Blackcrane brings animals to life with his stories

Gerelchimeg Blackcrane, hailed as "a son of nature", recently publishes three of his novels and five collections of novellas and stories, including his representative works Gui the Tibetan Mastiff and Diao Lang. Photos Provided To China Daily

Gerelchimeg Blackcrane is more than 1.9 meters tall and when he shows up at public events, he wears Mongolian gowns.

The writer, born in northeastern Heilongjiang province, was raised by his grandmother on the grasslands of Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

He is known for his animal tales, which have won him numerous literary awards and have been translated into many foreign languages.

Black Flame and The Nightjar at Dusk are two of his works available in English. The former is a novel about Kelsang, a lovable Tibetan mastiff, and his adventures.

Ian Tymms, a reader on goodreads.com, rates the book highly, and says: "(The book) reminds me of Jack London's novels, that it's from the perspective of a dog with a similar complexity to its narrative voice. The novel manages to be engaging and convincing without overly romanticizing the dog's life. A special novel - in that the writer is from the Mongolian grasslands where the plot is partly set and he brings this world alive."

Hailed as "a son of nature", Blackcrane says he hopes to bring more such stories on nature to his readers, after a speech and an interaction with students from the Beijing Experimental School recently.

China Children's Press and Publication Group recently released three of his novels and five collections of novellas and stories, including his representative works Gui the Tibetan Mastiff and Diao Lang, and new stories.