The China Post
Date: August 31, 2016
By: Angela Chu
For book worms, our passion for reading began the moment we set eyes on picture books. From
Maurice Sendak, “Where the Wild Things Are” (1963)
poring over illustrations and listening to adults read us stories to reading them on our own, it was through these pictures books that we caught our first glimpse of the outside world, learning eagerly about it. Recognizing such significance in children’s books, the Hans Christian Andersen Award was initiated in 1956 and has become the highest honor in children’s literature.
‘The Nobel Prize for Children’s Literature’
After WWII, it became evident to many that children’s books were a means of promoting mutual understanding and peace on an international level. Under UNESCO’s International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY, 國際兒童圖書評議會), the biennial award was originally given to authors of children’s books. In 1966, it was extended to illustrators.
Celebrating five decades, the works of all past winning-illustrators are being compiled for the very first time in the Hans Christian Andersen Awards 50th Anniversary Exhibition (國際安徒生插畫大獎50周年展) in Taipei. Despite not being a member of the IBBY and thus being unable to participate in award nominations, the driving force behind the exhibition is interest and appreciation for children’s literature in Taiwan, said Exhibition Manger Hsinyi Hu (胡忻儀) of the Blue Dragon Art Company (蔚龍藝術有限公司), which curated the exhibition. [FULL STORY]