By Honorary Reporter Mennatallah Hussein Elsayed from Egypt 

Photos = Suzy Lee

The International Council on Books for Young Children on March 21 named Suzy Lee the first Korean to win the Hans Christian Andersen Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize of children's literature.

In a written interview this month, the illustrator and writer discussed how her art can convey a story without words.

Briefly introduce yourself.

I am an artist born in Seoul who also writes picture books. I have a bachelor's in painting from Seoul National University and a master's in book art from Camberwell College of Arts in London. I won this year's Hans Christian Andersen Award, and my book "Summer" also recently received special mention for the Ragazzi Award for fiction at the Bologna Children's Book Fair of Italy.

How did you feel when you won the Hans Christian Andersen Award?
I still consider myself a work in progress so I never expected such a prestigious award. I was surprised and so honored to hear the news.

Pages from Suzy Lee's "Black Bird"

What made you change your career from illustrator to author of picture books?

While studying painting in university, I considered myself an artist using visual language, which led me to create stories using visual logic. I believe that pictures alone can tell us something very different from the combination of words and pictures. Some might say my books are "devoid of words" but I would say they are "full of images." 

Art always asks us to see things differently. If there is no text to read, readers tend to focus on discovering visual clues to make sense of a story. This is the first step to reading a book full of pictures. In my book "Wave," the protagonist wears a colorless dress that turns blue by the end of the book. If you read the book carefully, the pictures tell you why.

What books of yours are you especially fond of?  

Every book I've created reflects my life and interests at the time, so I cherish all of them for different reasons. If I were to pick a favorite, it would be my more recent works like the illustrations I did for Pat Zietlow Miller's "See You Someday Soon." Because it came out a few months ago, I remember more vividly the personal questions I was trying to figure out through my work.

Cover of the picture book "Wave"

Describe your famous book "Wave" and what inspired you to write it.

The story is about a girl who encounters the sea for the first time and illustrates her playing with the waves. "Wave" is part of my "Border" trilogy that shows the borders of fantasy and reality. Many say this book shows my signature style since it represents my perspective of viewing a book as an object containing art. I like playing around with a book's elements like the crease between the pages, which I consider a "border" between the real and imaginary world.

Pages from the picture book "Black Bird"

kalhong617@korea.kr

*This article is written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.