HongFei cultures

New Title Autumn 2007

Songs of Fireflies  Chants des Lucioles

[ Edition HongFei Cultures | Collection Belle Île Formosa | ISBN 978-2-35558-002-4 ]

YANG Huan died at the age of 23 and is hailed as the first Chinese writer to write for children. Songs of Fireflies reproduces, in the graceful French language, the playful rhymes of this visionary and prodigious poet, enhanced with surprising paintings of Thomas NYS.

text YANG Huan | illustration Thomas NYS

poetry translated from Chinese to French

illustrated for adults and children above six years of age

album 25x25 cm, 48 pages | full colours, hardback

key words poetry, childhood, nature

Endormis, tous endormis !

Endormies les montagnes, dans le silence d’un voile léger,

Endormis les champs, dans le silence d’une fine brume.

Seules restent éveillées les citrouilles, sur la treille près de la fenêtre,

Tendant leurs tiges rampantes, grimpant doucement vers le toit.

Seule reste éveillée la petite rivière verte,

Chantonnant à voix basse et caressant le pont arqué.

Seul reste éveillé le vent de la nuit,

S’échappant de la forêt de bambous.     

Il part joyeux en voyage, avec les lucioles au lampion

Dans la belle nuit d’été.                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                        [Summer night, YANG Huan]

Storyline

In this picture book, school boys and girls will recognise the daily life they know so well, yet represented in a way they never imagined, in a fanciful setting with tropical fruits, seasons and scenery. This exquisite mixture gives rise to a profusion of sounds and images, inviting every child to grow up through this unforgettable excursion.

Author

YANG Huan (1930 China - 1954 Taiwan) is hailed as a pionnier in children's literature in Modern China. He lost his mother while he was very young and suffered a lot from life in his boyhood. However, the works he created for children are full of joy and hope. First published at the age of 20, he arrived in Taiwan after the civil war and died in a tragic car accident three years later.

He published about forty lyric poems in addition to the twenty rhymes of Songs of Fireflies well known to school children in Taiwan.

Illustrator

Thomas NYS likes telling stories through his drawing, but also using writing as a means to nourrish the images he creates. Scenery and figures in his composition are often set in unexpected spatial relations, bringing about as many delicate moments of poetry.

The first exhibition of his drawings was held in EHESS (Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales) in Paris octobre 2007, followed by other on-going events.

To order

ISBN 978-2-35558-002-4

Issued by CEDIF Diffusion / DAUDIN Distribution

Available for individual readers in French bookshops since October 2007

Price 13,20 euros TTC