Faerie in China’s Worlds of Neverland
Neverland reaches out in China Chinese girls now can read the magical stories of playful fairies in Neverland, based on J.M. Barrie’s classic tale “Peter Pan,” but without Western Peter. They are delightful, spirited sprites, writes Chen Qing. In December 2005, “Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg” was published by Disney on Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand, bringing Disney’s 75-year heritage of fairytales to Asia in English. Now the People’s Postal Publishing House has published more than 10 titles in Chinese, including the latest “The Fairest Flower,” “Prilla’s Prize” and “Picture Perfect.” Gail Carson Levine, author of “Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg,” was in town for the Shanghai Literary Festival and spoke about her love for fairies. “My love affair with fairytales began in childhood,” Levine says. She has a large collection of fairytales, such as Andrew Lang’s series, “The Green Fairy Tale Book,” “The Blue Fairy Tale Book” and “The Sky-Blue-Pink Fairy Tale Book.” “In the land of fairies, there is never a dull moment,” she says. “There is always important stuff I can think of and talk about in my story, like greed, jealousy, love and courage. I think these basic qualities are important to children and adults alike.”