M is for Mongolia

By Tricia Ready
Illustrations by Turburam Sandagdorj
Bilingual English/Mongolian

As dramatic and exciting as the country that they illustrate, Turboram Sundagdorj’s papercut art presents life in Mongolia—yaks, camels, rippling sweeps of grassland with horsemen galloping by. A hunter with his falcon passes over desert sands that conceal the bones of dinosaurs, children herd reindeer through thick, green forests, and fermented mare’s milk hangs in a bag, waiting to be shared with friends. The history of Chinghis Kahn and the traditional life in a ger, the excitement of the Nadam festival with its wrestling, archery, and horse-racing competitions, the spinning of masked dancers, the music of a fiddle with a horse’s head carved into its graceful shape—this is the artist’s homeland, shown as only a Mongol could portray it.

Tricia Ready’s poetry gives an eloquent and enticing explanation of the pictures on every page, her words a lovely counterpoint to the papercut images created by an artist who is known in Mongolia as "the man with the magic scissors."

Turburam Sandagdorj
Born into a family of artists in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Turburam Sandagdorj has been described as the man with his magic scissors. Mongolia's past and present is magically captured in Turburam's images. He portrays his own history and legacy in astonishing detail in his papercuts. A graduate of the College of Fine and Decorative Arts and the National University of Design, he has won numerous awards including 1st prize in the book illustration competition for the 750th Anniversary of ""The Secret History of The Mongols"". A Laureate of the Mongolian Artists Union and an Academic of the Chinggis Khaan Academy, his work has been exhibited in Ulaanbaatar, as well as Germany, Japan, Lithuania, Norway, and Poland.

2013, 6 1/2 x 10 inches; 48 pages; hardcover; color images
ISBN-10: 1934159271
ISBN-13: 978-1934159279