Catherine Louis,
Liu and the Bird: A Journey in Chinese Calligraphy
North-South Books, 2006.

Ages 4-8

This is an exceptionally beautiful book and was deservedly a 2006 IBBY Honor List title.  The story is simple and heart-warming: we follow little Liu, who is herself led by a little bird, on her dreamlike journey through the countryside to see her grandfather. Grandpa welcomes Liu with the words: 'I knew you would hear my call. Because the voice of love can be heard from far away'. He encourages her to draw her journey with a paintbrush, instead of telling him in words: and that is what the book itself does as it introduces very young children to Chinese characters.  The calligrapher, Feng Xiao Min, born in Shanghai and now residing in Paris, where he teaches calligraphy at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, shows the evolution of a symbol in three stages: from a pictorial image; to an intermediate stage showing an early pictograph; to the actual Chinese character as it iscurrently used.  Although the progression is not always obvious, this is truly an ingenious way to introduce children to written Chinese. Complimenting the calligraphy, the striking linocut and torn paper illustrations are derivative of the classic Chinese style of landscape painting, whilst still being the particular vision of the artist, Catherine Louis.

Young children will not only delight in the warmth and joyfulness of the story and illustrations, but will hopefully feel encouraged to investigate calligraphy further and indeed learn to draw some Chinese characters for themselves.  In fact, an 'Activity Ideas' section, including a memory game, is available at the end of the book to encourage practical learning, whether 'at home or in school'. Liu and the Bird is a hymn to the arts of calligraphy and Chinese painting, in a child-friendly form.

Anna Kelly
November 2006