2022 Taipei International Book Exhibition Grand Prize
Children’s Book and Young Adult Novels Award
From left to right: Kai-ping Wang, Sarah Ko, and Chuang Shih Ying.
Judge Introduction
Chairperson
Sarah Ko (Children’s Book Critic)
Judges
Kai-ping Wang (Supplemental Group Editor for UDN Newspaper)
Chuang Shih Ying (Children’s Book Researcher)
General Comments：
The Taipei International Book Exhibition Grand Prize Children’s Book and Young Adult Novels Award selects professional-level, readable books for readers aged three to 18, and rewards creators and publishers who insist on quality.
This year, 213 books (including book sets) were evaluated, including picture books, comics, novels, prose, poems, fairy tales, biographies, etc., which encompassed literature, art, biology and social sciences, and other fields. It was necessary for the judges to consider different standards for various types of books, as well as the diverse needs of readers of different ages. They not only needed to recognize the maturity and innovation of creation and publishing, but also required books to provide a deeply-fascinating reading experience that broadens readers’ horizons. The judges listened to each other’s ideas and had in-depth discussions of their selections, which allowed them to distinguish between personal subjective preferences and professional judgments. After reading through all the books carefully for over a month, 36 books were initially selected to enter the second round of judging. After heated discussions, debates, and repeated reviews, ten shortlisted books were selected, including four childlike and creative picture books, four popular science books that cleverly present knowledge in an interesting way, and two poignant literary novels. Finally, considering the overall performance and book type, three well-deserved awards were conferred.
Novels, children’s poems, and prose were in the obvious minority this year, and we look forward to growing these genres in the future. The picture book category presented a diverse and rich face, but many works were incomplete because they failed to tick all the boxes for children, art, and literature. More attention should also be given to the arrangement and design of scientific books, which affect the content delivery and guide readers’ understanding and feelings. It’s also a pity that some book sets are not quite up to standard.
The rigorous judging is a tribute to hardworking creators and publishers, and a sincere invitation to readers. Please come and experience the joy and emotion brought by these wonderful books.
2022 Taipei International Book Exhibition Grand Prize
Children’s Book and Young Adult Novels Award Winners List
《My Classmate Is a Bear》
Publisher：Commonwealth Education Media and Publishing Co., Ltd.
A heartwarming encounter between mountain village kids and a Formosan black bear.
A story unfolding the beauty of Taiwan’s forests and profound environmental issues.
In a faraway mountain, there is Rising Mist Primary School, sitting in Rising Mist Village. For a long time, the villagers have lived with nature in harmony and peace. Until one day, a bear unexpectedly shows up at the entrance of the classroom and says, ”I—want—to—come—to—school, may—I—?”
The teachers and students are startled at the beginning. Gradually, they realize that this black bear is not only gentle, but also abundantly curious to the way human live!
Soon the black bear becomes a part of Rising Mist Primary School. He draws, composes poems, and plays games in the forest together with all the students. The kids love him so much that they decide to keep the bear as a secret to protect him . However, is it possible that a bear in school come to no one’s attention? What kind of uproar would it cause if people outside the mountain find out?
Chang Yeou Yu
Chiang Meng Yun
Rights Contact：Sheryl Ho
E-mail：sherylho@cw.com.tw
W x H cm/pages/price：14.8 x 21 cm/232/NT$320
ISBN：9786263050341
《Economic Observations Diary of A Middle School Student》
Publisher：Mandarin Daily News
Have you ever wondered about the receipts you get after payment play the role as not only lottery but also an oversight mechanism to prevent store owners from tax evasion?
Will you spend an hour for a time-limited buy one get one free shopping event?
Why does every store on a sightseeing old street sell the same product in similar flavor and price?
And have you ever thought about that YouBike, mobile payment, tickets for senior persons, Internet shopping and bargaining at a traditional market are actually have something to do with the economics?
Each topic discussed in the book is derived from Taiwanese kids’ everyday life. This book is not going to talk about money, saving or investing, but could be the first book for children to learn about basic theories of economics and perfect for kids who’d like to think like an economist.
Huang Chun-Xing
Gu Pin-Xuan (Sonia Ku)
Rights Contact：Hsu Ting-Wei
E-mail：hsutingwei@mdnkids.com
W x H cm/pages/price：17 x 23 cm/144/NT$330
ISBN：9789577518590
《Monster Mom 》
Publisher：Global Kids Books, a division of Global Views - Commonwealth Publishing Group
Monster Mum has loved her baby since before it was born, and she is determined to protect it! But the world is full of danger: what if her little one falls into a ravine, or is swept away by the river, or loses its way in the forest? Monster Mum has a great idea: she decides to bring her baby back inside her! If her little one wants to know about the world outside, then she will bring little bits of the trees and the sea and so on inside too. Problem solved! Or is it? Parents want to protect their children. They also want to give their children as many good experiences as they can. Taking the mother’s perspective, Chiang Meng-Yun highlights in a humorous and incisive way the impact of over-parenting, and how overwhelming love can create anxiety and fear. The hope is that by the end of the story, parents and children alike will be able to find a way to embrace the world together like Monster Mum and her baby.
Chiang Meng-Yun
Rights Contact：Siera Lai
E-mail：siera@cwgv.com.tw
W x H cm/pages/price：21 x 26.6 cm/48/NT$350
ISBN：9789865535971
《Time School 2: My Dear Post-it Mom》
Publisher：Mandarin Daily News
A heart-breaking coming of age story from beloved, Golden Tripod award-winning author Wang Wen-Hua.
After Papa left, Mao-Mao’s everyday life has been changed……the house rent was no longer affordable, so Mao-Mao and Mom had to move to an old walk-up apartment; Mao-Mao’s Mom became busier than ever with her new job, she always left Post-it notes for Mao-Mao, telling him to take care of his own dinner and breakfast.
Mao-Mao, a tender-hearted second-grade student at Time School, who is so obsessed with insects since his father was working at an insectarium. He cannot fully concentrate on schoolwork, instead he sometimes flees to the campus for butterflies and beetles during class and make himself muddy. He is just a troublemaker in teacher’s eyes.
Inspired by author’s elementary school teaching experience, the story explores how stigma can act on an underachieved “black sheep” in the class, invites young readers to look into distinct others’ lives and empathize with them.
Wang Wen-Hua
Wang Qiu-Xiang
Rights Contact：Hsu Ting-Wei
E-mail：hsutingwei@mdnkids.com
W x H cm/pages/price：15 x 21 cm/176/NT$280
ISBN：9789577518651
《Let’s Play Hide and Seek》
Publisher：Yuan-Liou Publishing Co., Ltd.
Let’s play hide and seek, counting from 1 to 100…No matter where, no matter how, children love to play games and smile a lot while playing.
The author was invited to be Artist-in-Residence in Jordan for a month. She visited the communities and families, and outputted what she experienced into this lovely story. By this children’s favorite game, the author tried to explore Jordan’s culture, life style and beauty. Children in Taiwan will learn a country far away in the Middle East shares so many similarities and could be more curious, understanding and caring for the world.
Wang Chuan Tz
Rights Contact：Jennifer Wang
E-mail：jenny@ylib.com
W x H cm/pages/price：20.5 x 26 cm/36/NT$320
ISBN：9789573289111
《Mr. Bear's Class Learns to Write 1》
Publisher：Hsin Yi Publications
In Mr. Bear’s class, every learns to write1. Crab writes a horizontal 1, and Mr. Bear says it’s sleeping. Ant writes a tiny 1, and Mr. Bear says it’s playing hide-and-seek. Turtle writes very slowly, and Mr. Bear says don’t worry, it’s growing! Everyone writes 1 in their own way, and Mr. Bear likes them all!
Wu Yanan
Liu Longsha
Rights Contact：Arni Liu
E-mail：arni@hsin-yi.org.tw
W x H cm/pages/price：25 x 25 cm/48/NT$280
ISBN：9789861616551
《38 Q&As on How to take care of our body and health》
Publisher：Mandarin Daily News
Advanced introduction to human body and health for elementary school student.
In the first book of 38 Q&As on How to take care of our body and health, young readers will find out how our bodies work and react to certain situations, like:
Why does our stomach growl while we are hungry?
Why does our body twitch when we fall asleep?
Why do people snore, blush, get goose bumps, have styes and have bad breath when getting up?
And why do we have to sleep, brush our teeth, and take a shower every day?
In the second book of this series, young readers will discover the reasons behind ailment and common illnesses, such as:
Why do we have abdominal pain after intense running?
Why would some people have diarrhea after drinking milk?
How to ease the pain when we have carsick, heatstroke, flatulence, fever and feel nausea?
What is hives, pink eye, enterovirus, stomach flu, diabetes and how to prevent?
Now more than ever, it’s so crucial for children to learn to take care of themselves, and this is just the funniest and professional reference book for kids to understand daily health care, personal hygiene and how to deal with ailment.
Chen Li-Wen
Su Luo-Ning (avocado mori)
Rights Contact：Hsu Ting-Wei
E-mail：hsutingwei@mdnkids.com
W x H cm/pages/price：17 x 23 cm/224/NT$600
ISBN：9789577518729
《Penguin's Concert》
Publisher：Hsin Yi Publications
A caretaker couldn’t get close to the penguins in Antarctica until he started to play the melodica. The music attracted them so he successfully examined and observed them.
The penguins stole the instrument, trying to make a sound but accidentally breaking it. At last they lined up,just like black and white keys of the melodica, and made sounds by patting their own bellies.
Yen-Lin Chen
Rights Contact：Arni Liu
E-mail：arni@hsin-yi.org.tw
W x H cm/pages/price：21.3 x 19.8 cm/40/NT$320
ISBN：9789861616360
《Understanding Natural Environment by Making Stuff》
Publisher：Morning Star Publishing Inc.
Sixty children’s games with plant handicrafts. Experience the wild fun of nature anytime, anywhere through 60 interesting plant games. Zheng Yi-fan (Yinhua), a master of nature crafts, has another masterpiece after “Make Nature with Your Hands.” The book teaches readers to play with nature attentively, in the most primitive and natural way, using the most wonderful aspects of natural ecology. You will find that being in nature is so healing. This book features 60 plant crafts that require no tools. You can use your own two hands to make them. There are also 60 fun nature games that can be played anytime, anywhere. Have fun with nature!
Cheng Yi-Fan
Cheng Hao-Chein
Lai Chih-Mei
Rights Contact：Hsu Huiya
E-mail：huiya@morningstar.com.tw
W x H cm/pages/price：16.5 x 22.5 cm/208/NT$480
ISBN：9786267009284
《Papa Lai's Math Experiment: 15 Interesting Geometry Lessons》
Publisher：Mandarin Daily News
Lai Yi-wei, the founder of “Number Sense Lab,” has been a gifted student of mathematics since he was a child. He inherited his father’s educational spirit of promoting math in a fun way. Through unique experimental design integrated with mathematical concepts, he leads young readers to learn while doing calculations, which has a stimulating effect on children’s brains. Learning math in this way is more interesting, and can encourage the curiosity and understanding of young readers, thereby developing a sense for mathematics! Lai Yi-wei also shares his past learning experiences in the book, as well as the stories of mathematicians. The writing is smooth and touching, and makes math more than just knowledge and a school subject. Important educational methods are learning through practice, connecting what one has learned with real life, and inspiring learning motivation—these are all the spirit of this series. If you’ve ever wondered “Why do I have to learn math?” or “What’s the use of math?” the answers can be found in this book.
I-Wei Lai
Momo
Jou-chen Yeh
Rights Contact：Jennifer Wang
E-mail：jenny@ylib.com
W x H cm/pages/price：17 x 23 cm/172/NT$360
ISBN：9789573289340
