Two recent pieces at Publishers Weekly–Karen Springen’s article on “The Growth of Chinese Children’s Books” and Shannon Maughan’s Fall 2018 Children’s Sneak Previews–make mention of a lovely, delicate, and whimsical children’s comic I translated last summer:
My editor at Lerner Graphic Universe and I went through a number of possible titles, though the powers that be eventually settled on My Beijing: Four Stories of Everyday Wonder.
Yu’er and her grandpa live in a small neighborhood in Beijing—and it’s full of big personalities. There’s a story around every corner, and each day has a hint of magic.
In one tale, Yu’er wants to swim in the Special Olympics, a sports competition for people with disabilities. But she and her grandpa don’t have a pool! Their trick to help Yu’er practice wows the whole neighborhood. In another story, a friend takes Yu’er to a wild place full of musical insects. Later, Yu’er hears a special story about her grandparents. And in the final story, Yu’er and her grandpa show a cranky painter the sweet side of life.
Writer and artist Nie Jun began drawing at an early age by copying lianhuanhua (Chinese sequential art). He later discovered the cartooning legends of Europe, Japan, and elsewhere. He lives in Beijing and teaches drawing to university students. My Beijing is represented by agent Nicolas Grivel, who also co-translated Nie Jun’s original script from Chinese with Qingyuan Zhao.
