A page from Images of Cacaform Birds. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Inspiration from above

Although his book series about bugs has drawn many young readers, his latest book about birds may have triggered some controversy among their parents, perhaps, due to the origin of its subject matter.

Following the release of the Chinese version in 2017, the English version of Cacaform Birds was published in 2019, comprising three parts entitled Images, Catalogue and Secrets Unveiled. It is about alien birds visiting Earth, which then get scared and later transformed, only to be saved by the energy of curiosity.

Among the many strange-looking birds, there is one called Glowerspite, which dozes in a supine position and converts its tail to a head when it gets startled, and there is another called Mare-away, a bird which carries a tiny dark troll on its back that rouses dreamers from nightmares.

The inspiration for the book actually came years ago, when bird droppings landed on Zhu's coat as he was setting off for Shanghai to attend a Monet exhibition. He had to abandon his trip to clean his coat.