"Back to the Countryside", Wanwan/Wanwan/Illustration, Heping Publishing House, September 2019. "A Special Funeral", [Additional] Written and illustrated by Matt James, CITIC Publishing Group, February 2022.
Many children do not have more memories of their deceased loved ones and do not experience the deeper solemnity that adults do with ceremonies such as funerals. Both books are "unsorrowful" tributes, one is about Eastern grave sweeping, and the other is about Western funerals.
In "Back to the Countryside", "I" went back to the countryside with my parents and prepared gifts for my grandparents with other relatives. The atmosphere has always been pleasant, and at the end of the story, readers see that they are returning to their hometown to visit their grandparents' graves.
In "A Special Funeral" (included in the picture book set "It's Nice to Have Books" by the award-winning author), the little girl Norma went to attend the funeral of her great-uncle. She tried hard to practice sadness, but in fact she was very happy because she didn't have to After going to school, she could still play with her favorite cousin, but in the process of learning about funerals, she also began to think about what death is.
When paying tribute to the dead, we should not be too sad, because the dead always hope that the living will be happier.
Illustration of "Back to the Countryside".
Illustration of "A Special Funeral".
"Big Bear's Mailbox", written by Peng Xuejun /, drawn by Ma Penghao, Dandelion | Guizhou People's Publishing House , March 2021. "I still have many, many things to say to you", [Netherlands] Martine van Nieuwenhuizen/written and illustrated, Oriental Dolls | Nanjing Normal University Press , September 2016.
But there are also some children who are more sensitive to the permanent departure of their relatives or friends and find it difficult to get over the sadness. Both books are about letter writing, one about the void left by someone who has passed away, and the other about how to heal the void left by someone who has passed away.
In "Big Bear's Mailbox", the sad Big Bear packed his bags and left his hometown. He walked and walked, but he didn't know where to go. Finally he came to a field full of flowers and built a new house with the help of other animals. Big Bear became happy, but still felt empty in his heart. Why is this? In the tear-jerking scene at the end, he received a letter from the stars in his mailbox. After reading the letter, Big Bear said: Dear mother, I miss you so much.
In "I Still Have Many Things to Say to You", Badger's friend Buddy died. In order to suppress his heart-wrenching longing, he wrote many letters to Buddy, letting the wind and streams running around the world carry his full words. But as he searched day after day, he finally understood: Buddy was no longer around, and he should live a good life as before.
Death is just the disappearance of the body, but love will always remain in the hearts of the living.
Illustration of "Big Bear's Mailbox".
"I still have many, many things to say to you" illustration.
"The Sun and the Mayfly", written by Tangtang /, Big Bread/painted, Zhejiang Children's Publishing House , September 2021. "Death on the Apple Tree", [Switzerland] Kartin Scherer/written and illustrated, Chen Jun/translated, Xinxiyue | Changjiang Children's Publishing House , October 2016.
These two books, one is about a mayfly that only lives for one day, and the other is about a fox that can live forever, but they look at life in completely different ways.
In "The Sun and the Mayfly", Mayfly flies up from the water. Although she only has one day of life, she is full of curiosity about the world. She wanted to see how tadpoles turned into frogs , wanted to see wild ducks babies come out of eggshells, and wanted to see flowers bloom, but one day of life was simply not enough. The long-lived sun told her many things in the world, but Mayfly, who had no time to experience them, was not sad. She just flew upwards with all her strength...
In contrast to Mayfly's short life, in "Death on the Apple Tree", The fox used the spell given by weasel to stick the god of death to the apple tree, achieving immortality. But when he got older and all his relatives and friends died, he found that the world no longer had the concepts of time and space for him.So, he decided to lift the curse and let the God of Death down...
Accepting the day when life will eventually pass away is the best farewell to this world.
Illustration of "The Sun and the Mayfly".
Illustration of "Death on the Apple Tree".
"Cow Jiaojiao", [France] Olivier Duzu / written and illustrated, magic elephant | Guangxi Normal University Press , July 2018. "Grandpa's Last Secret", [Germany] Brigitte Enders/author, [Germany] Marc-Alexander Schulz/illustration, United Reading and Creation | Beijing United Publishing Company, November 2021.
Where do people go after they die? Of these two books, one depicts the process of death, and the other depicts the other worlds that people go to after death.
The protagonist of "Cow Jiaojiao" is a cow named "Jiaojiao". She is old. One night, her horns disappeared, and then her body disappeared part by part, and finally disappeared completely. From then on, every night when we look up at the sky, we seem to see those parts of Jiaojiao that disappeared looming in the sky.
In "Grandpa's Last Secret", the grandfather bid farewell to his granddaughter in advance. In Grandpa's imagination, after he died, he might go to a place where he could meet all the dead people; he might fly toward the sky, in the direction of angels; he might also come back to the world and become a tree... ...
Life and death are like two parallel worlds. We are not separated, we just cannot get together for the time being.
Illustration of "Cow Jiao Jiao".
Illustration of "Grandpa's Last Secret".
"Lifetime", [Australia] Brian Meloni/author, [Australia] Robert Yingpan/illustration, inspiring culture | Beijing United Publishing Company, June 2017. "Lighthouse Jellyfish", written and illustrated by Miao Sang, Love Tree | Dolphin Publishing House , July 2020.
These two books, one tells what "lifetime" is. This book tells how one "lifetime" becomes another "lifetime" through cycles.
"Lifetime" introduces the beginning and end of life in poem-like words. No matter how long or short life is, lifetime is the same. So where did the lost lives go? "Lighthouse Jellyfish" answers this question.
The boy saw his deceased grandfather again in his dream. Grandpa took him to a place called "Life Transit Station", where the boy saw various creatures. After completing a life journey, they chose to become another form to continue to exist.
Illustrations from "As Long as I Live".
Illustration of "Lighthouse Jellyfish".
"23 Letters to Lottie", [American] Katrina Leno/author, CITIC Publishing Group, March 2021. "Sam's Eight Wishes", [English] Sally Nichols/author, translation , June 2021.
These two books, one is an adult's farewell to the world, and the other is a child's farewell to the world.
In "23 Letters to Lottie", the dying aunt Helen tells Lottie about her youth time in the form of letters. However, this book is not only about these 23 letters, but follows Lottie's own life. Life moves forward, interspersed with the contents of the letters, and Aunt Helen's insights on life help Lottie challenge herself, overcome anxiety, and live optimistically.
"Sam's Eight Wishes" is a diary novel, which contains the eight unfulfilled wishes of Sam, an 11-year-old boy suffering from leukemia . In the last year of his life, he was full of curiosity about the world and life, and also full of confusion about death that was not for his age.
One of Aunt Helen’s letters.
"The Blue Shore", [English] Alex Shearer/author, Yutian Culture | Beijing United Publishing Company, March 2019. "Kitty Kitten and Her Four Lives", [Germany] Myam Pressler/Author, [Germany] Rotraut Suzanne Bernard/Illustrations, Fantasy Country | Shaanxi People's Education Press , November 2020.
These two books, one is about little Harry sneaking back to the world to fulfill his wish after his death, and the other is about the people and things Kitty Kitty experienced in her four lives.
In "The Blue Side", the little boy Harry went to another world due to a car accident. There he joined the queue waiting to reach the other side of the sky. But he still missed his father, mother, sister and classmates, but he didn't know how to express his feelings until he met a ghost named Arthur. Arthur sneaked back to the world with Harry to say goodbye to his relatives and friends, to express his apology and deep love to them...
In "Kitty Kitty and Her Four Lives", Kitty Kitty has four stages. In life, each period of life will encounter different things from the last period of life, and these experiences have allowed her to gradually grow from an ignorant "little fur ball" to a kind, strong, and independent cat mother.
Text of "The Blue Other Side".
Text of "Kitty Kitten and Her Four Lives". The title picture of
comes from the picture book "Back to the Countryside" produced by Heping Publishing House.
editing | Shen Chan, Luo Dong
proofreading | Lu Qian
