Plastic Island. A piece of work showed on the annual Bologna Illustrations Exhibition in China, 2016. [Photo/cri.cn]

And life can't be always rosy, which is also an important thing creators should let children know. Sadness should be explained, rather than being avoided or covered. Yet the number of picture books about wars, natural disasters and death of the families are limited.

Roger Mello, winner of the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Illustrator Award, said each illustration tells a story. A picture, or just a blue or yellow abstract image, might stir a thought in readers' mind the moment when they see it.

The exhibition will stay in Beijing until July 28 and then tour Chengdu, Shanghai, Xi'an, Shenzhen, Jinan. The exhibition in China will end on May 10, 2017.