Hokkien (Taiwan Minnan) / Taiwan
Bih-sio-tshuē
(Zhuo mi cang)
(Hide-and-seek)
Tsou, Page
(Zou, Junsheng)
(text/illus.)
Taibei: Guo li Tai wan bo wu guan (National Taiwan Museum), 2022. – [37] p.
ISBN 978-986-532-545-9
(Chinese parallel edition: Zhuo mi cang. ISBN 978-986-532-544-2)
Text in Hokkien (Taiwan Minnan) and Chinese
Formosan clouded leopard | Extinction | Museum | Non-fiction | Picture book | Bilingual book
Reading age: 4+
White Ravens issue: 2023
Intrigued by the sight of a Formosan clouded leopard’s skin, British diplomat Robert Swinhoe (1836-1877) started to search for the mysterious animal, which plays an important role in the mythology of the indigenous Ngudradrekai and Paiwan peoples. In the course of his quest, he collected more than 700 animal species, but left Taiwan without ever seeing a single living leopard. Over a hundred years later and after more than one decade of searching, naturalist Chiang Po-jen declared the species extinct. The stuffed specimen in the National Taiwan Museum seems to be the only remaining Formosan clouded leopard, although alleged sightings keep being reported. Attentive readers will enjoy the game of hide-and-seek that Tsou stages in this non-fiction book introducing several other species that are endemic to Taiwan. Tsou’s artworks in his distinctive retro-futuristic, surrealistic style have won various international awards. »Hide-and-seek« was selected for the BRAW Amazing Bookshelf 2023. [LO]