Chinese / Taiwan
Mareni. Ma lai min jian gu shi = Mat Jenin. Cerita rakyat Melayu
(Mat Jenin. A Malaysian folktale)
Maniniwei
(Lin, Wanwen)
(text/illus.)
Lim, Wan Kee
(Lin, Wanqi)
(transl.)
Xin bei shi: Bu bu chu ban (Pace Books), 2018. – 36 p.
ISBN 978-986-96286-4-8
Text Chinese and Malaysian
Daydream | Folk tale | Picture book | Bilingual book
Reading age: 8+
White Ravens issue: 2019
Coconut picker Mat Jenin climbs up a palm tree and indulges in daydreams about his future fame and wealth. When he tumbles out of the tree, it’s a harsh return to the real world. This Malaysian folktale is reminiscent of the European moralizing fable “The Milkmaid and Her Pail”. However, it does not focus on the moral that you mustn’t let yourself get carried away by your imagination and forget reality. Rather, Taiwan’s first Chinese-Malaysian bilingual picture book celebrates the daydream with relish. It does so in wonderful monochrome illustrations that are inspired by the traditional art of woodcuts of Chinese peasants and are set against bright floral motifs typical for traditional Malaysian batik fabrics. After completing her degree at the National Taiwan University of the Arts, the Malaysian-born author, illustrator, poet, and blogger Maniniwei stayed in Taiwan, where she published her first picture book in 2013.