Xiong Liang's “The Ranger, Little Woodman” has caught my eyes. He selects the elements of fairy tales from history and legends, organizes the fragments of characters scattered in ancient books into a web of connections, and gives the story a historical and geographical support, gradually building a grand magical world. It is both a Chinese and a world-context story, because he is talking about children’s growth, relationships between people and nature, and how different ethnic groups understand each other. The spirit of the Ranger is "love" in the story.
--Zhang Mingzhou (President of IBBY, Executive Vice President of China Children's Literature Research Association, and Chinese Reading Promoter)

The imagery is magnificent, and there are ingenuity and warmth in the absurdity. It successfully combines the elements of classic fairy tales and myths. It is a bit like the Classic of Mountains and Seas version Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
--A Jia (famous children's reading promoter and children's book translator)

Xiong Liang's “The Ranger, Little Woodman” series is an artistic blend of literature and illustrated books, and a confluence of ancient traditions and modern spirituality. What is most moving, however, is his spontaneous and romantic writing about the growth of a young boy, with stories of spirituality, fantasy, and chivalry that are rooted in Chinese culture.
--Chen Hui (Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, and Director of China Picture Book Creation Research Center, College of Letters, Beijing Normal University)

This set of picture book literature is not an extended version of picture books, but an upgraded version of literature, a new genre known in the West as graphic novels. Xiong Liang's creation has the merit of opening the way to create a fantastic new vision of Taoyuan by telling the story together with pictures and text. This is not only a future-oriented genre breakthrough, but also a kind of cultural inheritance looking back to the history, and he draws from the traditional canonical books and cultures of our country, with extensive canonical texts and far-reaching meaning. The follow-up is wonderful and exciting, which is highly anticipated.
--Wang Zhigeng (Director of the Children's Library of the National Library of China, parent-child reading promoter, famous children's book translator)

★It is the work of Xiong Liang, the illustrator who has been shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration, and the winner of Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award!
★Every picture book of the author is a professional work with story and picture blended into one, and his picture books have won many awards such as "Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award", "Golden Monkey Award" of China International Animation Festival, "Golden Bull Cup" Silver Award for Art Books, and so on!
★It presents traditional culture in the form of lively comedy! The story is inspired by the Chinese folklore "The Chinese Ghostbuster", and the art modeling comes from Gong Kai's "Zhongshan Outing" in the Yuan Dynasty, which not only retains the traditional Chinese cultural core, but also gives the modern vivid art modeling. There is also a plot that makes people laugh.
★Warm and upward story kernel: the author has given each character a different personality, the clever and resourceful little kid, the caring Zhong Kui, the strong but timid big demons, and the courageous kids...No matter which character, you can feel the power of positive warmth.
★ Unique picture style: the picture is created in a way that combines hand-drawing, paper-cutting and splicing, computerized drawing and other complex creative techniques, making the picture richly layered and suitable for repeated reading.
★This is an adventure about love, courage and overcoming fear. Two cowards overcame their fears in their own way, and at the same tiem they also gained love and courage. The fantasized fears are not scary!

Hans Christian Andersen Award shortlisted illustrator Xiong Liang's special feature includes 29 books:
【Picture Book】
【Growth and Inspiration】Theme (3 books):
"My Ideal",
"My Little Pony",
"Every Cat Has Its Talent"
【Myths and Legends】Theme (4 books):
"Vajrayana Guru",
"The Monster of Mould Rains",
"The Dragon Slayers",
"Two Brave Cowards"
【Nature Enlightenment】Theme (2 books):
"A Manul Who Wants Everything",
"Cow Dung's Dreams"
【Fairy Tales and Nursery Rhymes】Theme (4 books):
"Stroll with the Wind",
"We Want to be First",
"Vegetables in the Garden Become Elves",
"Grasshopper and Cricket"
【Chinese National Culture】Theme (9 books):
"A Battle at Changbanpo",
"Wu Song Beats the Tiger",
"The Kitchen God",
"The Little Stone Lion",
"Nian, The New Year Monster",
"The Toy Rabbit Story",
"The Invisible Horse",
"The Twenty-Four Solar Terms",
"The Moon, Please Stop"

【Children's Literature】
The Ranger, Little Woodman series (6 books):
"1 Peach Blossom Garden Mystery",
"2 Terrible Prophecy",
"3 Battle in the Valley of Dragon Slayers",
"4 Disappearing Memory",
"5 Secret Escape",
"6 New Era of the Mountain of Gods".
“The Ranger, Little Woodman: Young Adult Edition (Part I + Part II)”

The priest Lin Kui deliberately stirs up the conflict between the Dragon Clan and the Dragonslayer Clan, who already have a long-standing grudge. The war between the two groups is imminent, and Peach Blossom Garden is facing an unprecedented crisis!

Upon learning the truth, the Little Woodman team decides to work together to stop the war. Through their wisdom and courage, they expose the conspiracy of Lin Kui. In the end, the misunderstanding between the Dragon Clan and the Dragon Slayer Clan is solved, and the two clans make peace, with the Dragon Slayer Clan becoming the guardian of the Dragon Clan.

Xiong Liang
Renowned writer, poet, picture book illustrator, and artist.
Nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in China in 2014, 2018, and 2022, with a shortlist for the five-person shortlist of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018; shortlisted for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2020 and 2023, recipient of the Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Picture Book of the Year Award; awarded the 19th Hundred Flowers Literary Award for Prose in 2021.
Published picture books include "The Little Stone Lion," "The Peking Opera Cat," "The Monster of Mould Rains," "Stroll with the Wind," and dozens of others.
Published long-form fairy tales: "The Ranger, Little Woodman" series.
Upcoming publication: A short story collection titled "In and Out of Nowhere."
Dance picture book drama, and screenwriting works: "Swimming with the Moonlight."

Awards:
2022 Selected for the Hans Christian Andersen Award's Excellent Book Recommendation List (work "The Little Stone Lion")
2021 Received the 19th Hundred Flowers Literary Award for Prose
2020 "Children's Book of the Year" in the category of Children's Literature (work "The Ranger, Little Woodman" series)
2020 Nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award
2018 Shortlisted for the five-person shortlist of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration
2017 Chen Bochui International Children's Literature Award (work "Stroll with the Wind")
2014 Nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration in China
2011 Received the Golden Monkey Award at the 7th China International Cartoon and Animation Festival for both "Chinese Cartoon Work Award" and "Best Cartoon Image Award" (work "A Battle at Changbanpo")
2007 AYACC Asian Youth Animation Competition Best Work Award (work "A Battle at Changbanpo")

Media Honors:
2020 "Original Children's Literature Writers' Award" at the 6th Dangdang Influencer Writers' Award
2017 "Most Anticipated Writer of the Year" by Eslite Bookstore, Taiwan
2016 "Annual Quality Picture Book" by Sina Parenting
2013 New Beijing News Book Review Weekly Top Ten Best Books (work "The Monster of Mould Rains")
2012 Included in "China's Basic Reading Books for Young Children" (work "Wu Song Beats the Tiger")

International Exchange:
2019 Invited by the French Government Foundation to hold a solo exhibition of the original works of the "Ink Flowers" series at the Gaillac Museum of Art and the Museum of Nature in the South of France.
2018 Invited by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Italy, to give a lecture on "The Many Faces of the East" in Oriental Painting.
2012 As a representative figure of contemporary Chinese illustration art, exhibited book illustrations of "The Monster of Mould Rains" at the British Museum.