Category：Picture Books

I Wish I Could Be 变变变

Written by CAO Wenxuan, Illustrated by Alessandro Sanna

● A story that teaches children to come to terms with themselves.

Hedgehogs, bicycles, boys, horses, birds, kites… Each character in the book is discontent and yearns to become something else. The hedgehog dreams of rolling like a bicycle; the bicycle yearns for the freedom of the boy; the boy aspires to gallop across boundless grasslands like a horse; the horse longs to soar over mountains and rivers like a bird; the bird wishes for the protection of its owner like a kite… When this longing reaches the final character – the melon – it envies the hedgehog, contentedly resting under the melon leaves after eating and drifting into sleep.

Author & Illustrator:
Born in 1954, CAO Wenxuan is an acclaimed novelist of children’s literature, best known for winning the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2016. He was the first Chinese author to ever receive the award. In 2015, Cao’s Dingding and Dangdang series was selected as one of IBBY’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities. In 2017, his book Bronze and Sunflower was selected as a Kirkus finalist and a New York Times Notable Children’s Book.

Alessandro Sanna is considered one of Italy’s leading contemporary illustrators. He has earned wide recognition across Europe as an illustrator and author. In 2016, he was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration. In 2020, he was awarded the title of Children’s Laureate by the Italian Children’s Booksellers Association.