The Long-Tongued Witch & the Giant​

Original Title
天下第一神箭手

Text by 
Matumoto Takesi

Illustrations by 
WU Jianhua, ZHANG Weicai

Language
Simplified Chinese

Pages
44

Size
24 × 25 cm

Age
4+

Published
2021, Everafter Books 

Sold
Japanese

Deep in the mountains lived two troublemakers—the Long-Tongued Witch, who loved licking heads, and Jupan the Giant, with his enormous jagged grin. They spent their days teasing villagers… until drought struck.

When they discovered the Lake Dragon had stolen the river, the mischievous pair fought back—freeing the water with wild licks and bites. “Plant trees, don’t cut them!” they scolded. The villagers listened. And as the forest regrew, even these two tricksters found themselves welcomed as heroes.

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About the author/illustrator

Matumoto Takesi: Born in 1944 in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. A graduate of Waseda University and a member of the Japanese Literary Artists Association. He taught picture book theory and children’s literature at Tama Art University for nine years. On one hand, he is engaged in creating and critiquing children’s literature, and on the other hand, he recommends studies of yokai from a folkloric perspective. His major works include “Hetalo Yokai Stories,” “Football Friends” (Komine Shoten), “National Yokai Encyclopedia” (Shogakukan), and more.

Wu Jianhua: A picture book artist. He began creating picture books in the 1980s, with several works published at home and abroad. Representative works include “Goddess Peak,” “Prince and Chair,” “The World’s Greatest Archer,” “The Long Tongue and the Giant Zhupan,” among which “Goddess Peak” received the Bratislava Illustration Exhibition (BIB) Honorable Mention Award, “Prince and Chair” was selected for the illustration exhibition at the Bologna International Children’s Book Fair in Italy, and “The Long Tongue and the Giant Zhupan” won the 33rd Kodansha Publishing Culture Award in Japan. Many of his original works are housed in the Chihiro Art Museum’s collection.

Zhang Weicai: A picture book artist and sculptor. In 1999, he completed the sculpture of the “Century Bell” in Beijing, and in 2005, he finished the sculpture for the “Peace Bell” at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. In the 1990s, he collaborated with Mr. Wu Jianhua on the creation of numerous picture books both domestically and internationally.