True to life

"Children's literature is not limited to children," says Qin Wenjun, author of more than 40 books for children and teens, that have won her not just dozens of domestic awards but also nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing in 2002 and the 2010 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

When Qin read two stories from her new book Dancing Sunflowers (Hui Tiaowu de Xiangrikui) in Chinese at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair, she drew a crowd of more than 200 foreigners of different ages.

"Adults too are drawn to such stories as there are some issues that cut across age, education and nationality," says the 55-year-old.