With only 10% of children’s books in the Chinese market being domestically written, it’s no wonder international authors of children’s literature are looking to translate their works for the Middle Kingdom. Today, we’d like to present a brief market analysis and present strategies for publishing houses looking to stay afloat in this red ocean.

At a glance

• The golden era of children’s books in China began in 2003, as the population of youths boomed (about 385 million, including newborns, and counting) and the middle class grew, with more disposable income to spend on children’s educational materials.

• In 2020, children’s books made up about 26% of the total book retail market, valued at $14.71 billion.

• Today’s best-sellers are mainly older titles, making it hard for new titles to breakthrough

• Since 2019, there has been a decline in the number of titles entering the market due to Beijing’s attempts to cool down the market by making the CIP application process more time-consuming, but this isn’t all bad news. While fewer books can be chosen for translation, those that are chosen can enjoy more resources for localized marketing.

• With this slower CIP application process, it is now more important than ever to properly localize your children’s book for the Chinese market.

• Meanwhile, the Chinese government is pushing harder than ever to get China’s children’s books to the West, with an increased initiative to join international book fairs and host writing contests. To break into the Western market, Chinese publishers must similarly understand the Chinese to English localization demands.

Localizing content for children in China

• Children’s picture books with fun plots and illustrations are a fairly new concept in China. In the past, China has primarily produced educational texts for children with themes rooted in the political propaganda of the Cultural Revolution.

• As such, Western book themes don’t always align with the demands of the Chinese market. Chinese children’s authors focus on themes of hard work and learning while Western authors write about uplifting themes centered on an independent protagonist. This difference was studied by Cecilia Cheung in her 2017 article in The Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, learn more in her article Learning-Related Values in Young Children’s Storybooks: An Investigation in the United States, China, and Mexico.

• Topics for YA books vary by culture as well: while Western YA novels focus on relationships, drugs, and crime, Chinese teenagers are consumed in preparation for college exams. This may be why books such as are popular in Asia, as the titular character constantly worries about her grades.

  Anne of the Green Gables

Key Takeaways

• The Chinese children’s book market is growing, but the process of selecting books to be translated is becoming more rigoruous as it is harder to apply for a CIP.

• Therefore, publishers have to be aware of the stories and content that will do well in China.

• Equally as important is the push for multicultural stories in the West, where “representation matters” is taking the form of books about the experience of Chinese American children. While this is important, to understand the Chinese experience rather than the Chinese-American experience, there is a need for books from China.