There cannot be many books, English books, illustrated by a Nanjinger and a young one at that, which have been published by a renowned international name such as HarperCollins. It’s a teeny weeny number which swelled enormously as 2024’s Year of the Dragon beckoned.
Aimed at 4-8 year olds, “Take Me to Laolao”, written by Canada-based Kelly Zhang and illustrated by Italy-based Evie Zhu, hit the bookshelves in North America and beyond on 9 January.
The marvellous tale, beautifully put to pictures by Zhu, tells the story of Lili, who, missing her grandmother, Laolao, as the Lantern Festival approaches, goes on a mystical journey through oceans and heavens to find her. Spoiler alert; she finds grandma, spurred on by the imagery, and not a dry eye left in the house, etc. etc.
Speaking exclusively with The Nanjinger for media in her home town, Zhu told of her presence in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, together with her Chinese background and online portfolio that were likely the catalyst for HarperCollins imprint Quill Tree Books to approach her over 2 years ago. Their envisioned and unmissable target of the Year of the Dragon for publication implicitly implied that no one is going to mess with a dragon, after all.
Something of a traditionalist at heart, Zhu begins her work with pencil and paper. She then uses her initial sketches for inspiration as she opens Procreate (earning itself an “Editor’s Choice” badge on Apple’s App Store) on her iPad Pro, married with the obligatory Apple pencil.
Such wizardry is tantamount to “Take Me to Laolao” being just one of a growing army of publications embracing today’s technology and interconnectivity to deliver beautiful works to readers across time and space.
For Zhu has never actually met collaborator Zhang; their cooperation having taken place entirely online, save for Zhang gifting Zhu a sketch book to encourage her creative work. And also possibly to prove she is living and breathing.
Nevertheless, the real world remains where it’s at for Zhu. She finds she works best drawing on her surroundings, citing Italy and Portugal as top spots for finessing the millions of pixels that make up her beautiful works.
But it all began from virtually nothing. The publishers first sent Evie a blank PDF, save for Zhang’s text on each page, the leafs carefully assigned so that the turn of a page may reveal another twist or turn in the storyline.
All done and dusted, for Zhu, seeing her childhood dream of celebrating the Lantern Festival with her grandparents come to life in the pages of a published book was a moment of profound achievement.
That she finds inspiration in the wonders of the natural world may well hark back to her childhood. Growing up in a variety of locations around Nanjing and given her family had a dislike for city-centre life, preferring to be closer to nature, Zhu feels Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area to likely be her favourite place in the City. In Italy, she misses the street food of Nanjing, especially the osmanthus sugar taro sprouts!
Zhu holds an MA in illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, USA. She currently resides and works in Bologna, Italy, as a doctoral candidate.
“Take Me to Laolao” (ISBN 978-0-06-321765-2) is available on multiple international online bookseller stores, as well as in China on Taobao, needless to say.
