There cannot be many books, English books, illustrated by a Nanjinger and a young one at that, which have been published by a renowned international name such as HarperCollins. It’s a teeny weeny number which swelled enormously as 2024’s Year of the Dragon beckoned.
哈珀柯林斯这样的国际知名品牌出版过由南京人和年轻人绘制插图的书籍，英语书籍，这是不多的。这个数字微不足道，但随着 2024 年龙年的到来，这个数字急剧膨胀。
Aimed at 4-8 year olds, “Take Me to Laolao”, written by Canada-based Kelly Zhang and illustrated by Italy-based Evie Zhu, hit the bookshelves in North America and beyond on 9 January.
针对4-8岁儿童的《带我去姥姥》由来自加拿大的张凯莉撰写，由来自意大利的朱伊维插画，于1月9日在北美及其他地区上架。
The marvellous tale, beautifully put to pictures by Zhu, tells the story of Lili, who, missing her grandmother, Laolao, as the Lantern Festival approaches, goes on a mystical journey through oceans and heavens to find her. Spoiler alert; she finds grandma, spurred on by the imagery, and not a dry eye left in the house, etc. etc.
这个奇妙的故事由朱老师用精美的图片讲述了丽丽的故事，她在元宵节来临之际想念她的祖母姥姥，于是踏上了穿越海洋和天堂寻找祖母的神秘旅程。剧透警告；她找到了奶奶，受到这些意象的刺激，房子里没有留下干眼症，等等。
Speaking exclusively with The Nanjinger for media in her home town, Zhu told of her presence in the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, together with her Chinese background and online portfolio that were likely the catalyst for HarperCollins imprint Quill Tree Books to approach her over 2 years ago. Their envisioned and unmissable target of the Year of the Dragon for publication implicitly implied that no one is going to mess with a dragon, after all.
朱在她的家乡接受《南京人》媒体独家采访时讲述了她在儿童图书作家和插画家协会的存在，以及她的中国背景和在线作品集，这可能是两年多前哈珀柯林斯出版社 Quill Tree Books 与她接触的催化剂。他们所设想的、不可错过的龙年出版目标含蓄地暗示，毕竟没有人会惹龙。
Something of a traditionalist at heart, Zhu begins her work with pencil and paper. She then uses her initial sketches for inspiration as she opens Procreate (earning itself an “Editor’s Choice” badge on Apple’s App Store) on her iPad Pro, married with the obligatory Apple pencil.
朱本质上是一个传统主义者，她用铅笔和纸开始她的工作。然后，当她在 iPad Pro 上打开 Procreate（在 Apple App Store 上赢得了“编辑选择”徽章）时，她用最初的草图寻找灵感，并配备了必备的 Apple Pencil。
Such wizardry is tantamount to “Take Me to Laolao” being just one of a growing army of publications embracing today’s technology and interconnectivity to deliver beautiful works to readers across time and space.
这种魔法无异于《带我去姥姥》只是越来越多的出版物之一，它们拥抱当今的技术和互联性，跨越时空向读者提供美丽的作品。
For Zhu has never actually met collaborator Zhang; their cooperation having taken place entirely online, save for Zhang gifting Zhu a sketch book to encourage her creative work. And also possibly to prove she is living and breathing.
因为朱从未真正见过合作者张；他们的合作完全在网上进行，除了张送给朱一本素描本以鼓励她的创造性工作。也可能是为了证明她还活着、还在呼吸。
Nevertheless, the real world remains where it’s at for Zhu. She finds she works best drawing on her surroundings, citing Italy and Portugal as top spots for finessing the millions of pixels that make up her beautiful works.
尽管如此，对朱来说，现实世界仍然是原来的样子。她发现自己最擅长根据周围的环境进行绘画，并指出意大利和葡萄牙是对数百万像素进行巧妙处理的最佳地点，这些像素构成了她美丽的作品。
But it all began from virtually nothing. The publishers first sent Evie a blank PDF, save for Zhang’s text on each page, the leafs carefully assigned so that the turn of a page may reveal another twist or turn in the storyline.
但这一切几乎都是从无到有开始的。出版商首先向埃维发送了一份空白的 PDF，除了张在每一页上的文字外，页面都经过精心分配，以便翻页可以揭示故事情节的另一个转折或转折。
All done and dusted, for Zhu, seeing her childhood dream of celebrating the Lantern Festival with her grandparents come to life in the pages of a published book was a moment of profound achievement.
一切都已尘埃落定，对于朱来说，看到她儿时与祖父母一起庆祝元宵节的梦想在一本出版的书中成为现实，是一个意义深远的成就时刻。
That she finds inspiration in the wonders of the natural world may well hark back to her childhood. Growing up in a variety of locations around Nanjing and given her family had a dislike for city-centre life, preferring to be closer to nature, Zhu feels Zhongshan Mausoleum Scenic Area to likely be her favourite place in the City. In Italy, she misses the street food of Nanjing, especially the osmanthus sugar taro sprouts!
她从自然世界的奇迹中找到灵感很可能让人回想起她的童年。朱在南京周边的各个地方长大，由于她的家人不喜欢市中心的生活，更喜欢亲近自然，朱觉得中山陵风景区可能是她最喜欢的城市地方。在意大利，她很怀念南京的街头小吃，尤其是桂花糖芋芽！
Zhu holds an MA in illustration from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, USA. She currently resides and works in Bologna, Italy, as a doctoral candidate.
朱拥有美国巴尔的摩马里兰艺术学院插画硕士学位。她目前作为博士生在意大利博洛尼亚居住和工作。
“Take Me to Laolao” (ISBN 978-0-06-321765-2) is available on multiple international online bookseller stores, as well as in China on Taobao, needless to say.
《带我去姥姥》（ISBN 978-0-06-321765-2）在多家国际在线书店以及中国的淘宝上都有售。
