech praised "his talent without boundaries".
The never-ending running is the pursuit and contemplation of life and true feelings
"Never Stop Running" tells the story of a dog named Mao Mao who runs between two owners.
Young Mao Mao was adopted by a newlywed couple and had a wonderful time. Later, the couple separated and lived in two distant cities. Both are deeply in love with Mao Mao, and Mao Mao cannot be separated from either of them. So Mao Mao began its endless run. All year round, spring, summer, autumn and winter, rain and snow on cloudy days... Mao Mao kept running between the two cities, running, running...
Author Cao Wenxuan said: "'Never Stop Running' is an emotional story. Such stories have been played out since the time of the flood of mankind. I have been writing literature for decades, and I have always been writing about emotions, based on my understanding of the meaning of emotions. In the beginning, literature came for emotions, and it naturally walked with human beings forever for emotions. May "Never Stop Running" never stop running and run all over a world where this kind of story is more and more needed. ”
"Never Stop Running" inner text image
In this story, the author is obsessed with the natural beauty of the four seasons, in his pen, a wilderness, a river, a cloud, a tree flower, a bouquet of snow... All are spiritual. He prefers to set artistic scenes in stories and render formal beauty - all of which provide the painter with unlimited imagination possibilities and creative space. Onikov inherited the consistent style of Russian realist painting: deep and full of color, superb realism skills, meticulous painting language, and thick humanistic feelings. The painting returns to the plain and simple life and the earth, and at the same time sees surprise in the plain. With a clumsy paw print throughout the storyline, he uses his brushstrokes to freeze the eyes and moods of fleeting people and dogs, and mobilizes the reader's reading emotions with a rapid and slow picture rhythm...
In addition to "Never Stop Running", the original picture book "Evenk's Moose" published by Relay Press, co-authored by Gezhilqimug Black Crane and Jiu'er, and copyrighted and exported to Sweden, was also shortlisted for the Peter Pan Award.
Text/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Sun Jun
Photo/ Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Sun Jun
Video/Guangzhou Daily, New Flower City Reporter: Sun Jun
Guangzhou Daily New Flower City Editor: Wu Bo