Category：Picture Book

Chimney City 烟囱城

LIN Yaqi

● A tale of brave guardianship, A journey towards emotional liberation.
● Selected as dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picturebooks 2024.

In Chimney city, each resident has a chimney atop their head, from which yellow smoke emerges when they’re happy and blue smoke when they’re sad, painting the sky above the town in vibrant colors. One day, a bird egg accidentally falls into the chimney of a little girl named Congcong. To protect the egg, Congcong even held back her own smoke, but her face kept getting redder and bigger! Can Congcong keep her emotions in check to safeguard the egg? This narrative explores a child’s innocent clumsiness and brave perseverance in protecting a bird egg, while metaphorically comparing chimneys to emotional outlets, conveying to children the importance of expressing and releasing their feelings.

LIN Yaqi, a graduate of the 2023 Central Academy of Fine Arts Picture Book Studio, won the first prize for her work “Chimney City” in the Central Academy of Fine Arts graduation design competition. Her other design works have previously received the first prize in the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Lenovo IP Design Competition. Her works include “Oracle Bone Inscriptions Picture Book: Matters on the Face.”