The Hong Kong Pavilion at the 62nd edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair (BCBF) — held in the Italian city from March 31 to April 3 — played host to 44 publishers and 24 printers, showcasing over 700 children’s-book titles.

Life of a Painting, a 28-page picture book written and illustrated by Keung Chi-kit, turned out to be a big hit with children and adults alike. Keung says that the story is about the journey of a painting — and how its owners, who come from diverse backgrounds, value it for different reasons. He adds that his aim as a maker of children’s books is to inspire happiness and celebrate the world in all its loveliness.

Life of a Painting is published in Hong Kong by Sun Ya Publications and in Italy by Carthusia.

Sun Ya Publications is one of the longest-sustained publishers of children’s books in Hong Kong. Besides Life of a Painting, it released seven other picture books created by Hong Kong-based illustrators. The project is supported by the Hong Kong Picture Book Publishing Support Program, initiated by the local government.

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“This is the first time Sun Ya Publications has published a series of books without any text,” says Zhou Sheng, the publishing house’s managing director. “Silent books are suitable for multilingual families, nonreaders, or children with delayed language development. They can help children, and adults, to interpret images independently, thereby fostering imagination and a diversity of perspectives.”

The publishing house releases over 200 titles every year. Zhou says that Sun Ya is committed to bringing Chinese translations of some of the finest children’s books from all over the world to young readers in Hong Kong. It was the first to publish Chinese translations of the much-loved children’s book series Geronimo Stilton — created by Italian author Elisabetta Dami.

The publisher also helps Hong Kong children’s bookmakers to gain visibility in the international market by selling translation rights. In Bologna, Zhou met with publishers and agencies from around the globe to explore collaboration opportunities.

Giant craze about pandas

“Picture books are a vital part of children’s reading and a crucial element of Hong Kong’s cultural and creative industries,” says Matthew Yum, chairman of the Soaring Creativity — Hong Kong Pavilion 2025 organizing committee. Started in 2011, the Soaring Creativity project facilitates Hong Kong publishers’ participation in major international book fairs.

The pavilion served as a platform to bring the “Come and enjoy a pandastic Hong Kong” campaign launched by the city’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau in November.    

“Since the birth of Hong Kong’s first giant panda cubs in Aug 2024 and the arrival of two giant pandas from Sichuan in September, a giant panda craze has swept across the city,” Yum says, expressing hope that the panda-themed books released by Hong Kong publishers can help promote the city as one that cherishes its pandas. Examples include Bamboo Dream: The Stories between Giant Pandas and Hong Kong, published by Chung Hwa Educational Services Co, and Sun Ya Publication’s A Book to Understand Giant Pandas: Encyclopedia about Bamboo Forest Cuties.

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A full-scale cardboard cutout of a reclining giant panda suspended from the ceiling as well as many smaller panda sculptures — created by making three-dimensional geometric repeat patterns in paper — grabbed the attention of the visitors. Yum says credit is due to Hong Kong’s printers, for the durability and superb finish of the paper panda models are owed to the high-quality material developed by them.

Author-illustrator Keung designed a panda mascot especially for the event. The image was displayed on the walls of the pavilion, on souvenir items such as playing cards and also appeared in an animated movie playing on a giant digital screen.

Matt Leung, associate curator of zoological operations at Ocean Park Hong Kong, gave a lecture titled Our Giant Pandas: The Conservation Story of Ocean Park Hong Kong, while Zhou Sheng, managing director and editor-in-chief of Sun Ya Publications, shared his experience of leveraging the panda craze in Hong Kong to promote reading.