Chinese / People's Republic of China
Wo kan jian yi zhi niao
(I saw a bird)
Liu, Bo le
(text/illus.)
Jinan: Ming tian chu ban she (Tomorrow Publishing House), 2014. – 33 p.
ISBN 978-7-5332-7939-4
Bird | Nature | Ecology | Non-fiction
Reading age: 6+
White Ravens issue: 2014
A little girl sees a strange bird while playing in the Dakeng Scenic Area in Taiwan. She sketches it to ask her mother what kind of bird it is. As they investigate the answer together, readers get to know a number of diff erent birds living in the area. The birds are illustrated in watercolour with impressive delicacy and beauty, reminiscent of the elaborate style of traditional Chinese painting. The book won the first prize of the third Feng Zikai Children’s Picture Books Award. This award is now counted as the most prestigious of its kind in the Chinese-speaking world. Liu Bo le, born in 1952 in Taiwan, worked as an editor for art and children’s nonfiction books after studying painting. He writes and illustrates non-fiction books such as this one, which are camouflaged as picture books, is an environmental activist and a photographer of nature, notably of birds. These activities have earned him the nickname "Liu niao" (Liu bird).