Soong Ching-ling Children's Literature Prize facts for kids
The Soong Ching-ling Children’s Literature Prize (宋庆龄儿童文学奖) is a special award for books written for children in China. It's named after Soong Ching-ling, a very important person in Chinese history. This prize is given out every two years by the Soong Ching-ling Foundation. Each time, they focus on a different type of writing, like novels or science fiction. It's one of the four biggest awards for children's books in China.
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History of the Prize
The Soong Ching-ling Children’s Literature Prize started in June 1986. Its main goal was to celebrate writers who had created amazing stories for kids. It also aimed to encourage more people to write great children's books in China.
Famous writers like Ba Jin and Xie Bingxin helped set up this award. Different government groups also supported it, including those in charge of TV, movies, culture, and education. The very first awards were given out in 1988. Later, in 2005, this prize became part of another big award called the National Outstanding Children’s Literature Award.
Past Awards and Winning Books
The Soong Ching-ling Children’s Literature Prize has honored many wonderful books over the years. Each award cycle focused on a different type of writing. Here are some examples of the kinds of stories that have won.
1st Awards (1988): TV Drama Scripts
The first awards were for TV drama scripts. These are like screenplays for TV shows.
- Second Prize winners included The World that has been Found Back by Chu Xue and Zhan Nan, and A Group of Small Heroes by Qi Jun.
- Third Prize winners included Good Dad, Bad Dad by Zhuge Yi, and Comet by Sun Zhuo, Zheng Kenan, and Yi Jienan.
2nd Awards (1990): Popular Science and Science Fiction
This time, the prize looked for exciting science books and science fiction stories.
- Second Prize went to books like Magic Wings by Zheng Wenguang, and The Story of the Giant Panda by Pan Wenshi.
- Third Prize included The Wolf in Disguise by Shu Jing and Shu Sun, and Commander of Mathematics by Li Yupei.
3rd Awards (1992): Novels
In 1992, the focus was on novels, which are longer stories.
- First Prize was awarded to Cao Wenxuan for his book Goats do not eat paradise grass.
- Second Prize winners included The Young Kavala'n by Li Tong (Chinese children's author), and Third Corps by Zhang Zhilu.
- Third Prize included The Legend of the Eagle by Yang Xiao, and The Sun Dreamed of Me by Li Yangyang.
4th Awards: Tales for Young Children
This award celebrated fairytales and other tales for younger readers.
- First Prize went to Sun Youjun for Strange old man.
- Second Prize included Selection of Wu Mengqi's Fairytales by Wu Mengqi, and Wolf Bat by Bing Bo.
- Third Prize winners included Little Leaf Fairy Tale by Jin Bo, and New collection of 100 palm-sized fairy tales by Zhang Qiusheng.
5th Awards (2001): Various Genres
The 5th awards recognized books published between 1999 and 2001, across several categories.
- The Prize for novel went to Cao Wenxuan for Grass House.
- The Prize for tales for young children was given to Ban Ma for Green Man.
- The Prize for stories for very young children went to Ge Bing for The Plum Blossom Deer.
- Many other books received Honorable Mentions in categories like Novels, Fairy Stories, Science Art, and Very Young Readers.
6th Awards (2003): Many Great Books
The 6th awards celebrated 19 different books.
- Prize-winners included You Are My Baby Sister by Peng Xuejun (a novel), and Unlawful Wisdom by Zhang Zhilu (science fiction).
- There were also 16 Good Book Award winners. These included No 3, Tiantang Street by Qin Wenjun, Root Bird by Cao Wenxuan, and Witch on a Broomstick Listening to a Song by Zhang Qiusheng. Other winners explored topics like nature adventures and stories from different cultures.
