YOKOHAMA, Japan – Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today announced 38 winning entrants of the 33rd Nissan Children's Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix competition, organized by the International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka. The program is part of Nissan's corporate citizenship activities.
The competition attracted 2,501 entries from amateur authors and illustrators between July and October last year, comprising 2,177 children's storybooks and 324 picture books. The Storybook Grand Prize was awarded to Kometogi-yuurei no Yoneko-san (Yoneko, the rice-washing ghost) by Eri Ebata of Akita Prefecture. The Picture Book Grand Prize was awarded to Gyu (Hug) by Mifusamawakashiyo (pen name) of Nara Prefecture.
Winners of the Grand Prize and Special Prizes will receive cash and commemorative goods. Nissan will distribute leaflets introducing the top eight prize-winning works at Nissan Galleries throughout Japan, and two winning books will also be published by BL Publishing Co., Ltd. in December this year.
Picture Book Grand Prize winner Gyu
About the competition
The Nissan Children's Storybook and Picture Book Grand Prix competition, aiming to develop children’s imagination and creativity, commemorates the May 1984 opening of the International Institute for Children's Literature, Osaka, which is Japan's first comprehensive center for international children's literature. The competition attracts about 3,000 entries a year for the two categories, Storybook and Picture Book. By publishing the winning works, the competition provides talented amateur authors and illustrators with the opportunity to take their work professional. More than 110,000 entries have been received in the 33 years since the start of the program, and 59 books have been published.
Website: http://www.nissan-global.com/JP/CITIZENSHIP/FAIRYTALE/ (Japanese only)
Nationwide book donation
Over the years, Nissan has donated a total of more than 220,000 books to approximately 3,500 libraries and 800 kindergartens and nursery schools across Japan, as well as to Japanese schools and Japanese language schools outside Japan. Nissan has also been conducting various initiatives related to children and books, such as storybook reading events at the Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery in Yokohama.
Summary of Storybook Grand Prize winner
Kometogi-yuurei no Yoneko-san (Yoneko, the rice-washing ghost) tells the story of a young boy who meets Yoneko, a ghost who appears in his house every night. The author received praise for the descriptively written story, in which characters and actions are expressed warmly and effectively in short words.
Summary of Picture Book Grand Prize winner
Gyu (Hug) is a pleasant story about Mah, a boy who hugs his loved ones, like his mother and father, and his favorite things. The story is characterized by a succession of repetitive scenes and a rhythmic writing style. The judges were particularly impressed by the book’s simple and bold layout and coloring.
Additionally, three storybooks and three picture books were awarded Special Prizes, and 20 storybooks and 10 picture books received Excellent Prizes.
About Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
Nissan is a global full-line vehicle manufacturer that sells more than 60 models under the Nissan, Infiniti and Datsun brands. In fiscal year 2015, the company sold more than 5.4 million vehicles globally, generating revenue of 12.2 trillion yen. Nissan engineers, manufactures and markets the world's best-selling all-electric vehicle in history, the Nissan LEAF. Nissan's global headquarters in Yokohama, Japan manages operations in six regions: ASEAN & Oceania; Africa, Middle East & India; China; Europe; Latin America and North America. Nissan has been partnered with French manufacturer Renault since 1999 and Mitsubishi Motors since 2016 under the Renault-Nissan Alliance.
For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/. You can also follow @NissanMotor on Twitter.
Blue Citizenship:
Blue Citizenship is the commitment of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. to realize our vision of Enriching People's Lives. We commit to our customers, shareholders, employees and the communities where we do business to deliver engaging, valuable and sustainable mobility for all. Through our business activities, we aim to create economic value and to actively contribute towards the development of a sustainable society.
Related Links:
CSR website http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/COMPANY/CSR/
Corporate Citizenship Activities website http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/CITIZENSHIP/
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