Elephant Orphanage | Hornless Rhinoceros | Abandoned Egg | Paradise | First Memory | Mango-Colored Sky | Rhinoceros Sea | Blue Horizon | Jury's Commentary

■ The last remaining white rock rhinoceros in the world
A baby penguin born in the arms of a rhinoceros.

At the time, I didn't know it was a miracle that we, who were different from head to toe, had only each other.

What would it be like to be the world's last rhinoceros, to have lost everything precious to you and to bear the weight of being "the last remaining being" with your whole soul? What would it be like to embark on a journey to a sea you've never seen before, to fulfill a friend's final request, to find a safe place for a young life to belong?

This book is the story of Norden, the last white rock rhinoceros on Earth, and a young penguin born from an abandoned egg, spending countless long nights together as they search for the sea.
What allowed me to stand up again on the bumpy road with my bare feet, what finally brightened the long, dark nights when I couldn't sleep, was the will, love, and solidarity that were like "stars that rise even in dirty puddles."

■ The overwhelming power of emotion that shakes the heart
■ It was natural to be called ‘us’ since we had spent so many long nights together.

■ The 21st Munhakdongne Children's Literature Award Grand Prize Winner 『The Long Night』

The news a few years ago about the last remaining male northern white rhinoceros in Sudan made us reflect deeply.
What kind of life did Sudan lead until then?
What moments were enjoyed with those weary eyes and what moments were cut out?
What would we find if we went back in time by unknown means?


The story "The Long Night," which began in Sudan, received praise for its "overwhelming power of emotion," "profound questions about the meaning of life and the solemnity of the process of finding it," and "beautifully depicting the endangered rhinoceros and the penguins that do not give up even in extreme situations," and won the grand prize at the 21st Munhakdongne Children's Literature Award along with "Lane No. 5."


Norden, a rhinoceros raised in a herd of elephants, and a young penguin born from an abandoned egg.
Noden, who must live for his loved ones, and the young penguin who desperately fights to survive because he wants to live for himself.
The journey of two beings, different from head to toe, becoming 'us' and advancing through the long night toward the blue horizon (the sea) will remain as a strength within me for a long time.

“Do you see that horizon over there? It’s shimmering green.
“This is my sea.”
“I like it here too.
“I want to stay here.”
“You are a penguin.
“The penguin must go to the sea.”
“Then I will live as a rhinoceros.
Look at my beak.
“It looks exactly like a horn.”
“You are already a great rhinoceros.
So now all that's left is to become a great penguin.
Come here.
I'll hug you.
And I'll tell you a story.
All night long.
“You go find the blue horizon, you go find the sea, you meet your friends, you tell our story.” _From the text

■ A beautiful and great solidarity of love
■ “I will become a white rock rhinoceros by your side.”

A world of elephants where if you can't see, you can lean on an elephant that can see, and if you have trouble walking, you can lean on an elephant that has strong legs.
In the midst of the unbiased remark that it was not a big deal not to have a trunk like an elephant, Norden lived as a proper elephant.
But when the time comes to choose his own future, Noden sets out into the world, cheered on by the elephants, to become his other self, the rhinoceros.

“Just as we were glad to meet you, someone out there will be glad to meet you too.”

The outside world was happier than Norden could have imagined, but it was also full of suffering.
From the elephant orphanage to the wild, from the wild to the zoo, from the zoo back on the road, there were those beside Noden who looked at the same scenery, got hit by the same raindrops, and melted the long night with each other's breath.
His wife, who called Norden, who was awkward at living in the wild, an “odd but special rhinoceros,” Angaboo, who taught him how to endure long nights without nightmares, and Chiku, who helped him overcome the scary nights that he could not get used to and stand on the path to “tomorrow.”
Because of them, Noden was able to find strength, and the young penguin was able to grow up in a love stronger than the eggshell that was his whole world.
Even if we don't fully understand each other, and even if we end up in different places, the certainty that we are always together provides comfort to readers of this work.

Everything was a miracle.
From Wimbo and Chiku hatching the abandoned egg, to Wimbo protecting the egg with his whole body during the war, to Chiku meeting Noden and escaping from the zoo, to Chiku hatching the egg until the very last moment, and to Noden being there for him at that very last moment… … .
All of it could only be described as a miracle.
_From the text

■ “Now that you’ve become a great rhinoceros, all that’s left is to become a great penguin.”
■ “A story that will serve as a support for children who are trudging through a dirty puddle of stars.”

The journey of Rhinoceros Norden and the young penguin in search of the blue horizon is also a journey to find the answer to who I am and where my dignity comes from.
Eating, sleeping, walking... Even in the harshness where nothing was easy, the young penguin's dignity remained intact because he was surrounded by the 'love' of Noden, who had been with him through everything, even those he had never seen before.
We believe because there was a long night they crossed together, because the rhinoceros's eyes, as bright as the stars, are engraved in the young penguin's first memory, and because there was Noden who watched the young penguin's back for a long time as he walked.
That the young penguin would boldly jump into its own sea, that it would endure many more long nights, that it would find something that shines like a star in the long night sky.


Another driving force behind the fairy tale "The Long Night," which contains love, solidarity, and the dignity of life, is the encouragement it gives to children as they pass through one world and enter another.
It gives me the relief that I don't have a name to prove myself, that I don't have to grow a nose, the encouragement that I am enough just as I am, even if I am imperfect and not great, the consolation that I have tried my best, the belief that countless miracles have come together to create the miracle called 'me', and the courage to face the sea before my eyes.

"Will the other penguins like me? Will they recognize me like Norden?"
"of course.
At first, he will probably observe you out of curiosity.
But as I grow to like you, I start to notice you, I start to notice how you smell when you're near, and I start to listen to how you walk.
That's you." _From the text

■ A small tremble turns into a large wave.
■ The captivating illustrations of author Ruri, who won the Munhakdongne Children's Literature Award in 2020 for "The Long Night" and the Biryongso Golden Toad Award for "They Couldn't Go to Bremen in the End"

The dramatic power created by the combination of pictures and sentences is intense.
The bold and changing angles and the deeply emotional screen add appeal to the story and increase immersion.
The painting that leads to the epilogue contains the scenery that must have stopped the rhinoceros Norden's feet, the path that Norden must have walked with his loved ones, and the meaning that even if someone's time stops, that person does not disappear completely, and that another life and path continues.
The beauty of nature that passes by in an instant, the vitality that spreads even on the land swept by fire, resonates deeply.

"The Long Night" shows us that our lives are closely interconnected.
Just as an elephant with strong legs provides support for an elephant with a crippled leg, just as his wife helps Noden, who is awkward in living in nature, just as Wimbo always stands on Chiku's right side for Chiku, who is blind in his right eye, just as Angaboo listens to Noden's stories over and over again, these books show small but great bonds of love. _Song Su-yeon (Children's Literature Critic)

■ Selection details

Grand Prize, 21st Munhakdongne Children's Literature Award
2021 Kyobo Bookstore Children's Book of the Year
2021 Bookseller's Book of the Year (For Toddlers and Children)
2021 Aladdin Publishers' Book of the Year (Infant & Children)
2021 YES24 Book of the Year
2021 YES24 Children's Book Review Contest Good Children's Book Award
2021 Changbi Children's Book of the Year (Fairy Tale Category)
2021 Munich Children's Library White Ravens Selection
2021 Dongdaemun-gu, Seodaemun-gu, and Songpa-gu One Library One Book Selections
2021 Our Daejeon Book Reading Selections
2021 Seosan Book of the Year, South Chungcheong Province
2021 Pocheon Book of the Year
2021 School Library Journal Recommended Books
2021 Book Sharing Committee Recommended Books by the Korea Publication Industry Promotion Agency