The nymph and the Woodcutter

Author – Sibil Weththasinghe

Publisher – Visidunu Publishers

Third Batch 2015

ISBN 978-955-1741-89-1

20 Pages

Sybil Wettasinghe or ‘Sybil Nenda’ as she is fondly called by her young readers, was born in Galle. She started her schooling firstly at the Gintota Buddhist Mixed School and secondly at Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya. At the age of fifteen, she presented her drawings to H. D. Sugathapala’s ‘Navamaga’ Fifth Grade Reader. At the age of nineteen, she entered the field of journalism as an artist and has continued to fascinate children with stories and illustrations she has created for over six decades or so. In doing so, she has presented more than 200 books in Sinhala and English for children.

‘Kuda Hora’ (The Umbrella Thief) which came out in 1956, took the Sri Lankan children’s storybook to a new height with the intermingling of drawings with the story. Since then her books created for children and youth have been acclaimed by many national and international awards. Vesak Lantern’ was awarded the Isobel Hutton Award in Great Britain in 1965. ‘Kuda Hora’ was awarded the Best Foreign Children’s Story published in Japan in 1986 and was further acclaimed in 1987 as the most popular children’s book by the Tokyo Children’s Library. ‘Duvana Ravula’ (Runaway Beard) received the SAARC Award for the Children’s Book with the Best Design, in 2003. These are only some of the international awards she has received. Her book ‘Kuda Hora’ has been published in 12 countries including Japan, China, Korea, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and the United States of America. A number of her other books too have been published in foreign countries.

Sybil Wettasinghe developed her art career through her own sheer determination. The charming environment in which she grew up, in the village of Gintota, and her wonderful childhood escapades and experiences in that environment have been the foundation for her creations. Today, she has proudly taken our simple village life to international heights and has become one of the world’s foremost children’s artists.

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