Children’sFunWorld,anewly-refurbishedbookmallinShanghai,drawsmanyyoungreadersfromacrossthecity.VCGWiththeapproachofInternationalChildren’sDayonJune1,promotionalcampaignsforvariouschildren’sbookshavebeenlaunchedonmajoronlinebooksalesplatformsinChina.
Inrecentyears,children’sbookshavebecomeahighlightofChina’spublishingindustry.Statisticsshowthatin2016,morethan520outof581publishersinthecountrycollectivelypresentedmorethan40,000children’sbooks,rankingfirstintheworld.
China’schildren’sbookpublishingindustryhasmaintainedanaveragedouble-digitgrowthfor17consecutiveyears.Alongsidetheriseoflocalwritersandincreasinglyactiveinternationalexchangeandcooperation,Chinesechildren’sliterarymasterpiecescontinuetoemerge.
Children,MajorReaders
EverySaturdaymorning,8-yearoldZhangShiqiappearsatthesectionforchildrenattheNationalLibraryofChinainBeijing.Sincetheageoffour,Zhanghascometoreadthereeveryweek.
“Onourfirstvisit,Iaccompaniedherwhenshereadapicturebook,”grinsZhang’smother.“Shecannowchooseherownbookstoread.Hergrowthmakesmehappy.”Unlikemanychildrenofthesameagewhoshuttlebetweenboosterclassesonweekends,Zhang’smotherplacesgreatervalueonindependentreading.
“Thenewgenerationofparentsisdifferentfromourparents,”notesWangFeifei,achildren’sbookpublisherwithChinaCITICPress.“Theyhavemoreeducationandabetterunderstandingofchildren’sreading.Theyarealsopickieraboutchildren’spublications.Thismakesithardtowinthemarket.”InWang’seyes,competitioninchildren’sbookshasbecometougher.
Thereportofthe15thNationalReadingSurveypublishedbytheChineseAcademyofPressandPublicationshowsthatChinahasseenagrowthofbookreadingrateandquantityamongitsschool-agechildren.Lastyear,childrenunder17yearsoldreadanaverageof8.81booksinChina,anincreaseof0.47year-on-year.
Itshouldbenotedthatamongthefamilieswithchildrenagedat8oryounger,70percentregularlyreadwiththeirchildren,andparent-childreadingisbeingembracedbymoreandmoreparents.
“Readingenableschildren’sheartstobloom,giftsthemfreedomandcomfortandhelpscultivateglobalcitizenswithChineseroots,”declaredXuDongmei,organizerof“ClosetoMotherTongue,”achildren’sreadingpromotioncampaign.Shesharedherinsightsonchildren’sbooksatthe14thChinaChildren’sReadingForuminNanjing,JiangsuProvincebeforethisyear’sWorldBookDayonApril23.
AnalyzingthereasonswhyChina’schildren’sbookmarketisgrowingsofast,LiuHaiqi,memberoftheChildren’sLiteratureCommitteeundertheChineseWriters’Association,opinedthatfourmainfactorshaveboostedthemarketincludingpromotionbythegovernmentandsociety,improvementsinworksofchildren’sliteraturewriters,continuousreadingpromotioncampaigns,andupgradedmarketpromotioncapacityofpublishinghouses.
ThePictureBookReadingHallintheGuangzhouLibraryisthemostpopularpartoftheinstitution.Itisoftenovercrowdedduringholidaysandonweekends.Manychildrenandparentssitdirectlyonthefloortoread,andalonglinecanfrequentlybefoundoutsidethedoor.VCG
November18,2016:Thethree-dayChinaShanghaiInternationalChildren’sBookFairkicksoffinShanghai,wheremorethan60,000newChineseandforeignchildren’sbooksweredisplayed,attractingover300domesticandinternationalchildren’sbookpublishinghouses.Morethan1,000children’sbookwriters,illustratorsandpublishersfromaroundtheworldgatheredtoturnthepageonChina’schildren’sbookmarket,injectingfreshknowledgeandvitality.VCGActiveInternationalExchange
ThisMarch,Chinaattendedthe55thBolognaInternationalChildren’sBookFairinItalyastheGuestofHonor,whereChinalaunchedaseriesofcampaignsfeaturingoriginalChinesechildren’sbooksandillustrations.
AttheChineseOriginalIllustrationExhibitionduringthebookfair,150worksby30representativeChinesepainterssuchasCaiGao,XiongLiang,HeiMiandZhuChengliangweredisplayedforthefirsttimeforauthorsandpublishersfromaroundtheworld.
Inrecentyears,theintroductionofforeignchildren’sbooksresultedinthembecomingalargesegmentofthechildren’sbookmarketinChina.Meanwhile,originalChineseworkshave“goneglobal”andprovensuccessfulintheinternationalmarket,radiatingtheessenceofoutstandingtraditionalChinesecultureandprovidingrichculturalnourishmentforchildrenallovertheworld.
Atthebookfair,DolphinBookssignedcopyrightagreementsforThe24SolarTerms,abookabouttraditionalChineseculture,topublishAlbanianandEnglisheditionsandreachedagreementsonoverseascopyrightcooperationwithpublishinghousesfromGermany,Lebanon,JapanandNepal.
Accordingtostatisticsfromthebookfair,Chinesepublishersreachedatotalof800-plusagreementstoexportChinesechildren’sbooks.
“Chinacurrentlyhasmanycutting-edgepicturebookauthorswithfairlyhighstandard,”assertedWangFeifei.“However,children’sbookpublishingisamonolithicproject.Ourpublishingofchildren’sbooksisstillinitsinfancy,andweneedmoreopportunitieslikethisfairtoexchangeideasontheinternationalstage.”
ThetripmarkedWang’sfirstparticipationintheBolognaBookFair.DespitewitnessingoriginalChinesechildren’sbooksattractinternationalattention,WangalsosoberlyrealizedthegapbetweenChinesechildren’sbookpublishersandtheirworld-renownedcounterparts.
TranslationorOriginal
Overthepastdecade,thetrendofyoungchildrenlearningEnglishandthepopularityofimportedinternationalcopyrightshaveresultedinforeignchildren’sbooksoccupyinghalfofthedomesticmarket.Themostpopularareoriginalillustratedbooks,children’sliteratureandpopularsciencebooksfromEurope,Japan,SouthKorea,andtheUnitedStates.
Facedwithworriesaboutforeignchildren’sbooksdominatingthemarket,SanChuanling,aneducatorspecializinginchildren’sbookpublishing,believesthatoriginalChinesechildren’sbookswillfollowthesamepathasChinesefilmsandengageintheprocessofimitatingandlearningbeforeultimatelyblazingatrailfeaturingChinesecharacteristics.
Inrecentyears,alargenumberoffine-qualitychildren’sbooksreflectingtheessenceoftraditionalChineseculturewhilemeetingmodernchildren’sreadingtasteshavebecomepopular.
AtoplistsofoutstandingoriginalworksareIllustratedChineseHistoryforChildren,HistoricalReadingsforTeenagers,ChineseChildren,FairyTalesofWords,andFairyTalesoftheTwelveChineseZodiacAnimals.Oneofthebest-sellersinthecountryisHistoricalReadingsforTeenagerspublishedbyNewWorldPress,withatotalsalesvolumeofnearly10millioncopies.
Moreover,anumberofChineseoriginalpicturebooksthatmeetinternationalstandardshaveemerged,suchasThe24SolarTermsbyXiongLiangandTheSeedlingofAnbyHuangLi.SomeauthorsreceivedinternationalawardsincludingnominationfortheHansChristianAndersenPrizeforXiongLiangandawardingoftheBolognaGoldAppletoHeiMi.Stand-outChineseauthorsarecuttingastrikingfigureintheinternationalarena.
Withtheintroductionofthetwo-childpolicyinChina,Chinesechildren’sbookscanfindincreasingnumbersofreaders.Themothertongueisthemostprofoundculturallinkinacountry.InSanChuanling’sopinion,originalworkswillbetheheartofChina’schildren’sbookmarketwithin10years.