Children's books a tale of new cultural confidence

Going global

Founded in 1952, the Shanghai Juvenile and Children's Publishing House is China's first commercial publisher catering to young readers, and was also among the pioneers to bring Chinese children's books to global audiences.

It publishes more than 600 titles each year and has created many long-running bestsellers, including 100,000 Whys, Sanmao, 365 Bedtime Stories, Five Thousand Years of Chinese History and The Postman of Buluo Town.

Wang Yi, director of the publisher's copyright department, told China Daily the copyrighting of Chinese children's books started in the 1970s.

In 1979, the Shanghai publisher sold the copyright of a picture book Treasure Boat (Takarabune) to a Japanese counterpart, marking the start of its international copyright trade.

To date, it has sold approximately 3,000 copyrights to foreign publishers in over 40 nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, France, Malaysia, Vietnam, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Egypt, and Morocco.

Among the publisher's landmark titles, the 100,000 Whys series is a standout of children's popular science books in China. First published in 1961, the series has seen over 200 million copies distributed across China.

The series is updated once a decade, with its sixth edition published in 2013. It is comprised of 18 volumes, totaling 6.6 million words, featuring over 7,800 vibrant illustrations and 4,500 contemporary topics that highlight cutting-edge scientific and technological advancements.

Over 115 experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as well as 786 distinguished scientists and renowned science writers, contributed to the masterwork's creation. The series has been published in traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Malay, Kazakh, Korean, Mongolian and other languages.

"The series has facilitated increasing cultural exchanges, serving as a bridge for scientific dreams shared by teenagers both at home and abroad … Our mission is to share our outstanding works and content with all children in the world," said Wang.

In November, the publisher also announced new overseas publishing ventures at the CCBF, where over 20,000 new titles were showcased and about 1,000 intended copyright deals were made among 474 exhibitors from 35 countries and regions.