YULU'S LINEN

Originally published in South Korea and China, an enchanting portrait of a young artist from two Hans Christian Andersen Awardees.

Yulu’s father, remembering his own unfulfilled creative dreams, encourages his daughter Yulu’s efforts after noticing her love of drawing. By age 8, her skill surpasses his own, so he arranges for several famous artists to teach her. When Dad decides Yulu is ready to try a self-portrait, they visit an art store, where Yulu chooses “yu-lu-ma—rain-dew linen,” for its similarity to her name. Yulu hesitates to start, but Dad reassures her: “It’s just a piece of canvas. Imagine how happy it will be when you pick up your brush and turn it into a work of art!” Her achievement is “wonderful!” yet the following morning, Yulu discovers “a disaster, as if the colors had run all over the canvas during the night.” She tries again—seven more times—but her portraits repeatedly become “a mess.” Dad reprimands the canvas, and Mom discards it, but Yulu rescues it…and starts her eighth attempt. South Korean illustrator Lee elevates Chinese author Cao’s celebration of talent and tenacity into artful delight, combining impeccable line drawings with reams of exquisite floral fabrics from Dad’s shop. She uses single-color washes—yellow, beige, blue, black—to augment her black-and-white sketches, mimicking linen-esque textures on the page. Yulu is dark-haired with light skin. Wang returns as Cao’s experienced translator.

A visually moving reminder that artistic success means trying again and again.