2026 Bologna Children's Book Fair Photo: VCG

With the biggest highlight being Cai Gao becoming the first Chinese illustrator to win the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen (HCA) Award, the 2026 Bologna Children's Book Fair recently opened in Italy, where diverse Chinese children's books are turning heads.

On Monday, Cai won the HCA Award, an honor widely regarded as the "Nobel Prize" for children's literature.

The 80-year-old illustrator did not attend the ceremony in person. However, after learning the news at home in Changsha, Hunan Province, she told the Global Times that the laurel brought her "excitement, unbelievable honor and joy." She also told media that the award does not belong only to her, but also to all the "children's book artists of her generation."

"We're all overjoyed for her. Her works are a centerpiece of our international promotion," said Kang Qin­xing, an editor at the Hunan Juvenile and Children's Publication House. Kang told the Global Times that over the past two years, the publisher has presented Cai's classic works such as Bao'er at the Bologna Children's Book Fair through books, exhibitions and catalogs.   

Bao'er was inspired by a tale from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) short story collection Liaozhai Zhiyi, or Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio. Drawing on traditional Chinese culture, regional heritage, and folk stories to create new narratives gives Cai's work its "warmth and depth," Xue Tao, a renowned Chinese children's book author and fan of Cai's works, told the Global Times.

"I once sought advice from Cai face to face, and her perspectives and work have been a huge inspiration to me," Xue said. "She taught me that children's books must be rooted in tradition but not bound by it; a writer's creative journey also demands the reinvention of real-life stories." 

Xue, who has been invited to the Italian book fair multiple times, told the Global Times that his own work, The Falcon Flies, will be featured at one of the fair's sharing sessions on Wednesday. Focusing on Jilin Province's core heritage of Manchu falconry, the book tells a story about a "falcon king" and a white falcon. Through the lens of a children's book, it conveys a universal theme of the harmonious interaction between humanity and nature. 

Besides the books by Cai and Xue, a Chinese publishing delegation formed by 18 different Chinese publishers is presenting over 1,200 types of children's books at the book fair. Meanwhile, more than 30 on-site exchange events are also being held at the fair, featuring themes such as "Chinese IPs Going Global."

Some of these books draws on traditional IPs for storytelling. For example, the book Song of Mulan illustrated by Tang Yongli, a meticulous-style gongbi painter, made its debut at the fair. The work consists of 12 illustrations that tell the story of Chinese female warrior Hua Mulan taking her father's place in the army. Other productions featuring internationally recognized Chinese cultural icons, including pandas and crested ibises, are also popular among local visitors.

The fair's exchange-driven nature has helped facilitate the export of Chinese children's book copyrights. The publisher of Chinese early childhood book Dongfang Wawa (lit: Eastern Kids) officially signed a deal for distribution in Malaysia at the fair. 

Meanwhile, the picture book King of the Milu Deer also secured a Sinhala-language edition, using children's literature to convey China's ecological conservation philosophy.

In the coming days, the Chinese delegation will hold artist exchanges, illustration exhibitions, and copyright negotiations with multiple countries, Chen Duanyi, a children's book publishing expert at the fair, told the Global Times.

"The copyright trade and exchanges facilitated by the book fair are themselves forms of cultural exchange. As a vehicle, Chinese children's books not only showcase the richness of their content but also reflect the maturity of the entire children's book supply chain within the domestic publishing industry," Chen told the Global Times.

The 2026 Bologna Children's Book Fair, which runs through April 16, has been one of the world's premier events for the children's book and multimedia industry since its founding in 1964. China first took part as the Guest of Honor Country at BCBF in 2018 and has remained actively involved in the fair ever since.