Cover of Queen of Wolf Kingdom [Photo provided to China Daily]

A new hardcover edition of Shen Shixi's novel Queen of Wolf Kingdom was recently released as part of celebrations to mark the writer's career of more than three decades.

The novel has sold nearly 1 million copies since it was first published by Children's Fun Publishing Co in 2013. It tells the story of a few wolves that are led by a female member of the pack through hardships after the male leader is killed by a tiger.

In reality, female wolves seldom led a pack, Shen said of his imaginary plot. He said he witnessed wolves in the wild.

Shen has tried to explore nature and animals' contact with humans in most of his books.

"The animal world is a mirror that can reflect the merits and demerits of people," he said at the launch ceremony of the hardcover edition on Jan 13.

"Shen's animal fiction is outstanding because what he writes is not only about animals but also humans. He explores the themes of human society in the animal world," said Cao Wenxuan, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016.