The Fourth Question

This Chinese folktale storybook is number one of my top ten favorite illustration projects. I spent nine months working on it and put my entire personal self into the art. It was published by Childrens Press in Chicago, a wonderful company which got bought out and closed down by other mega companies in other cities. Now I don't know what happened to it and my books are out of print, and hard to find unless I search used booksellers on Amazon. My original art created with Prismacolor pencils on high quality rag board are lost to me. The company kept them, and I have no idea where to ask now.

I love the story of the young man who sets off on a journey to ask for help for himself and his aged mother. Along the way he meets others who also ask him to help them. He agrees to ask their questions first and when he does so, he loses the chance to get his own question answered. He travels back the way he came, gives back the wisdom to others and in return, his own needs are answered.

This was a dream illustration job for me, I grew up in the Philippines and had recently travelled through China. I created all the Asian details from my own experience, relying on my memory, imagination and photos I had taken.