Picture-perfect career

Cai's original manuscripts of The Story of the Peach-Blossom Spring are now kept in an art gallery in Tokyo, and several pictures from the work have been selected as illustrations in a textbook for Japanese primary school students.

"Peach Blossom Spring symbolizes nature, and drives a dream. People may hail from different countries, but their love for nature and pursuit of dreams are often common. That is why the book perhaps has a universal appeal," she says.

"Childhood is the best time of our lives," she says, on why she insists on creating books for children. "We revel at every little thing, like the first color we see or the first song we hear. I want to celebrate that innocence."

She has a word of caution for parents. "Never drill concepts into children. Allow them to see the world through their own eyes," she says. "If a tree is beautiful, let them observe, understand and appreciate that beauty on their own. Don't tell them to do so."