tag Picture book
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- Cats, Our Neighbors on Walls
- By depicting Soom, a “cat mom” or a cat feeder who takes care of stray cats surviving in a poor urban environment together with her friends, this book talks about the warmheartedness of showing sympathy and respect even for small, weak beings and the need to ensure animals’ right to life. The story is based on the authors’ firsthand experiences and their coverage of the movement to create stray cat feeding stations, which first started in the Gangdong-gu district in Seoul and later spread to other areas and towns. The tale portrays with hope the ways in which people sharing the same ideal gradually change their towns and neighbors through a collective effort. People and cats living together as good neighbors Seeing a stray cat trembling in the street in the cold rain, Soom brings the animal home and decides to live together. Once she thus starts to live with the cat, she begins to catch sight of other stray felines as well. Wishing to help cats that are unable to feed themselves and live in a dirty and dangerous urban environment, the protagonist starts to give them food and water but often gets in quarrels with people who dislike the animals. After pondering on ways for stray cats and humans to coexist happily, she gathers likeminded people and organizes a group called “Cat Friends in Our Neighborhood,” or “CFON.” Engaging in various activities, members of the organization succeed in changing both the town and the mindset of the neighbors.
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- A Building Where Trees Grow
- Selected for the 1st “Un-printed Ideas” exhibition hosted by the Hyundai Museum of Kids’ Books and Art On a cloudy day hazy with fine dust (particulate matter), a child who cannot go out and play because of the fine dust starts a drawing, fancying her own house. A playground where flowers grow by themselves like magic, a botanical research institute that lets out fresh air all year round, and a very big greenhouse where animals can nestle in and take a rest during the cold winter… While drawing a house where flowers and trees grow, the youngster dreams of a green city.
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- A Father Who Makes Books
- This picture book recounts through historical imagination and outstanding storytelling skills an anecdote from the childhood of Bak Je-ga (1750-1815), who was a member of the Silhak (“Practical Learning”) school of thought during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). A passage in a work by Bak, who cut paper every day during his childhood to make books, has been newly created into a tale of heartwarming love between father and son. Even amidst a social situation where those born to aristocratic fathers and lower-class mothers were discriminated against, Bak grew up under his father’s loving care. The future author was fonder of writing than anyone, and his childhood anecdote of cutting paper daily to make books has been reshaped through historical imagination and excellent storytelling skills. The expression of gentle and warm love from Bak’s father is quietly moving, transcending the period and discrimination. With traditional East Asian painting techniques, where ink and colors are applied to traditional paper, the illustrator depicts life during the Joseon Dynasty tastefully yet portrays the characters in a lighthearted and humorous manner, as if they were from a comic book, thus adding energy to this work. With dark ink brush strokes and bold composition and presentation, the volume depicts in depth the deep love communicated between father and son.
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- Wordplay Picture Book Series
- Korean boasts a wealth of onomatopoeias and phenomemes (words mimicking a state or a manner) and an unlimited ability to coin words. The Changbi Word Play Picture Book Series are structured so that readers will learn representative onomatopoeias and phenomemes in the language in a fun way, as if playing games, through beautiful illustrations and rhythmical sentences. These books will greatly help children to speak Korean even more richly and to develop their linguistic abilities during infancy, when language is learned, and the sensuous and splendid drawings will capture youngsters’ eyes, thus being sufficient to foster their artistic sensibilities. Grin-grin and Wiggle-wiggle, which deal with phenomemes, and Vroom-vroom and Rumble-tumble, which deal with onomatopoeias, select ten symbolic words according to their respective themes and arrange them together with illustrations to fit the flow of the stories, thus allowing children to take interest, to learn language as if playing games, and to turn the pages joyfully. The warm yet rough grain of wood, which can be seen only in woodblock prints, and the subtle and beautiful hues created by the overlaying of color after color add depth to these volumes as picture books.
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- Nogak’s Rooftop Honeybees
- An ordinary office worker living in a city, Nogak learns that agriculture has been negatively affected by a decrease in the number of honeybees. He realizes that, no matter how diligently people cultivate kitchen gardens on weekend farms, plants will not bear fruit well if honeybees disappear and that it will be difficult for humans to live if and when produce is gone. This is a non-fiction picture book recounting how, after pondering on the issue, Nogak quit his company and became an urban beekeeper teaching many people to raise bees in cities. As such, the volume will prompt young readers to realize how much meaningful change the modest choices of ordinary people can bring to society and give them the strength and courage to challenge, dream, and imagine without reservation. As beautiful scenes ranging from the urban forest of jam-packed high-rises to an apiary in the mountain thick with peach blossoms to the majestic sight of thousands of honeybees coming out of honeycombs and swarming vividly unfold, information that will whet youngsters’ curiosity such as the characteristics of honeybees and methods for raising these insects, too, is amply provided, thus adding to the joy of reading. Impressive is the protagonist’s efforts to resolve our problems today on his own without shifting them to future generations.
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- The Raspberry King
- In this volume, which is her first picture book, Go Su-jin gives new expression to an old tale from Northern Europe through her unique, individual painting style. The mysterious adventures of Therese and Aina, sisters who are very fond of raspberries, unfold against the backdrop of the beautiful and dense forests Northern Europe. Noteworthy are the fantastical atmosphere created by sylvan nights, flowers and trees inhabited by spirits, and fairies with unknown names as well as the rich colors and the dynamic mise-en-scène, which will lead readers into a world of imagination. Adding a lesson about the preciousness of friendship and life to the attraction of old stories where the protagonists are rewarded for their good deeds, this work will present readers with a new joy in reading picture books of old tales. Storyline: Once upon a time, there lived in a deep, deep mountain four brothers and sisters who loved raspberries. One day, Therese and Aina, the sisters, discovered a little caterpillar in their basket for raspberries and freed it in the forest. The girls went inside the forest to gather raspberries, only to lose their way and wander. In the process, they encountered plants that tasted like bread and milk and flowers that were like fluffy cotton candies. After spending one night in the woods, the sisters followed a fairy to a festival in the Raspberry Village, where they appeared before the girls. Showered with words of thanks and presents by the ruler, the sisters then happily returned home.
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- I Like the Moon
- The first original picture book by the budding author Na Myeong-nam, this volume depicts through delicate pencil drawings a baby owl’s trip to the mysterious moon. The work captures the mystical atmosphere of the heavenly body, beautifully portraying it with a heartwarming imagination and a lyrical touch. The journey through which the young bird comes to learn of the secret of the moon, which brightly illuminates the night, is depicted like a festival, thus conveying to readers excitement, energy, and emotional satisfaction. Wholly reflecting childlike feelings, wishes, and imagination, with the familiar celestial object as the subject matter, this volume will be a picture book about the moon for the entire family. Storyline: Living deep in the forest, the baby owl is very fond of the moon and has wish to visit the celestial domain just once. One night, a yellow piece wafts down from heaven to the young bird. After touching this mysterious object, the owlet is transported to the lunar world and meets the moon rabbits that live there. The baby owl excitedly creates a full moon together with the moon rabbits and then returns to the forest.
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- I’m Growing Up
- A picture book that awakens readers to the meaning of time and growth Jointly created by BolognaRagazzi Award recipients Kim Heekyoung and Yum Hyewon I’m Growing up is a heartwarming picture book where youngsters find and remind readers of the significance of time and growth amidst insignificant moments undergone each day. This volume has been completed with text by Kim Heekyoung, who received the BolognaRagazzi Award (grand prize in non-fiction), dubbed the “Nobel Prize for picture books,” in 2011 for A House of the Mind: Maum (published by Changbi) and illustrations by Yum Hyewon, who received the same award (honorable mention in fiction) in 2009 for Last Night. There is a child who is small enough to fit snugly into Mom’s bosom. He constantly experiences something in everyday life—buttoning up his clothes by himself notwithstanding clumsiness, nibbling on food, cutting out and gluing pieces of colored paper, saying good-bye to his friend after playing together, bursting into tears after being scolded by Mom, hugging his younger sibling tightly, gazing at the clouds as they float by, and strolling in the park. This book lovingly depicts youngsters, who ceaselessly grow in mind and body though the process may not be obvious to the eye or clearly expressible, by portraying moments at which children are alone at times, get hurt, are healed, part from others, find themselves in peculiarspaces, and spend time tediously in the routines of daily life. Although growth is realized only after time has passed, the volume conveys the message that children are already “growing up” at all moments—not only happy and joyful ones but also boring, sad, and painful ones.
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- Granny’s Summer Vacation
- Magical imagination that will cool midsummer Another summer story drawn by the author of Watermelon Swimming Pools “I’ll let you hear sounds of the sea” One day, Granny has an unexpected summer vacation! Granny’s Summer Vacation is the second original picture book by “Bonsoir lune” (Park So Young), who received enthusiastic responses and high expectations from children and adults alike with her picture book Watermelon Swimming Pools (published by Changbi), which sparkles with brilliant imagination. Noteworthy for its imagination, which freely moves between reality and fantasy, this work begins with a grandson visiting his solitary grandmother one summer day. The space in which Granny lives is depicted in detail through objects including a buzzing old electric fan, television set, family photographs, an armchair, a small traditional Korean low dining table, and dainty flower pots. Although there is no explanatory text, readers can fully surmise her personality and feelings with the illustrations alone. After her grandson has given her a conch that resonates with the sounds of ocean waves and departed, Granny is seated in an empty room, watching the television. Suddenly, she goes inside the conch with her puppy Mary and comes to enjoy a summer vacation. The author presents an impressive expression throughout the work by contrasting the home where Granny leads her everyday life and the seaside where she enjoys a vacation. Whereas the protagonist’s home is exquisitely depicted through bric-a-brac, the sea is shown as a space where a wide-open view and a bold composition unfold. While Granny is portrayed as reticent and quiet in her daily life, she is presented as lighthearted and humorous at the sea. Adding outstanding imagination and sensitive mise-en-scène, the author spins the magical event that occurs to the heroine into a fascinating story. Granny’s Summer Vacation is a picture book where, through Granny, who embarks on an unexpected vacation, readers will be able to enjoy the joy of vacations and travel to their hearts’ content.
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