Chinese / Taiwan
Di mian di xia. Si ji kun chong wei guan tu ji
(Aboveground, underground. An illustrated account of the insect microcosm through the four seasons)
Qiu, Chengzong
(text/illus.)
Taibei: Xiao lu wen hua shi ye gu fen you xian gong si (Hsiao Lu Publ.), 2016. – 42 p. + [4] p.
(Series: Xiao lu chuang zuo hui ben; OP46)
ISBN 978-986-211-627-2
Insect | Rhinoceros beetle | Ecology | Cycle of life | Non-fiction | Picture book
Reading age: 6+
White Ravens issue: 2017
The shoe hovering over an insect on the cover merely provides a measure for the microcosm under our feet: this book recounts the life story of a rhinoceros beetle in a poetic language that is quite unusual for a non-fiction book. In summer, it emerges from underground and spreads its wings to begin the final journey of its life. At the same time, another beetle crawls into the ground and lays a row of milky white eggs before it dies. These eggs form adult beetles, through autumn, when the silent earth becomes golden, through winter, when icy winds sweep away all beauty, through spring, when the whisper of insects tells the story of countless lives seeking companions. More than hundred other creatures are hidden in the double-page drawings, each representing a cross-section of the beetle habitat. Award-winning photographer, author and illustrator Qiu Chengzong dedicates most of his books to the natural environment in Taiwan. His almost photorealistic images aren’t mere documentary records but philosophical renderings of the eternal cycle of life.