Chinese illustrator Cai Gao formally received the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration at a ceremony in Ottawa on Friday, becoming the first Chinese illustrator to win the highest international honor for creators of children's books.
"It is my great privilege to congratulate Cai Gao, winner of the 2026 Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration," said Shereen Kreidieh, jury president of the award, at the ceremony.
Cai had no formal academic training in art. Instead, she learned from literature and folk tales, from local opera and rural life, and from years of observing and sketching the world around her. Cai once said that picture books should not offer ready-made answers, but leave room for young readers to think and discover for themselves.
"Children's books are bridges. These bridges connect culture with culture, and heart with heart. It is everyone who makes stories grow wings, sows seeds of happiness in children's hearts, and illuminates all of us," Cai said at the ceremony.
President of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), Basarat Kazim, said Cai's works have an unhurried elegance that encourages children to look closely and discover beauty in quiet, everyday moments.
"This year's winner, Cai Gao, is extremely special. She is as beautiful a person as the drawings she does," Kazim said.
Born in 1946 in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Cai has engaged in children's book editing and picture book creation for many years.
Chinese illustrator receives top int'l honor for children's book creators
