Boonie Bears gains ground

Although there has been some controversy surrounding popular animation series Boonie Bears, its book version, published by Sichuan Children's Publishing House, is becoming a publishing sensation at home while attracting attention at overseas book markets.

According to Chang Qing, president of the publisher, they have developed 70 titles from the animation, among which, the first set of 10 picture books has sold 2.1 million copies.

"We brought the series to international book fairs and they attracted a number of publishers who are keen to explore the possibility of co-publishing in their countries," Chang says.

The animation was originally created by Guangdong-based Fantawild Holdings. It has been aired on Disney Channels in Asia and on other channels across the world, creating a name for itself internationally.

The story revolves around hilarious fights between two bears and their rival, the Logger Vick, in the deep forest in Northeastern China, and later extends to scenes outside the forest.

While Vick takes orders from his boss to chop down the forest, the older bear Briar leads his brother Bramble to stop and battle against Vick. Briar is smart, while Bramble is strong and gluttonous.

"I see it as a Chinese-styled Tom and Jerry, with a new theme of protecting the environment," says Ding Ya, general manager of Beijing Huatu Hongyang Publishing, the holder of the series' copyright in books.

Ding led his team to obtain the copyright one month before the animation became a hit on Chinese TV stations.

Though some accuse the animation of being a bad influence as it features violence and improper language, Ding is proud of it as an original Chinese creation.

"Its fundamental attraction is the magic that makes the children laugh out loud from the beginning to the end," he says.

He says his decision to come up with the series was inspired by successful cases of animation series-turned-books, and he observed his 5-year-old son has had many happy moments watching such programs.

"When my company, which publishes training and education materials, was thinking about expanding our production line, we discovered that publishing for children is among the few areas that have been hit the least by e-publishing," Ding says.

"Boonie Bears offers the best content and it has a well-established brand name," he says. "And, it's an original Chinese creation."

Chang with Sichuan Children's Publishing House agrees with Ding, and says her publisher has been tracking down popular animated cartoons for the best source of publishing.

Compared with other animations, Ding believes Boonie Bears is less complicated for children.

"It simply brings joy to children," he says. "I hope the books can do the same."

To produce books that he feels proud to present to his son and other children, Ding says the whole team made great efforts in quality control and in details like the color, the paper and the size of characters.

"We tried hard to turn the 3-D cartoon into pictures, and to preserve the humor from the movements of body," he says.