Another achievement by Changbi picture books: The reception of the 2019 BolognaRagazzi Award
The third volume in the Kwon Jeongsaeng Literary Picture Books series published by Changbi, The Moon over the Apple Orchard (illustrated by Yoon Mi-sook) received a special mention in fiction in the 2019 BolognaRagazzi Award at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. “A work that shows the richness and vulnerability of life at the same time by depicting the natural landscape and labor in rural areas in concrete scenes,” commented the judging panel.
Marking its 56th anniversary this year, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair is the most prestigious children’s book event worldwide, and a total of 1,558 works from 43 countries competed in this year’s BolognaRagazzi Award. The most authoritative prize for works for youngsters given to children’s books published around the globe for excellence in creativity, educational value, and artistic design, the BolognaRagazzi Award has also been dubbed the “Nobel Prize of children’s book publishing.” This year, five books were chosen as the winners in five sections including fiction and nonfiction, and 14 books were selected as special mentions. The award ceremony was held in the Palazzo d’Accursio in Bologna on April 1 at 6:30 PM local time.
Having published for long picture books that are noteworthy for the authors’ artistry, Changbi received the BolognaRagazzi Award in nonfiction (winner) in 2011 for A House of the Mind: Maum (written by Kim Heekyoung, illustrated by Iwona Chmielewska) for the first time in South Korea. It once again received the prize in fiction (winner) with Eyes (written and illustrated by Iwona Chmielewska) in 2013. With a special mention for The Moon over the Apple Orchard this year, the publisher has been honored once more. The recipient of a special mention in fiction in 2004 for Red Bean Porridge Granny and the Tiger (written by Cho Ho-sang, published by Woongjin.com), Yoon Mi-sook has become a two-time awardee of the BolognaRagazzi Award with her reception of the prize this year, thus becoming an artist internationally recognized for her unique Korean painting style.