The Straw House is among the children's books by Cao Wenxuan, who becomes the first Chinese to claim the Hans Christian Andersen Award on Tuesday. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Cao was born into a poor family in Jiangsu province, and his childhood memories were mainly connected with his family's struggles for food.

"I remember that I used to collect grass from the riverside, and my mother would stir-fry it without oil pretending that she was preparing a dish of leeks for me," Cao writes.

He enrolled in Peking University in 1974 and stayed on as a professor of Chinese language and literature.

Besides The Straw House, first published in 1997, Cao is also known for Bronze and Sunflower (2005), which tells the story of a village boy and a city girl, who are struggling to find their place in the world.

His Dingding Dangdang series, which he began in 2012, is about two brothers with Down syndrome living in a small village.

Separately, Cao is also working with world-acclaimed illustrators to create picture books for young readers. He partnered with Andersen-winning Brazilian illustrator Roger Mello on Feather.

"Cao's books don't lie about the human condition; they acknowledge that life can often be tragic and that children can suffer. At the same time, they can love and be redeemed by their human qualities and the kindness they sometimes find when they are most in need," the IBBY statement says.

Commenting on his achievement, children's writer and critic Li Donghua tells China Daily: "Cao is a respected writer, who has published super best-sellers, but he remains untouched by market trends.

"He's indeed a marathoner in writing for children," says Li.

Contact the writer at meijia@chinadaily.com.cn