Allow Anno to be your guide to China. Through delightfully detailed watercolors, readers will explore this vast and varied land where calligraphers bestow good fortune, birds fish for men, and dragons dance. Stand with Anno on the Great Wall, visit bustling villages where the streets are waterways and everyone, even horses and bulls, travel by boat. Learn how flocks of ducks are herded on rivers and witness the discovery of thousands of clay soldiers guarding the ancient tomb of China's first emperor.
In addition to the beautiful scenes, the author has included detailed notes in the back of the book that explain his journey and much of the detail in each scene, while still allowing the reader to discover things on their own. These notes draw out the various features of each scene which helps to teach the reader about Chinese culture.
Praise for Anno's China
"The Japanese Master of quotidian detail takes readers up China's Yellow River in this new book, first published in Japan in 2009. . . . It's been a hair over two decades since a new book by Anno (Anno's Magic Seeds, 1995) last made its way to our shores; this tour, breathtaking in its own right, is therefore doubly welcome." -Kirkus Reviews
"Anno's China is full of joy and wonder. Beautiful and evocative beyond words." -Shirin Bridges, author of Ruby's Wish
"In the 1970s the books of Japanese illustrator Mitsumasa Anno began appearing in the United States. His graphic sophistication, his unique perspective on landscapes and the people who inhabit them, and his playful sense of humor would ultimately win for him the Bologna Book Prize and Hans Christian Andersen Award. In Anno's China, once again Anno brings us a book that educates, entertains, and delights." -Anita Silvey, author of Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Children's Book
About the Author:
Mitsumasa Anno, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for his lasting contribution to children's literature, is a lover of travel and culture. Anno's books, through their unique perspective and mischievous sense of humor, have opened to children across the world, cultures and lands distant from their own. Without words Anno conveys the beauty, humanity, and value of all people in all times and places. As he notes, "There are differences in people, different styles of housing, social differences, different cultures all over the world. But perhaps what lies at the bottom of the heart of each human being is the same, an inherent value." Born in Tsuwano, in Western Japan, Mr. Anno studied both art and mathematics before teaching school for ten years. He has written and illustrated over 20 books for children. He makes his home in a suburb of Tokyo. He is married and has two children.
