Since its publication, the series Saramo's Magic Library has achieved good market sales and received good feedback from readers. Yuan Xiaofang, the author, was the editor-in-chief of Bertelsmann Book Club and the general manager of Bertelsmann Asia Publishing. With more than twenty years of creative experience, she hides a creative ambition in this adventure novel, which is to write a better work than Harry Potter.

Saramo's Magic Library by Yuan Xiaofang

The Saramo's Magic Library series, a 10-book series published by Juvenile and Children's Publishing House, plans to create a fun fantasy novel for children in the Chinese-speaking world. The books tell the story of a girl, Saramo, who goes through a series of incredible adventures after she transfers to the Wister School. Book one, The Mermaid of Treasure Island, and book two, The Dark Shadow of the Magic Mirror, are available now.

“The author has rewoven and paid tribute to these classic masterpieces with fine elements of modern times so that young readers can revisit the classics while enjoying the author's creative ingenuity, which is unique to such a set of books”, said Lin Wenbao, professor emeritus of the Institute of Children's Literature at Taipei University and a well-known children's reading promoter.

My daughter is the source of inspiration for Saramo's Magic Library

Bertelsmann Book Club offers a book selection service, which helps members select suitable books from the latest published ones. Yuan’s work experience in Bertelsmann Book Club has honed her ability and taste. After that, she worked for Goodbaby Group as the general manager of the stroller division, and then founded her own children's reading brand “Baby in the Book”, and what she did was always related to children.

Saramo's Magic Library tells the story of a girl, Saramo, who goes through a series of incredible adventures after she is transferred to the Wister School. With the school library as the background, using the magical coat of arms, Saramo, and her classmate Gulolo fall into the world of books eroded by the power of darkness. With the assistance of the librarian, Granny Sophie, they work together to fight the dark shadows in the book and restore the original look of the story.

Yuan said that after writing for more than 20 years, her creative inspiration has always come from her own life. The main source of inspiration for Saramo's Magic Library is not only her own childhood memories but also her daughter. Her daughter, like Saramo in the book, is bold and adventurous, loves to read, and loves libraries, and every time the family goes to a new place, they will visit the local library.

On their return trip from a ski holiday in Hokkaido, Janan five years ago, just as Yuan’s daughter finished reading the last page of the seventh Harry Potter book, she suddenly let out a long sigh and said, “Mom, I've finished reading all the Harry Potter books, what should I do? Are there any good books to read in the future?” It was then that Yuan made up her mind that she wanted to write her daughter a set of books. When her daughter was a child, she loved to read fantasy adventure books like Harry Potter and that made Yuan want to write a better storybook than Harry Potter. Yuan said, “I started my first novel 20 years ago, and have published many works on and off since then. I am very confident in my writing and creative power, but it is still a big challenge to write a work that my daughter likes and agrees with.” 

Create a fun fantasy novel for children in the Chinese-speaking world 

Yuan is a very romantic person. She says, “I’ve always felt that Saramo's Magic Library is a love letter I wrote: a love letter to my daughter, a love letter to the library, and a love letter to my childhood memories. And, of course, a love letter to all readers.” Perhaps every author has some romantic sense, but to spend five years or more creating a book to include her daughter in it is the most romantic thing a mother could do for her daughter.

Yuan’s daughter is the first reader of each book and has provided her with many brainy plot ideas and creative suggestions. The first book in the series, The Mermaid of Treasure Island, and the second book, The Dark Shadow of the Magic Mirror, have been published and have been doing very well in the market and by word of mouth. This set of books is not only available in paperback, but also e-book and audio versions. The audio version on Himalaya has more than 2 million plays. 

 

Children's perception of love and being loved is always ignorant, and they often think they deserve to be cared for. Yuan took the book’s protagonist, Saramo, as an example. She does not understand why someone is willing to condescend to make others whole, so she initially did not like the Little Mermaid, thinking she was too stupid. Saramo also does not like her classmate Gulolo, and thinks he is too weak. But in the story, by fighting side by side with Gulolo and the Little Mermaid, Saramo gradually understood the Little Mermaid's unrequited payoff. Gulolo stood up to save Saramo, let her see Gulolo's bravery and commitment. Saramo began to realize that in being loved at the same time to learn to care for others, to love others is also a happy thing.

Yuan incorporates allusions with rich cultural connotations into the story, avoiding dogmatic quotations from scripture. For example, in The Mermaid of Treasure Island, there is an episode where Saramo falls into the water and the Mermaid carries her into the sea to escape, and later a dolphin escorts them to land, inspired by the story of Arion, the inventor of the Dithyramb, who was saved by a dolphin in Greek mythology. Authors of children's literature should be serious, and it is also a test for authors to skillfully incorporate allusions, philosophy, and culture into their works for children to think about and experience.