When it comes to children’s literature, illustrated or picture books are deemed more effective than the ones that are word-heavy. A large body of research indicates that visual cues help children to better retrieve and remember information. Picture books help children in understanding what they are reading better and in turn to analyse the story.

In Nepal, however, children’s literature is already a field that lacks proper means and resources that can appeal to its target readers. Furthermore, illustrated books with plenty of visual cues and minimal words are rare to find.

Keeping this in mind, China Children’s Press and Publication Group in collaboration with Current Publication house has recently rolled out four picture books for children this month. These books, which tell the story of different bugs, are Nepali translations from famous Chinese children literatures—namely, Diary of a Lady Bird by Xu Lu (illustrated by Wu Bo), Diary of a Dung Beetle by Jin Bo (illustrated by Xue Dan), Diary of a Bee by Xu Lu (illustrated by Liu Zhenjun), and Diary of a Cricket by Gao Hongbo (illustrated by Wu Bo). Apart from Nepali, these books have also been translated to English and are read by children worldwide.

While the original illustrations have been kept intact, the translations from Chinese to Nepali are done by Kiran Gautam. Eight more books in the series will hit the shelves later this year.

These 40-pages illustrated books, with only a couple of lines of text in each page, tell the everyday stories of different insects. “We took up this project to add variety to Nepali children’s literature that does not have many Nepali language illustrated books to boast,” says Gautam. “We hope these books help children connect to nature through the insects and their daily lives,”

He adds that the publication is soon to publish a three-book series on Chinese culture for Nepali children.

Currently the four picture books are available at Xinzhi Bookstore and China Tibet Book House in the Capital.