E-books, surging to the fore in publishing globally, are finding slow going establishing a foothold in Hong Kong.迷你倉出租 The local publishing industry, however, is working hard to change that, with some delightfully intriguing innovations. Li Yao reports. Some people never lose their childhood dreams. For people such as these, the magical world still awaits behind the cover of every story book. Keith Li is one of those people reinvigorating the art of reading, nearly abandoned by today’s children, by merging almost forgotten storybook dreams with modern technology to bring the children’s storybook back to life. There’re no doubts about what kids stand to lose by not reading. Liz Jackson, associate professor at the Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong, cautions that reading remains crucial to learning for kids, because it encourages critical thinking and increases understanding of different viewpoints. There’s plenty of academic research to support Jackson’s arguments that reading fosters academic excellence in kids, teaches them mastery of language, speech and communication, develops the ability to visualize, and contributes to self-discipline and logic. Jackson welcomes the evolution of apps oriented toward entertaining and educating kids, which is envisaged as holding enormous potential for educators, through interactive textbook supplements. She sees a great future for smartphone and tablet apps for education and research. She uses her e-book reader to pore over historical and contemporary works. Li, co-founder of Innopage, an e-publishing company, has produced 40 animated children’s e-books over the last two years, many of them imported and written in English or Spanish. Still, there’s one that holds pride of place for the publishers, a story from ancient China. The e-book retells in colorful, animated imagery the story of Hua Mulan, a woman who became a legendary general of ancient China. In the original Chinese poem, the Ballad of Mulan, the young woman disguises herself as a man, and joins the army in the stead of her elderly father, who had grown frail. During her 12-year career as a soldier, Mulan won renown, but refused to accept a public appointment, finding her own reward in retirement to her hometown. As the e-book opens, before her loom, sits Mulan, delicate-looking in her pink robe. She is seen immersed in thought, unhappy. The reader soon discovers the reason by opening the scroll bearing an imperial seal that has arrived at the family home, and now sits before her. The imperial edict serves notice that Mulan’s aged father has been conscripted by the army. Mulan’s reflections lead her to steely resolve, to take her father’s place, and fight the enemies of her country as a soldier. Readers witness something of the life she must have led. With a touch of the screen, a soldier shoots arrows. A horn sounds. A troop of cavalry gallops onto an ancient street. Her soldiering days at an end, Mulan returns home, clad in armor, her hair, coiled like a man’s. The door to her dressing room opens then closes, before Mulan re-emerges in her pink robe, her hair falling over her shoulders. “The original poem is too difficult for children to digest or recite,” says Li. “The e-book is easier and more attractive to children, with visual, audio, and interactive elements,” Li adds. There’s another delightful scene — from the children’s classic Puss in Boots, where the clever cat challenges the story’s villain, a terrible ogre, to transform himself. The fatal encounter plays out through animation as the ogre suddenly becomes a ferocious lion, then a tiny mouse. In a split second, Puss in Boots pounces and gobbles up the mouse. The ogre is no more. Children’s e-books are getting more like games, Li concluded. Mature readers equally are drawn to the digital imagery and interactive discoveries presented in e-books. “Back to the Stars” is a modern interpretation of Antoine de Saint Exupery’s renowned story “the Little Prince”. It recalls childhood’s adventures through an examination of the mysterious world of grown-ups. The e-book is illustrated by Chocolate Rain, a Hong Kong design company. There is a melodious soundtrack, befittingly melancholic, composed and performed by singer-songwriter, Chet Lam. Li pointed to one passage, “I walked away carrying the weight of his sadness. There are moments you just know it’s the last goodbye.” In the accompanying illustration, the Little Prince is seen dressed in white, eyebrows knitted in a frown of sorr儲存倉w. Preparing to take leave of Earth, he watches as his new friend, the pilot, flies his red airplane over the horizon and out of sight. The Little Prince pokes his sad countenance from a transparent suitcase as the plane disappears. The suitcase contains opened envelopes, two clocks, three black coat hangers, and a plush rabbit that can be projected out of the suitcase when the reader touches the screen. “People can see them, one by one, falling to the ground. The animation responds to their weights. It better communicates the feeling of emotional baggage, represented through the metaphor of the suitcase,” Li said. E-galleries From the digital world has emerged technology capable of reproductions such as never have been seen before, from fashion catalogues to fine art. tMG is a startup e-bookstore in Hong Kong that has created an online gallery for illustrators. It’s a big breakthrough for illustrators who have had a devil of a time for years, finding places to showcase their works. Sindy Lau, a Hong Kong illustrator, joined the e-gallery and posted her award-winning illustration depicting a stray cat as it adapts to changes wrought by urban development. Lau’s inspiration came on a day back in 2006, when she stood on Lee Tung Street — “Wedding card street” of a nearly forgotten era when family-run print shops churned out wedding invitations, greeting cards and Chinese lunar calendars in old Wan Chai. “Wedding card street” went under the wrecker’s ball that year, to make way for re-development. There were protests but nobody listened. Into the spotlight of Lau’s imagination entered the image of a strange, stray cat — shaped like a flashlight, with disproportionately broad head, able to illuminate and gauge every changing aspect of its neighborhood environment — its straight, thin body taut, its four legs and swaying tail represented by steel bars. In the e-gallery, viewers see only segments of the illustration, illuminated in a blurry, yellow light, like the beam projected from a flashlight. Viewers illuminate different sections of the image on the touch screen by re-directing the flashlight beam. tMG’s e-gallery offers an iPad app that showcases the artists’ bio and (scanned) works. Readers may purchase full-sized copies, printed using advanced digital techniques. Sometimes the originals are available for sale. Dozens of illustrators from Hong Kong and Taiwan have joined the e-gallery. An indelible archive When William Tang Tat-chi, 55, the well-known fashion designer, lost his mother last year, he and his elder sister set out to preserve the legacy their mother left behind. Brother and sister gathered all the recipes for home-made meals, desserts and snacks, assembled them in a book that opens a window onto a nostalgic glimpse of the disappearing culture and traditions of the indigenous people of the New Territories. Tang grew up in a powerful family that owned acres and acres of farmland in the New Territories. He saw Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai new towns, subway stations, hospitals, parking lots, and factories rise and erase what had been his favorite hangout places to go swimming, admire unblocked mountain views, and taste fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood. Past traditions got lost with rapid urban encroachment. Tang said he missed the close-knit neighborhoods of the good old days. “When my mother was preparing traditional dishes, she always made enough to share with neighbors, especially the seniors who lived alone. My mother believed well-off families ought to help the underprivileged,” Tang said. There was something else about this latest book for Tang. It was his first book published both in hard copy and as an e-book. Tang had taken note that e-books were gaining in popularity among young people. In keeping with the changing times, the book’s digital version can be purchased from the online bookstore launched by Tang’s publisher, Sino United Publishing Ltd, on July 17. Simon Man, the company’s marketing director for electronic publishing, said Tang has unique access to indigenous people’s daily lives and has a rich collection of photos and interview materials to make more engaging e-books for his future volumes. “One friend said that in a few years, this book could become a reference about New Territories’ history,” Tang said. By rediscovering homemade recipes, “I hope native snacks will take over the popularity of French maracons and Danish butter cookies in Hong Kong households.” Contact the writer at liyao@chinadaily.com.cn 迷你倉沙田
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