Kim Hye Eun's "Pencil" Selected as a New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book of the Year

Selected as One of the Year's 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books
Sixth Korean Picture Book to Receive the Honor

The publisher Hyang announced on November 10 that the picture book "Pencil" by writer Kim Hye Eun has been selected as one of the Best Illustrated Children's Books of the year by The New York Times and the New York Public Library.

Writer Hye Eun Kim. Fragrance provided

According to the publisher Hyang on November 10, The New York Times announced on November 7 (local time) that a total of 10 picture books, including the English translation of "Pencil," had been chosen as this year's Best Illustrated Children's Books.

Each year, The New York Times selects 10 picture books published in the United States and announces them in November. Since 2002, when "The Yellow Umbrella" by Ryu Jae Soo was chosen, Korean picture books have been selected a total of five times, and "Pencil" marks the sixth occasion.

"Pencil" is Kim's debut work and tells the story of a young child who buys a pencil, goes to a forest that was once full of trees, and draws the trees that have been cut down. The book has been exported to 10 countries and was selected for the "Amazing Bookshelf" at the 2023 Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Kim Hye Eun stated, "The picture book 'Pencil' originated from my own reflections, as someone who has used colored pencils as the main material in my drawings. A pencil is made by cutting down trees, so I wondered if my drawings were truly worth the sacrifice of the trees. That thought led me to hope that all the pencil shavings I have created could somehow become trees again, which inspired me to publish this picture book."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.