Ho Yi

A little lead pencil experiences a number of "adventures" in this slim little picture-book from China, published by the Beijing based Foreign Language Press in 1964. The treasured possession of a little girl named Hsiao-fang, the pencil is left lying on a desk when she goes to help her mother with the laundry. Picked up by the family's pet tabby cat, it is carried outside, where the family's little black puppy finds it, and returns it to the house. Here Hsiao-fang's little brother Ti-ti gets a hold of it, and breaking the point while using it to draw on a nice clean white wall, tries to sharpen it, only to injure himself after carving away half of the pencil. Returned eventually to the desk, where Hsiao-fang finds it in its much reduced state, the little pencil "was both sad and glad to be back with its friend again!"

Although I have encountered numerous Russian picture-books translated into English during the Soviet period - usually by such houses as Raduga Publishers, or Progress Publishers, which I believe were state funded - The Adventures of a Lead Pencil is the first such example I have seen from 1960s communist China. Perhaps intended for English-language tourists, or as a form of literary propaganda - spreading awareness of the literature of the USSR, or of China, in other countries and languages - these books can sometimes be very appealing in their own right (I tend to enjoy the folktales best), but even when they are not, they offer a fascinating glimpse of the children's literature in their countries of origin. I can't say that this one was particularly engaging, as a story - I was just not that engrossed by the pencil's adventures - but I do think it is an interesting historical document, with its depiction of an idealized Chinese family in the years just before the onset of Cultural Revolution. I also thought the colorful vintage artwork by Liu Wang-Pin, which reminded me of a similar style of illustration during this period, in western children's books, was quite lovely. Recommended (if you can find it!) primarily to scholars interested in the children's books of early and mid 1960s China.… (més)