Bright colors and a sprouting bean are featured on the cover of 24 Solar Terms Experienced by a Bean. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)
The 2018 Bologna Children's Book Fair is ongoing in Italy, with China featured as guest of honor. Various activities have been held to present the history, status quo, and results of international cooperation of Chinese children's publishing.
This year, more than 4,000 finely-selected original books from nearly 100 Chinese publishers are showcased at the book fair.
Children's Fun Publishing Co Ltd, a joint venture of Egmont Media Group of Denmark and Posts & Telecom Press of China, brought a batch of original books, such as A Hundred Birds Worship Phoenix, Lotus Fairy and 24 Solar Terms Experienced by a Bean to the fair. The books also have been translated into different languages to cater to the international market.
During the fair, the publishing company held a special ceremony to remember the 25th anniversary of the company's estalishment. Through the past 25 years, the company's publication business has gone from bringing in foreign books towards making Chinese books go global.
The publishing company, founded in 1994, aims to introduce traditional Chinese treasures and excellent locally-created books to the world and spread Chinese culture.
It endeavored to bring in excellent foreign children's publications from all over the world to China 25 years ago. Now it is committed to making excellent Chinese books go global and raising their influence in the international market.
Since the first issue of Mickey Mouse magazine by the Children's Fun Publishing 25 years ago, Chinese children began to connect with the world. The publisher was one of Disney's earliest licensees in China and also a partnership with other world-renowned copyright owners, like Hasbro and Mattel.
In recent years, Children's Fun Publishing has published many locally created books and sold the copyrights overseas, building a bridge for Chinese culture to the world. For instance, in 2012, Jackal and Wolf by Shen Shixi and An Unusual Princess by Wu Meizhen were published simultaneously in eight European countries during the London Book Fair, when China was the guest of honor.
Zhao Haiyun, Xu Zhengming and Zhao Xiuling, heads of the China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Li Wen, chairman of Children's Fun Publishing; Zhang Weijun, son of the famous cartoonist Zhang Leping, and other guests attended the ceremony during the fair.
