by Wang Li

On my North Carolina library’s new book shelf, a sturdy greenish cover caught my eye. Ah—it was translated from my mother tongue, Chinese! A rarity in the American children’s book market.

Then I noticed the publisher: The Magic Elephant Books—where I had met editor Sun Caizhen during my China trip two years ago. And the English publisher? Dear Charlesbridge!

I read the book slowly, as if spending a day in a mountaintop tea garden with the boy and his family. I loved everything: the words, the art, the design, even the background color of the paper. And I wondered—how did this book baby travel all the way from China to my local library?

To find out, I embarked on a series of interviews—through video calls, chats, emails, and phone calls. 

From a Cup of Tea to a Picture Book
This book’s journey began with a simple chat over tea. Editor Liu Ben suggested to his friend, author Xu Bin: “Why not write a story about tea?”

Xu drew from his childhood experience of helping his family pick tea in Enshi, a village in southern China. Drafts grew long, then were trimmed back. “The tea garden was an important part of my childhood,” Xu said. “Every family had one, even the school. We had tea-picking holidays—all the kids went home to help harvest tea. No school.”

Xu’s words ring with honesty, and his writing is marked by truthfulness and liveliness. Illustrator Yu Yin joined, and her art speaks to the story in the most harmonious way. “Since the story is nonfiction, I wanted my art to carry the feeling rather than strict realism,” she explained. “I avoided perspective drawing on purpose.” A visit to Enshi, where the story happened, gave her work more inspiration. Seeing the place in person was very helpful. 

“This book is quite mature in all respects,” Editor Liu noted. “Not one sentence is extra in the book.” To him, “An editor’s work is more about relationships—between people, between people and things, and between people and the world.”

Yu shared her challenge: “I wanted to do it well so badly that at one point I had to take a break.” She credits Liu’s encouragement: “It’s me, not him, who insists on redoing things sometimes.”

A few years later, the tea-time conversation had bloomed into a picture book.

Crossing the Ocean

Even before publication, the art was winning prizes like the 2021 BIBF Pineapple Illustration Award. Xie Yuan, Rights Director at Magic Elephant, shared: “We prepared a rough English translation and sample spreads for overseas publishers. With our agent’s help, Charlesbridge acquired it.”

Kris Guo of Jade Literary pitched the book to Charlesbridge senior editor Karen Boss. Karen remembers: “The moment I saw the folksy art in this one, I was hooked. I loved the storyline, too. Very culturally specific, but with a universal theme of working together as a family and the special treat of being able to accompany parents in their work. It was easy to decide we wanted to publish this book.”

Charlesbridge attends the Bologna Children’s Book Fair regularly, reviewing more than 100 titles and publishing about 5–8 imported titles each year.

Meet the English Readers
Translator Chen Shan embraced the project: “I wanted the English to flow naturally, not necessarily word-for-word.” She was especially glad to see this book translated from Chinese, noting that “the market needs more balance.”

Karen worked with both the translator and the Chinese publisher on the English text, making changes such as adding a jacket. “There are always changes when books are translated. Sometimes it’s for smoothing the text in English. Sometimes it’s to be sure something can be understood by a U.S. audience,” she explained.

Thanks to Charlesbridge’s sales and marketing team, U.S. readers can now easily find Picking Tea with Baba in libraries and online. At home, my daughters giggle over the page where the brothers try to catch partridges in the tea garden.

It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a global village to make a translated children’s book.  

What’s Next?
The creative team is far from done. Xu Bin, Yu Yin, and Liu Ben continue making books in China. Chen Shan translates and writes from Hawaii. Charlesbridge is preparing more international gems, including Men Cry by Spanish creator Joan Turu (April 2026) and Otter’s New Neighbors by Chinese picture book maker Li Xingming (May 2026).

A Story Worth Savoring—and Sharing
Spending time with the team behind Picking Tea with Baba has been a joy. Their talent, humility, and dedication remind me why stories matter.

So pour yourself a cup of tea, find this book at your local library or bookstore, and savor a story steeped in nature, family, and the joy of working together.

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About the Team:

*In Chinese personal names, the surname (family name) comes before the given name. All Chinese names in this article follow this order—for example, Xu Bin’s surname is Xu.

Xu Bin

Xu Bin is an author, picture book editor, and farming-and-reading educator. He founded the picture book brand Pine Grosbeak Bookstore and the rural education program Pine Grosbeak & Plane Tree. His books include With Bamboo, Higher than the Sky, and Bicycle Song. He is also chief editor of the magazine Popular Science-Explorer. 

Yu Yin

Yu Yin is an artist and a graduate of the China Academy of Art. Her books include Dad Became Invisible, Golden Beard and Red Sweater, Little Qiqi, and Ceramic Town. Her illustrations have received honors such as the Bologna Illustration Exhibition (2022), the BIBF Golden Pineapple Award (2021), BIB Bratislava Biennial of Illustrations China Nominee (2021) and Chen Bochui Original Illustration Exhibition (2018).

Liu Ben

Liu Ben is a picture book author and editor. He has published Your Hands, My Hands, Her Hands; Someday in the Future; Fly Fly Fly; Song of the Moon; Bigfoot; Let’s Play; and A Forest in My Eyes, with more books on the way. His works have received the Russian “Image of the book” Award, the BIBF Pineapple International Illustration Award for Chinese Originals, and the Golden Pineapple Award.

Karen Boss

Karen Boss is a senior editor at Charlesbridge where she works on fiction and nonfiction from board books to picture books and middle-grade and YA novels. She holds a MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons College, has taught craft workshops and classes for many years, and has worked with many authors both debut and seasoned, including Jane Yolen, Sarah Albee, Valerie Bolling, and Shana Keller.

Chen Shan Ph.D. 

Chen Shan is a writer and translator. She holds a PhD in Translation from Binghamton University. She translates from English to Chinese and vice versa. She has published translated books in both languages. 

Xie Yuan 

Xie Yuan is the Rights Director at The Magic Elephant Books, a children’s book imprint of Guangxi Normal University Press Group Co., Ltd. She lives and works in Gui Lin, one the most beautiful cities in China.

Wang Li 

Wang Li is a children’s book writer and translator. She finds children to be the most fascinating creatures, as she herself once was one. She is a 2025 Art Omi Translation Lab resident. She won 2024 SCBWI Pitch-Perfect Translation Grant, along with several other writing awards.