This year’s Hans Christian Andersen award has gone to author Cao Wenxuan for his wonderful book Bronze and Sunflower. This is the first time a Chinese author has won the prestigious literary award which is often referred to as the Little Nobel Prize for Literature and the literary community are pleased with the unanimous decision to award the prize to Cao.
Cao’s novel focusses on the life of a young girl by the name of Sunflower who during the Cultural Revolution followed her father, who was an artist when he was forced to labour amongst the peasants in the countryside which was the fate of tens of millions of Chinese in the 60s and 70s.
Quickly enamoured by the beauty of the countryside Sunflower is still left wondering how to fill her long lonely days whilst her father works the fields; that is until she meets Bronze, mute and ostracised by the other boys, Bronze and Sunflower soon become inseparable and Sunflower is invited to stay with Bronze‘s family but times are hard and sometimes whatever we may want, we have to deal with the lot we are given.
I think it wonderful that authors from new countries are being recognised in the mainstream literary awards. There can be nothing but good in exposing our youngsters to stories from around the globe.
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