Artie and Julie, a picture book written and illustrated by Taiwanese author Chen Chih-yuan (陳致元), has been selected as one of 10 notable children’s books of the year by a US teachers organization, a publishing source said yesterday.
The English-language book about two friends — Artie the lion and Julie the rabbit — was selected one of the top children’s books by the Children’s Literature Assembly of the US National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) for its Notables Award, said Heryin Publishing Co, which published the Chinese edition of Artie and Julie in 2006.
Artie and Julie will be featured, along with 29 other books, at the NCTE Convention in November and at the International Reading Association (IRA) Convention next year, as well as in the Autumn 2009 edition of the Journal of Children’s Literature, said Chou Yih-fen (周逸芬), editor-in-chief of Heryin Books.
The 30 children’s titles, which include fiction, non-fiction, poetry and picture books, demonstrate uniqueness in the use of language or style, involve word play, word origins, or the history of language, and invite child response or participation, the Children’s Literature Assembly said.
Having received glowing reviews from the US-based Kirkus Reviews, the English edition of Artie and Julie, published in the US last year, was introduced as “a good book worthy of having,” Chou said.
Chen, 34, has produced illustrated children’s books, including Guji Guji — a story about a crocodile who thinks it’s a duck after it is raised by a duck, On My Way to Buy Eggs — about a little girl running an errand for her father, The Featherless Chicken and The Best Christmas Ever.
Guji Guji made it to the New York Times bestseller list in 2005.
The Pingtung-born Chen is the only Chinese-language writer and illustrator to have won repeated international recognition for his work, including a best children’s book award presented by the US trade magazine Publishers Weekly in 2003 and a best children’s book award presented by the Japan Library Association in 2006.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
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