Locus International

森林裡的秘密

Jimmy Liao

October 2003 15x20 cm 64 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, French, Korean, Thai, Swedish, Portuguese

The curtain blows open and dreams slip in.... A shy and lonely girl dreams within her dream that she is playing with a furry rabbit. Without saying good-bye, the rabbit leaves the lonely city. At the sound of a whistle, the black Bat Dog appears. What odd encounter will this girl have next?

微笑的魚

Jimmy Liao

October 2003 15x20 cm 100 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, French, Thai, Portuguese, Italian

A frustrated middle-aged man brings home a fish from an aquarium. That night the glowing fish leaves home to take him on a marvelous and wonderful journey.

向左走‧向右走 (2008 edition)

Jimmy Liao

February 2008 17x20cm 128pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, German, Brazilian Portuguese, Thai, Portuguese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian

She always turns left, and he always turns right. Life always seems to find a way to make their paths cross, and they each think that they have finally found happiness. And yet in a cruel twist of fate, the only connection between them is broken. Still she always turns left, and still he always turns right. And they start to doubt if their love ever existed…

Turn Left, Turn Right is a portrait of the modern pursuit of love. After it was published, it quickly became an emblem of big-city romance. The book touched many readers, and the sense of resonance among its large fanbase became a comfort to people who realized that they are not alone in feeling the tremors of love. Whether you are still grasping blindly for affection, or you are the object of someone’s search, there will always be a day when love comes…

“Turn Left, Turn Right was very special to me in many ways. I really liked the concept of using left and right to tell the story: the boy is always on the right-hand page of the book, and the girl is always on the left-hand page. And every picture has a space for the ‘camera’—a level, static point of view, from which the reader sees the characters move around and ‘perform.’ The picture book is a great format for this story. It’s ingenious but very simple, and I don’t think any other form of storytelling can improve on it. This book was also the first time I really felt how I was in control as the author… I could decide when they would be apart, and I could decide if I wanted them to meet. But on the other hand, I also started to feel that my characters also have a voice of their own. They can also lead me in discovering their lives and the paths they want to take.”

--Jimmy Liao

聽幾米唱歌

Jimmy Liao

June 2008 15x20 cm 76 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

Jimmy's early illustrations and texts possessed a carefree quality. From a few fairytale-like inspirations, he developed fresh and funny dialogue, and drawings that brought smiles of pleasant surprise to people's faces. For Singing Jimmy and Secrets in the Forest, Jimmy created characters that would later become fixtures in his books: a fuzzy bunny, a kitty cat, and an elephant, as well as the piglet that would appear most often of all.

月亮忘記了 (2007 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

October 2007  17x20cm 12pp

Rights sold: English, French, Chinese (simplified character), Italian, Polish, Spanish, Korean, Thai, Brazilian Portuguese, Vietnamese, Swedish

The moon is gone from the sky. A little boy finds the moon that has fallen to the ground. He gives the moon comfort and strength, so that it can shine once more…

The city seems like a place full of light, but the darkness in invisible places seems to grow deeper and deeper. A sense of loneliness and unease remains pervasive. But the story of the gentle boy and the moon continues to offer a quiet source of light.

The Moon Forgets is a creative, fanciful story that nonetheless portrays truths about how people feel. The image of the smiling black boy dressed in black standing on top of a high-rise, holding up the bright yellow moon, remains potent in its ability to touch us—particularly when we silently look up at the stars, and particularly when we find ourselves in our own little corners, alone yet cozy.

“In The Moon Forgets, the image and text are like two lines that repeatedly converge and separate. Sometimes the images and text are telling the same story, but sometimes the connection is looser. This has always been true in my books, but in The Moon Forgets it’s as if the images and text have lives of their own. It’s not as simple as being just a story with accompanying illustrations.

“The choices I made at the beginning and ending of the story give readers a hint of another story being told, outside of the boy and the moon—a man who falls off a building, suffers a concussion, and whose memories become a blank slate. Both the man and the moon seem to have forgotten something, and they’re both slowly recovering their memories… as for why I wanted to tell this additional story, it’s a message I was never able to say out loud, a message from deep down that I wasn’t able to give until it was too late.”

--Jimmy Liao

森林唱遊

Jimmy Liao

June 2008 15x20cm 76pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

There is a carefree, leisurely feel to Jimmy's early work. With simply drawn characters and scenes, he is able to create a world far from the dust and din of human settlements that gently embraces the dreams and secrets at the bottom of our hearts.

我的心中每天開出一朵花

Jimmy Liao

November 2000 15x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Korean, Japanese, Thai

Jimmy : "I've always loved interior design, and later on I fell in love with architecture as well. I've always dreamed of building my own house. My dream house would have a garden where I could plant flowers and trees. That dream has yet to come true, but it did give me an idea: I would make a book that has 365 pages, one page for every day of the year, and each page would have one flower. The book would be titled A Garden in My Heart."

"When I was drawing for this book, I was still under the shadow of illness. These drawings represent a conversation with my self, where I encouraged and cheered myself on. Maybe that's why the finished book has a strong inspirational tone. My intent was only to encourage myself, but I found that the work moved others as well. This, to me, was very encouraging and fulfilling."

In this thought-provoking and heart-warming collection, Jimmy depicts the frustrations and small pleasures of life through his fresh and inventive illustrations and short passages of text.

地下鐵 

Jimmy Liao

January 2001  20.5x24 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Korean, Thai, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Vietnamese, Swedish, German, Portuguese

That year the angel said goodbye to me at the subway entrance,

Was the year I started losing my sight.

On the autumn morning that I turned 15,

It was drizzling.

I fed my cat.

And at 6:05, I walked into the subway.

I still believe someone is waiting for me somewhere!

The Sound of Colors is the story of a blind girl in the subway who roams the platforms, getting on and off trains. She seems to be searching for something, expecting something. What exactly is she looking for?

Just like the blind girl wandering through trains and stations, we are often confused and anxious about the future that we can never see clearly. We want someone to be waiting for us at one of the exits. But still we must go on, and hope that everything will turn out well.

The Sound of Colors is Jimmy Liao’s most profound allegory. The blind girl’s pursuit is like a paean to life.

“The Sound of Colors contains some of my most detailed and beautiful work, but it was created during a time when I often doubted the reality of everything. Was Jimmy a real person? Would all of this vanish suddenly one day? My doctor told me that my survival rate would increase greatly at the five-year mark, and deep in my mind I was anxiously waiting for that milestone. I often worried that I wouldn’t reach it, that I would never complete this book.

“This story was my way of reflecting on my life during those years. I wanted to keep encouraging myself, while bringing these positive thoughts to other people as well. I was so full of gratitude that I didn’t know how to express. The blind girl’s bow was my way of saying ‘thank you’ to all of my friends that cared for me. Thank you all for staying with me.”

--Jimmy Liao

照相本子 （2016 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

November 2016 15x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Thai

Most people try to preserve moments of happiness in their photographs. We see pictures of joyful birthday celebrations and loving moments in marriage. But what about the times of disappointment and sadness, of failed marriages dejected birthdays spent alone? No one seems to want to remember those?

But life is all of these things. There’s something worth remembering about everything, whether it makes us feel happy or sad.

Perhaps it’s the dark times that make us treasure the joyous ones.

That’s why I wanted to capture the moments in life where joy and sadness intersect. Perhaps the happiness is laced with absurdity, or perhaps the sorrow is not without humor. Certainly that is a fuller account of the sensations of life, one that would be more worthwhile.

The Moments is an ode to life in all its circumstances and feelings.

--Jimmy Liao

1.2.3.木頭人

Jimmy Liao

October 2001 15x20 cm 164 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai

In Blinking Seconds, Jimmy renders children, kittens, puppies, elephants, lions, penguins, and other creatures frozen in time. All their joyous laughing has ---whoosh---been sucked into the book's illustrations. This book lets us witness a magical time and place--- in which the world of reality has quite naturally turned into an imaginary world where these creatures can dash around to their heart's content.

我只能為你畫一張小卡片 （2015 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

May 2015 15x20 cm 120 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Thai 

Do you remember when people would buy or make greeting cards at the end of the year, and send well wishes to relatives and friends? That wasn’t so long ago, yet now it seems like the stuff of centuries-old legends. It was a time when people remembered how to hold a pen and knew how to write words without the help of a keyboard.

The first edition of Love in the Cards was published in 2002, well into the Internet Age. Yet compared to today, it was still more of a “manual” society, when messaging apps were not yet installed on every phone and sending letters and cards was still a common phenomenon. Although time hasn’t exactly flown by, our habits have changed at the speed of light. Handwritten letters, postcards, and greeting cards are a rarity these days, let alone hand-drawing a card, writing a message, addressing an envelope, and then mailing it at one of the increasingly rare and hard to find post boxes on the street — it’s immensely touching these days to receive the warmth of a hand-delivered message.

Jimmy Liao’s cards and their messages are delightful and charming, whether humorous and gently satirical or sad and downcast. The times may have changed, but such human warmth and curiosity will always put a smile on the reader’s face. Few people write or make cards nowadays, but Jimmy’s creations have the magic of drawing closer an increasingly distanced world. You’ll never want to put it down.

The new edition of Love in the Cards has been printed in a larger size to allow even richer visuals. Jimmy has painted and designed a new cover to give the book a new feel. In an age where speed reigns supreme, you’ll discover a new sense of warmth and sincerity in the new cover that was hand-drawn stroke by stroke.

布瓜的世界 （2015 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

October 2015 15x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Korean, Japanese, Thai, French

The connection from French pourquoi to Mandarin bugua, “cloth melon,” surely requires a highly creative and visual mind, but there's no surprise that such a vivid image would  capture the public imagination. When asked how he was inspired to think of this idea, Jimmy Liao said:

“My daughter was born in January 1997, and I began creating illustrated books in 1998. She was like a gentle beam of light that brought warmth to my gray and wilted life, and she grew up, I grew more creative with her. Pourquoi was a happy accident of my spending time with her. I think most parents go through the phase where their children suddenly starts annoying them by asking 'why' about anything and everything. This experience inspired this book, and I invented bugua to give visual form to the question of why.

Writing and illustrating this book was a very positive experience. My past works were more aimed at adults, but Pourquoi takes a childlike perspective and attracted many child readers along with their parents. My own daughter who loved to ask why eventually grew up and began exploring the answers to her questions herself, instead of just asking her parents. I used to be so annoyed trying to tell her why, but now it feels strange not to have someone asking me all the time. I guess that's the inherent paradox of parenthood.”

Regular people might be annoyed by the endless stream of “why” from children, but a genuine creator turns it into an inspiration. It's quite a wonder—doesn't that make you want to shout “Pourquoi”?

幸運兒

Jimmy Liao

February 2003  15x20 cm 140 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Thai, French, Spanish

Mr. Wing has always been lucky. He has everything he wants, and only the best.

Mr. Wing is smarter than anyone, and everyone expects him to be the best at everything. He’s never disappointed them. Mr. Wing is good-looking and talented. His parents are sophisticated and liberal. His wife is beautiful and gentle. His children are cute and respectful. Mr. Wing has everything that other people spend their entire lives trying to get, without needing to work for it. Everyone likes Mr. Wing. Everything about Mr. Wing is something to be envious of, even jealous of. And the worst thing is, one day Mr. Wing got a magical gift from up above…

After completing A Fish with A Smile, Jimmy’s mind became occupied with the story of a sad bird. As the story took shape, Jimmy began trying to write and draw it. After many false starts, the lucky Mr. Wing finally took flight and broke free of his bonds. Mr. Wing is about a lucky but lonely man. People are thought of as lucky based on their fame and fortune, but the price of this luck is often the loss of the self.

This is a story of compassion and legends, for everyone who’s still searching for themselves.

“I’ve always been sensitive about loneliness. Even when I’m in a crowd, the sense of being alone still follows me everywhere. I always believe that, no matter how much you have, you still leave this world all by yourself. That’s why there’s always a sense of loneliness in my work. Of course, the final image in Mr. Wing highlights this sense of loneliness more strongly than any of my previous works. I personally really like the buildup of the last few pages, both in the text and the images. The text and the images started out closely intertwined, but then they grew independent of each other. This gave this story a unique sense of power and scale, that really stays with you. The reader needs to fill in the blanks of the final few pages with their own imagination and experiences. This book really showed me how difficult it is to create, and it gave me an appreciation of everyone in the world who still creates. The breakout geniuses are worthy of envy, but the people who quietly work at it are worthy of respect. When I’m feeling down, I think about how much it took for some of the greatest artists to create their best works, and then I’m inspired to continue to draw.”

--Jimmy Liao

你們 我們 他們 (2016 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

November 2016 15x20 cm 120 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai, Vietnamese

Two of my short collections are unique among my works: Something about Love and Missing My Cat.

Romantic love is a theme I don’t explore too often. It’s true that I created Turn Left, Turn Right, but there are bigger ideas in there wrapped within that love story. In my newspaper columns, I usually come up with my own themes; but Something about Love focused on love at the request of my editor at the newspaper.

At first I had so many problems. Certainly I’ve been in love, but how can I talk about it? How can I analyze it and convey my ideas? I decided to take the perspective of a bystander with an ironic eye when dealing with this sugary-sweet topic.

I used flowing lines in my artwork here, almost like lines in a comic. I thought this technique provided a nice ironic contrast to the subject matter.

--Jimmy Liao

又寂寞又美好

Jimmy Liao

January 2004 18x24 cm 184 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, Thai

Jimmy created this book after suffering a major illness. Those long days he spent away from the world while recuperating fostered in him a sense that life was at once lonely and wonderful, and he created works during that period that were quiet yet powerful. Jimmy excels at depicting light feelings of melancholy, and this work is one of his masterpieces.

開始 (筆記書)

Jimmy Liao

January 2004 15x20 cm 200 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

Beginnings is a notebook that holds some of the work that Jimmy did near the beginning of his illness, before he became famous. This work from early in his creative career includes several illustrations that bore that seeds for some of his later best-selling books. "As far as I'm concerned," says Jimmy. "life changes altogether too much and too fast, but every hazy beginning holds boundless potential."

履歷表 （2015 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

December 2015 15x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai

When I read interviews, the part that fascinates me most is sometimes not the interview itself, but the little profile box next to it that lists the interviewee's name, education, experience, and even their astrological sign, blood type, job, and the like. I find those very interesting, because I love to imagine what their lives are like. That gave me the inspiration to create a work about all kinds of different jobs, in the form of résumés.

All of my ideas in this book came from real-life experiences. There was a while when my daughter always wanted to go to the aquarium, and that's where I got the idea for 'Fish-feeding Performer.' Another time I went to a funeral, where a monk was playing music on a keyboard. That made me think of what it would be like to make a living by playing music in funerals. That's what inspired 'The Pianist.'

The lives of others really get my imagination going. They're an endless source of inspiration. But as for my own life—I'd like as few surprises as possible.

---Jimmy Liao

In this book, Jimmy Liao lets his imagination soar in his accounts of the lives of other people. His descriptions seem quirky and absurd, but they are based on his pinpoint observations on real life. Many of Jimmy's riffs on the professions he writes about seem like ridiculous flights of fancy, but they are in fact surprisingly accurate representations of society. You may question how anyone would be willing to work a job like this, but perhaps many people do—just with different job titles and uniforms. Yukio Mishima, in Confession of a Mask, writes of the desire of the self to become another; Jimmy's Private Me is about the opposite.  The others that he sees are illustrations of his self, his insights on the world around him. This book is a representation of Jimmy's “private me”; perhaps you'll find your own in there as well.

遺失了一隻貓 

Jimmy Liao

October 2004 15x20 cm 80 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

When a pet owner loses her kitty, she also loses love. Searching and losing.... Jimmy uses the loss of a cat to describe the feelings of a girl who loses love. Although there is a cat in every illustration, hers is nowhere to be found. Irreplaceable, it has left a void inside of her until...

小蝴蝶小披風

Jimmy Liao

July 2005 17x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

Shiny and Moony are two eight-year-old friends. Shiny is naughty and self-assured, whereas Moony is melancholic and prone to lose himself in thought. To them, the world is equal parts adorable, crazy, fun and unreasonable. They possess their own simple logic and joys, but they also hold perplexing questions about life. Their conversations and fantasies evoke a loveable, absurd and philosophical world.

失樂園 （5 volumes)

Jimmy Liao

November 2005 17x20 cm  5 vols, each 160 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai

The world has a mysterious way of dealing with people’s sadness. Paradise Lost is a place, as well as a kind of mood and color. In the Paradise Lost series, Jimmy Liao creates some 40 children, using various methods of giving voice to their pains. Some of these characters are shy and lonely, others shrewd and precocious. Some have lost their childhoods. They innocently express the confusions we once all had, the feelings of not being understood. In Paradise Lost all can find comfort.

藍石頭 (2015 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

May 2015 17x20cm 120pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Thai, Spanish (Mexico), English, Korean, French, Vietnamese, German, Italian

When loneliness comes, with the power that can shatter the world, only the strongest yearning could bring it back to where it should be.

The Blue Stone lies silently in the deep forest. It believes it will stay there forever, until the earth is no more. However, a great fire tears through and leaves behind nothing but destruction. The beautiful blue stone is broken in two. One half remains in the forest, while the other is brought to the city…

This is a story of loneliness and discovery. Author and illustrator Jimmy Liao explores the greetings and farewells that are inevitable throughout the journey of life. It is also a story of love. Even though the Blue Stone gets smaller and smaller, its heart is always inextricably linked with that most primordial part of itself. The Blue Stone’s enchanting and arduous quest shows us that even one ray of hope can, through love and dedication, illuminate all the darkness of the universe.

謝謝你你毛毛兔，這個下午真好玩

Jimmy Liao

July 2006  20x28cm 76pp

Rights sold: Estonian, Korean, Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

A sequel to Secrets in the Woods, features that earlier book's protagonists" the little girl and Furry Bunny. Many years later, the little girl has become an old lady, who, as she visits the abandoned zoo, has another encounter with Furry Bunny. Together they revive their youthful dreams, once more spending an afternoon ensconced amid the warm world of their dream....

戀之風景

Jimmy Liao

February 2007 17x20cm 52pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

She was injured in the accident, yet he left the world eternally. All the dreams they used to have together now become unattainable. She cried herself to sleep a lot, always dreaming of the same scenario: the two of them standing underneath a tree, waiting expectantly for it to blossom, when suddenly a gale swept through and then he disappeared from sight. Sometimes she would sense a gentle breeze like a butterfly fluttering and smell the soothing fragrance of the flower, as if someone was there whispering by her ear, protecting her. She was convinced that he had turned into an angel guarding her. What she did not realize, however, was the angel’s predestination. She did not know that when she opened her eyes to see the world again, she would no longer hear that gentle sound.

我的錯都是大人的錯

Jimmy Liao

August 2007 15x20 cm 152 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

Grown-ups like to talk in clichés about grand theories. Strangely, they don't seem to follow their own advice. Jimmy, who has a ten-year-old daughter, has been gaining an understanding about the contradictory nature of the relationship between adults and children. Reading this book, we remember that we were all children once, and that a child's world is of course very different from how we imagine it as an adult.

故事的開始 (2014 new edition)

Jimmy Liao

August 2014 15x20 cm 272 pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai

◎ A behind-the-scenes look at Jimmy Liao’s work in the first decade of his career.

◎ A new edition for When the Story Was Young for 2014—a new design that breathes life into a classic.

How Are Dreams Turned into Stories that Fascinate Us?

When the Story Was Young was first published ten years into Jimmy’s creative career. The introduction to the book was:

“We can recount his list of bestsellers; we know something of his dark and confused days before he found fame. But how exactly did he create these beautiful illustrations, these touching stories, these simple but thought-provoking words? What skills and abilities do a creator need to continue drawing and writing for all these years?

“Jimmy has worked ceaselessly for ten years since publishing Secrets in the Forest and A Fish with a Smile in 1998. He was dazzlingly prolific during this decade, giving us a wide variety of works that have made him famous at home and broad. Yet he has seldom spoken about his creative process. The hidden world between his brain and his works remains as mysterious and fascinating as ever. In this book, for the very first time, Jimmy gives a complete look at the story behind each of his creations. From the process of completing illustration to the inspiration behind his characters and themes, he draws back the curtain on the secrets of his work.

“What makes Jimmy Jimmy? This book gives us the best way to answer this question.”

Since then, Jimmy has come even further on his creative journey. Now as he publishes a new collection of writings on his creative process, Jimmy has also produced a new edition of When the Story Was Young. With new layouts for the entire book and revised text and illustrations, we hope that this book will give readers a new view enriched by the passing of time.

幾米創作十年精選

Jimmy Liao

February 2008 37x42 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

Jimmy’s work includes so many classic illustrations: the little girl who chases a rabbit in her dreams from Secrets in the Woods, lovers meeting in a fountain in Turn Left, Turn Right, and the vibrant phantasmagorias of The Sound of Colors…. Accompanying the plot and characters of a story, these illustrations remain in many readers’ memories as unforgettable scenery.

This large format anthology, printed on high-quality imported paper, contains 60 of Jimmy’s most outstanding illustrations during this ten-year period. Each of these works is suitable for framing.

幾米畫冊‧創作精選

Jimmy Liao

February 2008 37x42 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

躲進世界的角落

Jimmy Liao

September 2008  19x26cm 104pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, Portuguese

Welcome to the corner of the world. Come here to stroll, space out, reminisce, fantasize, and to once again behold dreamscapes that you haven’t experienced for a long time.

Here, you will remember long-forgotten fairy tales, as well as that piano melody you most enjoyed playing as a child, that little lamb kneeling in a tree as she read, that swimming pool on an autumn afternoon, yellow leaves scattered across its surface without a person in sight.

Here, you can go back and fix what once appeared broken forever, and time that you lost can slowly flow back to you.

Here, a poorly adjusted child has the power of snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Here, any small joy can be sincerely applauded. Every day is worth waiting for, and every seemingly impossible miracle can be realized.

And most interestingly, when you hide in a corner, you discover that you come here, surprisingly, to complete a mission…..

Shhh—when you are hiding in the corner of the world, please keep quiet, lose track of time, and go back to the way you used to be—a whole universe unto yourself.

This book is like a person who understands you, who gives voice to the thoughts in your heart. As for Jimmy’s illustrations in the book, they are expansive and cheerful, full of riotous color and sumptuous detail, and imbued by Jimmy’s uniquely mischievous imagination.

星空

Jimmy Liao

May 2009  19x26cm 136pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Thai, Italian, Swedish, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, German, Vietnamese

The Starry Starry Night is a story about growing up.

A girl meets a boy who doesn’t like to talk. Neither is the happiest of children.

One day they escape the city, crossing ridge upon ridge, to reach a cottage in the mountains where her grandfather used to live.

At night they see the most beautiful star-filled sky there.

After they return to the city, the girl becomes very ill, and the boy is nowhere to be seen…..

It’s a story that’s both simple and complicated. It’s simple because it’s a story about two people crossing paths and then going their separate ways. But it’s also complicated, because it gets readers to put themselves in its scenes and linger in its words. It makes them reflect on their own youths. And what an inexhaustible topic youth is! People go on and on about it but never feel that they’ve really described it clearly. Otherwise, unable to find the appropriate words, they won’t say anything on the topic at all. We never know what we have until we’ve lost it. The complexity of the book stems from the readers’ participation, which is one of the great charms of Jimmy’s works: he leaves a crack on the page for readers to enter, and they make his works their own through the lens of their personal experiences.

Apart from demonstrating Jimmy’s familiar style, the illustrations this time also show Jimmy taking some bold new artistic leaps. As for the text, it is crystalline in its concision—not a word is wasted. Ultimately, this book represents the fruits of Jimmy’s efforts to tell a story well. Long-time readers of Jimmy’s books will rediscover the startling power of illustrated books in this long story that took Jimmy three years to finish.

This book was written for all those children who have problems communicating with the world.

世界別為我擔心

Jimmy Liao

February 2011  15x20 cm 128 pp

Rights Sold: Chinese (simplified character),Spanish

From a young age, I always worried a lot.

When fire trucks sped by, I worried it was my house that was on fire.

When my teacher said someone failed a test, I was sure it was me.

If a friend was late, I worried he had been in a car accident.

After listening to ghost stories, I worried about being possessed.

I worried about a lot of things, but later I discovered they really weren’t worth worrying about.

But there were things I had never worried about that would become very worrying.

Should people worry about things more or not bother worrying at all? It’s a worrying question.
—Jimmy

Some people are always worrying. Some people never worry.

Some worries are eternal concerns but distant; others are fleeting, yet urgent.

Worries are like colds. If you have one, others can catch it.

Worrying and not worrying are like two sides of the same coin.

Now you worry, and now you don’t.

What is it about this world that worries you?

擁抱

Jimmy Liao

June 2012  17x20 cm 128 pp

Rights sold: Spanish, Chinese (simplified character), Korean, Italian

The red-maned lion receives a book, which is full of images of children warmly embracing various animals. After reading, the red-maned lion remembers that his body had once enjoyed its own hugs. He comes to deeply believe that in some corner of the world there is someone who is surely thinking about him. And so he resolves to seek out a hug both warm and familiar…

如果我可以許一個願望

Jimmy Liao

December 2012 15x20 cm 128 pp

Rights sold: Spanish, Chinese (simplified character), Italian

Jimmy:

For whatever reason, the older I get, the more I like children.

On their birthdays, when it’s time for them to blow out the candles on their cakes, their sincere expressions and innocent funny wishes always move me.

Writing a book that is an ode to making wishes was originally not on my creative agenda, but on one tumultuous autumn day, the idea suddenly floated into my consciousness and wouldn’t leave. Once again, a fiendish creative urge overcame me to masquerade as an innocent child and tell you about long forgotten things of beauty.

☆Jimmy is trying something new in this work: mixing color and black and white illustrations to create a wonderful aesthetic that blends dreamscape with realism.

☆The horizontal proportions of the book allow Jimmy a wide space to display his ample aesthetic charms.

☆The illustrations in this book were created over a ten-year period. Comparing the earlier works to the latter reveals two different sides of Jimmy’s creative spirit.

☆The book has an atmosphere that is full of the wishful spirit of a year’s end, and also warmth, sauciness, joy, and witty repartee—not to mention the marvelous technical skills that are part and parcel of all of Jimmy’s works.

Intro:

There’s no easy secret to success, only the courage to strive to make your wishes come true. 

A young boy dreams of a young Aladdin finding a teapot at the seashore. Aladdin spends a wonderful afternoon with the beautiful teapot. At dusk, he says goodbye to the teapot as he prepares to go home. The teapot itself is sad to see Aladdin go because Aladdin is the first person not to try to rub its sides in the belief that it was a genie’s lamp. But Aladdin’s mother wouldn’t let him bring home strange things he found outside, so there was nothing to be done…that is unless the teapot really was a genie’s lamp.

Why drives people to make wishes? How does one make a wish come true?

Can one really rely on shooting stars? Genies’ lamps? Angels?

Are there good wishes and bad wishes? Should bad guys’ dreams come true? Are good guys’ dreams better?

If you gathered all seven dragon balls to call forth the dragon, what would you say to it?

If you obtained a genie’s lamp that would grant you wishes, what would you wish for?

If you had a lot of wishes, but only one of them would have a chance of coming true, which would you pick?

If I could have a wish, I would wish for…I would wish for….

並不很久很久以前

Jimmy Liao

December 2012 20 x15 cm 208 pp

Rights sold: Spanish, Thai, Chinese (simplified character)

◎   In this collection of black and white illustrations by Jimmy, sparks produced by the collision of text and illustrations are captured in the beautiful amber of time.

◎   These were the last black and white works that Jimmy published for the literary supplements of newspapers. The arena for these kinds of simple single-color illustrations no longer exists, so that these works are now but keepsakes from a bygone era.

◎   The book takes the form of a photo album and commemorative volume to capture an era that wasn’t actually all that long ago. But looking back today, it seems quite distant in our memories.

◎   Inserted within the book are essays in which Jimmy discusses the art of illustrating for newspaper supplements. For the edification of fledgling creators, he shares some of his secrets for the first time.

Introduction:

Sparks from collisions of text and illustrations caught in the amber of time

The illustrations in the book were produced by Jimmy from 2001 to 2002 and published in the literary supplements of newspapers. Most were made with water colors or fine-tipped ink pens and Arches watercolor paper.

Because of changes in the print media business, by 2002 the last of Taiwan’s newspapers went over to full color printing, and Jimmy no longer had any reason to produce black and white illustrations. The collection thus seems captured in the amber of time, carrying much of the aura of an earlier era with it.

The illustrations in this collection, which were created to accompany the literary works of others, differ greatly from the paintings Jimmy makes for his own books. Images taken from multifaceted literary narratives provide new interest and meaning to Jimmy’s drawings. These black and white illustrations represent beautiful dreams of the past, crystallizations of the imagination of a bygone era, a realm holding the longings of one’s youth.

Apart from the illustrations, this book also contains a dozen or so essays that Jimmy has written on the creative process and illustrating. These are included to provide insights about creating illustrations, particularly for works of literature. The book is like a literary photo album, preserving the flavors of a time when the literary supplements of newspapers used single-color printing, and inspiring people to imagine and remember.

Though they seem like from the distant past, these works weren’t in fact created all that long ago.

真的假的啊？

October 2013  17x20cm 120pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

Lie to Me takes a child’s perspective to examine how hard it is to distinguish between what’s true and what’s not in the world.

 The truth can be painful and lies can be sweet. Do you want to live in the make-believe world of lies or to search for the truth? Jimmy’s sweetly beautiful drawings and incisive text alike shed light on the juxtaposition of truth and lies. He offers the work to a world where it’s often hard to distinguish between the two.

我不是完美小孩 

July 2010  17x20cm 128pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

Hello, everyone. My name is “Perfect Lee.” I’m a third grader. My mother and father gave me my name.

They said that when I was little, whether facing forwards or backwards, whether awake or asleep, whether laughing or crying, I always looked and behaved so “perfectly.”

But as I’ve grown, things have changed….

My parents are more and more demanding, and so is school.

I feel so tired, and sometimes have an urge to shout out: “I’m not a perfect little girl!”

How many people, like me, think of themselves as imperfect? That’s what I want to know.

And now I’ve gathered the courage to get up on my soapbox and describe my thoughts on the matter.

So kids and grown-ups that have given up chasing perfection, please listen to what I have to say!

走向春天的下午 

January 2010  19x26cm 104pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish

You and I made a promise. The grown-ups didn’t know anything about it. Holding the promise dear for a long, long time, I finally mustered the courage to set out.

Due to our promise, the air is bright and clear, and the trees of the forest extend their branches as if to grin. The cherry blossoms dance above our heads. Secretly, they rejoice.

Sometimes I look at the scenery. Sometimes I think about stuff: I can’t keep up with my math class…. Will I be given a role in the class play? Even acting the part of a bunny with no lines would be fine with me…. I dream that we secretly set the goldfish free…. I’m glad that boy doesn’t have a crush on someone else….

Sometimes, I miss you.

Is Heaven above the clouds? Are there clouds in the skies of Heaven too?

Finally, I made good on our promise.

I know that on this afternoon, as spring nears, you’re here with me.

I’m dedicating this book to you my friend.

時光電影院

Jimmy Liao

December 2011  19x26cm 168pp

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), German, Italian, Korean

The main theme of this book is that I like films.

I like watching films by myself, and I like watching films in big groups.

I like to be completely swept up by a film, and I like it when tears stream silently down my face in theaters.

Often I think how much better it would be if people’s tears could get used up inside theaters.

In the spring of 2005, I suddenly had a yearning to create a book to honor a great love of mine: cinema.

I wanted to thank her specially for giving me, during times of great personal despair, a place to hide for a short time, as well as limitless powers.

—Jimmy

Introduction:

Through stories about other people, I live other people’s lives.

Sometimes I turn green with envy; sometimes I sigh with pity.

Released in 2011, this is Jimmy’s most recent work, one he was planning for years.

The story relates the tale of a young girl who grows up searching for her mother.

Her mother used to love to go to the movies.

Now, all the girl has of her mother’s is a scarf she left behind,

so she searches for a sense of familiarity in the dim light of the theater,

believing that she and her mother will cross paths there.

She is a film lover herself, and begins to live her own life.

Yet from her teenage years, and even after she becomes a mother herself,

She never ceases to look for her mother in movie theaters.

Films encapsulate their eras and reflect our lives.

By entering a theater, one opens a mysterious time box

wherein all that is unattainable in real life can be realized.

Jimmy has written his book as a tribute to cinema, one of his great loves.

By writing it, he has fulfilled a long-held desire.

忘記親一下

Jimmy Liao

June 2015 19x26 cm 96 pp

Rights sold: Japanese, Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian

When I miss the wind, I just walk across the wind;

When I miss the rain, I just walk into the rain.

When I miss you…

Woody forgot many things after that day. He forgot what his mother said to him. He forgot to water his father’s roses. He forgot where the Pom Pom Purin next to him came from. He forgot that he was a child, always thinking that he had grown up…

Woody and Pom Pom Purin took a train to the countryside to visit Grandpa. As the train clanged its way down the railroad, Woody gradually began to remember the things he thought he had forgotten. It was like the light you always see at the end of a long dark tunnel. There was always an exit glowing with light where those beautiful memories of the past were hiding.

The Echigo-Tsumari Art Field has invited Jimmy Liao to participate in its triennial art festival. All participating artists create works that fit with the landscapes and features of the site. Jimmy not only created the designs for his artworks, he also created a moving and powerful story that connects all of his works. Kiss & Bye is this amusing yet thought-provoking story. It seems simple and lighthearted, and yet thanks to Liao’s rich and astute imagination, it is a work of complex and deep truth that shows its creator’s sincere care for environment, land, and life.

我從很遠的地方來看你

Jimmy Liao

June 2015 13x18 cm 192 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character) 

◎ A special notebook based on Jimmy Liao's creation for the 2015 Echigo-Tsumari Art Field in Japan.

◎ Designed for travel: hardcover binding with an elastic band for easy carrying and writing.

◎ Free print cloth drawstring pouch with purchase.

Jimmy Liao was invited to create artworks for the triennial Echigo-Tsumari Art Field in Japan. Not only did Liao create designs for on-site artwork, he also created a moving and powerful story that connects all of his works, a story that became the picture book Kiss＆Goodbye. The notebook From Far, Far Away is specially designed based on the central concepts of Kiss & Goodbye, integrated with the art festival's ideas of travel and exploration.

From Far, Far Away features full-color prints of Liao's illustrations, so you can take notes accompanied by Liao's pictures. The notebook's pages are comprised of a variety of different papers suited for writing, drawing, and scrapbooking. There are also empty squares for you to draw little comics depicting your travels or other stories so that you could share them with your friends.

我的世界都是你

Jimmy Liao

February 2016 19x26 cm 120 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Spanish, Italian, Turkish

The girl’s little black dog is gone. She misses the dog, so she writes him letters that she releases into the wind. She prays that her dog will receive them, wherever he is.

The girl lives in a closed down hotel. She roams the various rooms, all full of memories of her playing with the little black dog. But in these rooms, she meets a variety of strange characters. They say that they’ve stayed in the hotel in the past, and they’re here because of the letters they’ve been receiving…

Jimmy Liao creates worlds of fantastical journeys. In this book, he brings us to an old hotel in which the experiences of past travelers still reverberate. The memories that they find so difficult to give up present a new opportunity for the girl to look at her loss from a different perspective. Nothing in the world is eternal, but memories are always there with you. They’re what give the world a different luster.

四季

Jimmy Liao

June 2016 23x17 cm 256 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character) 

Four Seasons was an exhibition and has been shown several times in art museums. Now it's an art book allows readers to become active participants in shaping the illustrations. The characters and the settings may be freely manipulated, allowing the work to recapture the magic of the original theatrical setting. You are also welcome to cut and paste the various elements in the drawings, reconceiving Jimmy's creation and arranging them to tell your own personal story.

忽遠忽近

Jimmy Liao

December 2016 19x26 cm 144 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character) 

An illustrated long-form story of love and growth, depicting the emotional lives of people in modern society.

Everyone has that special someone, someone more than a friend but not quite a lover. The one who knows more about your vulnerabilities than your friends, and who is not afraid to poke at your weaknesses; but he or she has been with you far longer than any lover, who knows what you like, and has shared in all your memories whether big or small, good or bad. That someone is always by your side but without any pressure.

But when anyone asks, you still say with some embarrassment: “We’re just friends!”

You have such good chemistry with each other, but you’re worried that you’ll ruin it if you go over the line. You always suspect that he or she knows your feelings, but often you feel the need to remind yourself it could be all in your head. You don’t know how they feel, and they don’t bring it up with you either. You think that maybe one day he or she will know, or that one day you’ll meet someone better, or… maybe there are better opportunities out there. But sometimes you can’t help but think, is he or she the one? Why can we never confess our feelings at the right time? Why do you know them so well, feel so comfortable with them, and yet you can only ever joke about it? Perhaps because you still feel that you could do better. And so you only say once, drunkenly: “If we’re both still single when we’re thirty-five, let’s get together!”

And then suddenly, you’re thirty-five…

After writing of the star-crossed lovers who never meet in Turn Left, Turn Right, Jimmy Liao found himself engrossed in the story of another pair of lovers who have been friends since childhood, yet could never commit to each other. Somehow it is even more heartrending to meet every day then to never meet. You never know if an unimaginable gulf separates these two people who seem so close. You never know if opening up might destroy everything. Everything is up in the air… they are so close, yet so far.

So Close yet So Far depicts a time when we all seek stability in change, a time full of choices but lacking in certainty, a time of people scarred and afraid to be hurt again.

在一起 （筆記書）

Jimmy Liao

December 2016 14x20 cm 192 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character) 

◎ A notebook with imagery from Jimmy Liao’s So Close Yet So Far, with additional bonus illustrations not found in the original book.

◎ A notebook for you to record every day worth remembering, and a perfect gift for that special someone. This is for everyone whose heart belongs to someone.

Jimmy Liao’s So Close Yet So Far is about a boy and a girl who have been friends since childhood, who know each other well and depend on each other, and yet miss chance after chance to be together as they bounce between relationships. In their hearts, each knows that the other is special; yet they can never confess  their feelings. They keep silent when they meet, yet fall into melancholy when they do not. Being with You is a notebook inspired by So Close Yet So Far. Additional bonus illustrations not found in the book are included, depicting the two main characters sharing a happy life together. It is another version of the story. The notebook uses a backless hardcover binding, easy to open and lie flat but also convenient for carrying around. The notebook includes blank monthly and weekly calendars for use in any year.

Being with You is perfect for writing down feelings that cannot be spoken, to be given to that special someone. Or, the notebook itself can be the perfect gift to show your feelings. Our hope is that those in the world who belong together, can be together.

同一個月亮

Jimmy Liao

October 2017 21x28 cm 32 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Japanese, Korean

A masterwork that marks the 20th anniversary of Jimmy Liao’s first book

A song of innocence for the world, plain and beautiful yet sharp and piercing.

Our hearts are bathed in the same moonlight, full of the same yearning.

When I think of you, are you also looking at the moon and thinking of me?

We look at the same moon, and we should feel the same happiness!

Han-han waits by the window, as if he’s waiting for someone to come.

Han-han sees a lion coming. Han-han opens to door for the lion to come in. The lion has a nail stuck in his paw. Han-han carefully takes the nail out, fixes the wound up, puts on a bandage, and comforts him. The lion thanks Han-han.

Then the elephant and the crane both come visit. They want Han-han to take care of them too.

But Han-han still waits by the window, nervous and excited. He is waiting for his father, who hasn’t come back in so long…

Under the Same Moon is a book of warm and innocence that is Jimmy Liao’s present to the world. Plain and beautiful yet sharp and piercing, it uses a child’s pure and eager perspective to reach down and touch people’s wishes to a peaceful world.

月夢（筆記書）

Jimmy Liao

October 2017 14 x20 cm 184 pp.

◎ Jimmy Liao’s moon-related creations are featured in this notebook, so that you can be inspired by his charming illustrations.

◎ Moon-related imagery from Jimmy Liao’s works of the past 20 years, carefully selected to comprise the first Jimmy Liao-themed notebook on the market.

◎ High-quality paper for easy writing, and hardcover

binding and size for portability and convenience.

The moon is there in your dreams.

About the future, about love, about everything else.

All of your wishes, no matter how far, no matter how small,

She hears as clear as can be.

Moonlight is a frequent presence in Jimmy Liao’s works, symbolizing warmth, caring, and protection. The moon plays a prominent role in Under the Same Moon and The Moon Forgets, and can be seen in the background somewhere in nearly every other one of his books. Whether it is a crescent hanging in the sky or a full moon radiating light, it is always a source of calmness and beauty. Dreams of the Moon is a notebook featuring some of Jimmy’s best lunar images. Elegant and charming in its design, its hardcover binding and perfectly chosen size makes it an ideal choice for carrying everywhere. Let Jimmy’s works inspire your writing and help you record the most touching moments of your life.

每個人都值得一張美麗的畫：幾米經典畫作101

Jimmy Liao

November 2017 11.3 x16.3 cm 101 postcards (box set)

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

101 selected images from Jimmy Liao's 20 years creation. A Collector's edition postcards box set of Jimmy Liao's best works over his career, to honor 20th anniversary of his first published book.

寂寞與溫暖：幾米長篇作品套書

Jimmy Liao

February 2018 17x20 cm 636 pp.

◎ This is a collection of five picture-book classics by Jimmy Liao in the first decade of his career. The layouts for all five have been redesigned, and the five books come in a case for easy collection.

◎ Loneliness and Warmth: A Collection of Jimmy’s Picture Books include five of Jimmy’s most celebrated works: Turn Left, Turn Right; The Moon Forgets; The Sound of Colors; Mr. Wing; and The Blue Stone. The covers have been redesigned, and the dimensions of the books have been made uniform, as they were all originally published in different sizes. This is a perfect showcase of the charm of Jimmy’s picture books.

◎ A glass jar inspired by The Moon Forgets is available as a limited exclusive gift with this collection, not sold elsewhere.

The long picture book is a unique form that Jimmy Liao works in. With his inimitable talent for visual storytelling and his poetic, unique writing style, Jimmy has created many stories that examine human solitude while still warming the heart. The colors, lines, and text all work in harmony to express Jimmy’s view on life, while giving voice to the feeling of loneliness that is so common among so many.

幾米20精選典藏

Jimmy Liao

February 2018 30x40 cm 104 pp.

◎ A collector’s edition artbook of Jimmy Liao’s best works over his career, to honor the 20th anniversary of his first published book.

◎ 50 selected images printed on large-format paper (30x40 centimeters) with cutting lines that allow them to be torn away and framed, collected, and displayed as Jimmy Liao reproductions.

◎ A hard case is provided with the artbook, making this edition the best way to collect Jimmy Liao’s works.

The blind girl hoping that someone will be waiting at the exit of the subway station. The lion that wants a hug. The starry night that comforts everyone. The boy in the corner that does something small for the world every day. The girl who finds the answers in movies and rediscovers her passion for life. The boy with wishes and a magic lamp. The smiling fish that rediscovers freedom. The fluffy bunny that calls outside the window in the afternoon… Throughout his 20-year career, Jimmy Liao has created over 50 lauded works that include charming fairy tales, grand epics, humorous and playful quips, and reflections on life. No matter when you put your first Jimmy Liao book on your bookshelf, there must be a few images from his works that have stayed in your heart. His art always sneaks up on you when you least expect it.

Every one of Jimmy’s images is the result of painstaking and detailed work, so they can all be appreciated as standalone works of art. And yet the stories behind these images, as told in Jimmy’s picture books, give voice to the characters and settings, all of which have a tale to tell. This artbook collects Jimmy Liao’s best characters and worlds, finely printed on large-format, high-quality paper. This is an unmissable retrospective on Jimmy’s career for Jimmy lovers like you.

不愛讀書不是你的錯

Jimmy Liao

April 2018 15x20 cm 128 pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character), Thai, Italian, Spanish

Make it a rule never to give a child a book you would not read yourself.”

― George Bernard Shaw

Less and less people are visiting the bookstore down the street. The bookstore owner doesn’t want to give up the store, so he has his child gather all of their friends used to hang around the bookstore to discuss whether they want to read and buy books at the store anymore. Thus begins a battle of words over reading or not reading, a debate spanning past and present.

The adults talk in clichés, and the kids go on flights of fancy.

To read or not to read? Indeed, that is the question.

閉上眼睛一下下

Jimmy Liao

October 2018 26 x 19 cm 88pp.

Rights sold: Chinese (simplified character)

·      A creative milestone, celebrating twenty years of artistry by Jimmy Liao

·      Fluid images and rhythmic texts combine to create a dynamic reading experience like none other

·      Select images to be transformed into installation art along Taiwan’s Danhai Rail Line

After reading this book, you’ll want to close your eyes and let the experience sink in a bit. But even after all has sunk in, the magic of the experience is not that easily put into words.

You’ll remember the images—images straight from the imagination of a child. You’ll recall the words— words resembling the gentle advice of the worldly-wise. And as text and image come together, sparks fly and the page assumes a life of its own.

This book invites you to embark on an adventure of sound and color—to let the magic of images in flux and the rhythm of words in motion together produce a picture-perfect experience beyond your wildest imagination. Watch as music floats up from the pages and colors seep out from the print, soaring and spinning in the air, bouncing like droplets on a pane of glass and swirling like petals in the summer breeze. Let this smorgasbord of sound and color enthrall you and take you down an unforgettable journey of rhythmic and visual delights.

但願有一天你會懂

Jimmy Liao

May 2019 17x23 cm 136pp.

Rights sold : Simplified Chinese

All happy children are alike.

Each unhappy child is unhappy in their own way.

Hsiao-kuang is an active and outgoing boy with a head full of imaginative ideas. To him, the world is a big place and everything is new and exciting. But there’s one thing he could never understand: He wants his parents to spend time with him, but they’re always too busy. They nag him and tell him to do things instead of showing that they care about him. They tell him to do what he’s told and to work hard at school. All Hsiao-kuang wants is for his parents to look at the stars with him, but they wouldn’t even do that.

Just when Hsiao-kuang is feeling sad, a shooting star pierces the sky comes down to earth. It turns out to be a strange spaceship with a green star bear inside. The star bear comforts Hsiao-kuang and offers to take his place—including when he’s getting yelled at and when he has a test at school. So Hsiao-kuang and the star bear put their heads together and the star bear becomes Hsiao-kuang’s appearance. The star bear in Hsiao-kuang’s appearance deals with all the stress of regular life, while Hsiao-kuang pilots the star bear’s spaceship and explores faraway asteroids, playing with all kinds of cute animals…

On Earth, the star bear lives life as Hsiao-kuang, facing a life of frustration and scolding. He knows the adults want the best for him and hope that he would understand one day, and he wants to live up to their expectations. But everything is so hard and miserable. The only thing that helps him cope with the pressure is sharing his feelings with his teddy bear…

In this book, Jimmy Liao takes the perspective of a child as he dissects the pitfalls of the parent-child relationship, so difficult to talk about but such a burden to keep silent. Young readers would readily identify with the main character, while parents would find many situations and conversations eerily familiar, because they might have said the exact words. Children hope that one day their parents would understand that they are their own selves, and that parents shouldn’t try to mold them into predetermined shapes; and parents hope that one day their children would understand all they do for their children, so that their children could avoid the challenges they faced in the past.

The tug-of-war between children and adults is embodied in Jimmy Liao’s charming and thought-provoking images and words. Both parents and children can easily recognize the awkward but also joyful feelings that their relationship brings.