{"id":12912,"date":"2026-10-22T19:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T11:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=12912"},"modified":"2026-10-22T19:55:48","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T11:55:48","slug":"lobel_family_2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2026\/10\/22\/lobel_family_2026\/","title":{"rendered":"The Arnold Lobel Fam\u00adi\u00adly (A Side Sto\u00adry in The Short His\u00adto\u00adry of Pic\u00adture Books)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-001.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cCre\u00adator\u2019s Notes\u201d sec\u00adtion of *A Brief His\u00adto\u00adry of Pic\u00adture Books* only con\u00adtains thir\u00adteen entries due to space lim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions. I will grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly add more here as a kind of after-sales ser\u00advice. ^_^<\/p>\n<p>The fol\u00adlow\u00ading con\u00adtent is main\u00adly from \u201cThe Pow\u00ader of Child\u00adhood,\u201d with slight updates.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-002.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-003.jpg\" alt=\"\u963f\u8bfa\u5fb7\u00b7\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5c65\u5386\u8868\u2014\u2014\u51fa\u81ea\u300a\u7ae5\u5e74\u7684\u529b\u91cf\u300b\uff0c\u586b\u8868\u4eba\uff1a\u9ec4\u5efa\u840d\">Arnold Lobel\u2019s resume \u2013 from \u201cThe Pow\u00ader of Child\u00adhood\u201d, com\u00adplet\u00aded by: Huang Jian\u00adping<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8602\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6.jpg\" alt width=\"800\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6.jpg 800w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u5bd3\u8a00\u96c6-12x12.jpg 12w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Lobel\u2019s Fables \u2014 Calde\u00adcott Medal Win\u00adner<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-005.jpg\" alt=\"\u963f\u8bfa\u5fb7\u00b7\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\u7684\u4ee3\u8868\u4f5c\u201c\u9752\u86d9\u548c\u87fe\u870d\u201d\u7cfb\u5217\">Arnold Lobel\u2019s mas\u00adter\u00adpiece \u201cFrogs and Toads\u201d series<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8603\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336.jpg\" alt width=\"1004\" height=\"1279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336.jpg 1004w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336-235x300.jpg 235w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336-804x1024.jpg 804w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336-768x978.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336-9x12.jpg 9w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1004px) 100vw, 1004px\"><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Arnold Lobel\u2019s mas\u00adter\u00adpiece from \u201cI Can Read,\u201d includ\u00aded in the Chi\u00adnese edi\u00adtion of the \u201cOwl\u2019s Tears Tea\u201d series.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Lobel fam\u00adi\u00adly has quite a sto\u00adry.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold Lobel pub\u00adlished a humor\u00adous pic\u00adture book called *Ming Lo Moves the Moun\u00adtain* (1982) when he was forty-nine years old (five years before his death). The sto\u00adry is clear\u00adly adapt\u00aded from the ancient Chi\u00adnese fable *The Fool\u00adish Old Man Who Moved Moun\u00adtains*, but with sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant struc\u00adtur\u00adal changes. The pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnists are now a cou\u00adple, and the wife makes the ini\u00adtial sug\u00adges\u00adtion, advis\u00ading her hus\u00adband Ming Lo to ask the vil\u00adlage\u2019s wise man\u2014in Jew\u00adish cul\u00adture, this would like\u00adly be the rab\u00adbi of each set\u00adtle\u00adment. The wise man\u2019s advice is rem\u00adi\u00adnis\u00adcent of the meth\u00adods in *Grand\u00adma Sheep Who Hates the Night*, such as cut\u00adting down trees to smash or bang\u00ading on dish\u00ades. The cou\u00adple tries all the obvi\u00adous\u00adly fool\u00adish meth\u00adods with\u00adout a sec\u00adond thought, and of course, none of them work. The clever man resort\u00aded to his last trick: he had the Mingluo cou\u00adple car\u00adry all their belong\u00adings on their backs, face the dread\u00aded moun\u00adtain, close their eyes, and dance the Moun\u00adtain Mov\u00ading Dance. The basic steps of the dance were to step back\u00adward one step at a time. They danced like this for many hours before open\u00ading their eyes. The Mingluo cou\u00adple did exact\u00adly as instruct\u00aded, and sure enough, the moun\u00adtain was final\u00adly \u201cmoved\u201d away!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-012.jpg\" alt=\"\u300a\u660e\u9523\u79fb\u5c71\u300b\u5c01\u9762\">Cov\u00ader of \u201cMingluo Yis\u00adhan\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; This is still one of Arnold\u2019s sig\u00adna\u00adture stories\u2014seemingly sil\u00adly yet full of wisdom\u2014and it like\u00adly stems from some real-life expe\u00adri\u00adence he had.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-013.jpg\" alt=\"\u963f\u8bfa\u5fb7\u00b7\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\">Arnold Lobel<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-014.jpg\" alt=\"\u5b89\u59ae\u5854\u00b7\u6d1b\u8d1d\u5c14\">Ani\u00adta Lobel<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Arnold and his wife Ani\u00adta were not only a mar\u00adried cou\u00adple, but also excel\u00adlent part\u00adners. They were class\u00admates at Pratt Insti\u00adtute, per\u00adhaps not meet\u00ading in class or not notic\u00ading each oth\u00ader, but their shared love of the\u00adatri\u00adcal per\u00adfor\u00admance led them to meet and fall in love in the acad\u00ade\u00admy\u2019s dra\u00adma club. A quick glance at the time\u00adline reveals how quick\u00adly their rela\u00adtion\u00adship pro\u00adgressed: they met in 1955, grad\u00adu\u00adat\u00aded in 1955, mar\u00adried in 1955, and their daugh\u00adter Adri\u00adana was born in Decem\u00adber 1955! This young Jew\u00adish cou\u00adple, fresh out of school with a daugh\u00adter, strug\u00adgled to build their careers while sup\u00adport\u00ading their fam\u00adi\u00adly. A few years lat\u00ader, their son Adam was born. The young cou\u00adple ini\u00adtial\u00adly worked in adver\u00adtis\u00ading design and free\u00adlance tex\u00adtile design, but both felt these weren\u2019t tru\u00adly their call\u00ading, and when oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adties arose, they both turned to chil\u00addren\u2019s book illus\u00adtra\u00adtion and cre\u00adative writ\u00ading.<\/p>\n<p>The cou\u00adple\u2019s first self-writ\u00adten and self-illus\u00adtrat\u00aded books had two things in com\u00admon: first, both ben\u00ade\u00adfit\u00aded from the encour\u00adage\u00adment of Susan Carl Hirschman, an edi\u00adtor at Harper\u2019s Books at the time, whose help Ani\u00adta lat\u00ader men\u00adtioned in the pref\u00adace and after\u00adword of her auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy; sec\u00adond, both were relat\u00aded to their small fam\u00adi\u00adly. Arnold\u2019s *Mr. Mas\u00adter\u2019s Zoo* was inspired by a fam\u00adi\u00adly vis\u00adit to the zoo, with mate\u00adri\u00adals col\u00adlect\u00aded on the spot; Ani\u00adta\u2019s debut chil\u00addren\u2019s book, *Sven\u2019s Bridge*, was inspired by a fam\u00adi\u00adly trip to a folk muse\u00adum in New Eng\u00adland. Ani\u00adta recalled that she grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly com\u00adplet\u00aded the man\u00adu\u00adscript after Arnold had fall\u00aden asleep with the two chil\u00addren dur\u00ading the trip. The Lobels shared a stu\u00addio, tak\u00ading turns car\u00ading for the chil\u00addren and cre\u00adat\u00ading, much like a fam\u00adi\u00adly work\u00adshop.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-015.jpg\" alt=\"\u300a\u601d\u6587\u7684\u6865\u300b\u539f\u7248\u5c01\u9762\">Orig\u00adi\u00adnal cov\u00ader of \u201cSiwen\u2019s Bridge\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-016.jpg\" alt=\"\u300a\u9a6c\u65af\u7279\u5148\u751f\u7684\u52a8\u7269\u56ed\u300b\u539f\u7248\u5c01\u9762\">Orig\u00adi\u00adnal cov\u00ader of Mr. Mas\u00adter\u2019s Zoo<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Arnold\u2019s writ\u00ading cer\u00adtain\u00adly ben\u00ade\u00adfit\u00aded great\u00adly from fam\u00adi\u00adly life. His daugh\u00adter, Adri\u00adana, lat\u00ader recalled that the idea for \u201cFrog and Toad\u201d orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded from a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion between father and daugh\u00adter dur\u00ading a vaca\u00adtion. That sum\u00admer, they were vaca\u00adtion\u00ading near Mount Ver\u00adnon in New York State\u2014coincidentally, the place where E.B. White was born and raised. His daugh\u00adter brought back a toad from the wild, and Arnold casu\u00adal\u00adly remarked, \u201cYour frog is great!\u201d Adri\u00adana, who was then fas\u00adci\u00adnat\u00aded by ani\u00admals, explained to her father in detail how to dis\u00adtin\u00adguish between frogs and toads. Soon after, the sto\u00adry of Frog and Toad, which would lat\u00ader cap\u00adti\u00advate count\u00adless read\u00aders, was born. Of course, Arnold was actu\u00adal\u00adly telling a sto\u00adry about two good friends, but he felt that using human fig\u00adures would\u00adn\u2019t be as effec\u00adtive or fun. Instead, he used two amphib\u00adians that are eas\u00adi\u00adly con\u00adfused by most peo\u00adple: the one who likes to stay in the mud is the toad, who always seems a bit pes\u00adsimistic, while the frog is like an ath\u00adlete, always full of ener\u00adgy. This made the sto\u00adry between the two par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly enter\u00adtain\u00ading. Arnold lat\u00ader explained that col\u00ador illus\u00adtra\u00adtions at the time required col\u00ador sep\u00ada\u00adra\u00adtion, with each illus\u00adtra\u00adtion need\u00ading four col\u00ador plates. Work\u00ading on a sin\u00adgle paint\u00ading for a long time would be incred\u00adi\u00adbly bor\u00ading for the artist if it was\u00adn\u2019t enjoy\u00adable! To put it blunt\u00adly, would\u00adn\u2019t it be much less work to paint green frogs and toads?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-017.jpg\" alt=\"\u751f\u7269\u5b66\u5bb6\u5bf9\u9752\u86d9\u548c\u87fe\u870d\u7684\u56fe\u89e3\">Biol\u00ado\u00adgists\u2019 illus\u00adtra\u00adtions of frogs and toads<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Inter\u00adest\u00ading\u00adly, many British and Amer\u00adi\u00adcan read\u00aders lat\u00ader dis\u00adcov\u00adered homo\u00adsex\u00adu\u00adal ten\u00adden\u00adcies in their inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adtion of the rela\u00adtion\u00adship between the frog and the toad. This stemmed some\u00adwhat from spec\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion about Arnold\u2019s pri\u00advate life. He died of AIDS in Decem\u00adber 1987. While the pos\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty of infec\u00adtion through injec\u00adtion or oth\u00ader means can\u00adnot be ruled out, it still inevitably leads to spec\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion about his sex\u00adu\u00adal ori\u00aden\u00adta\u00adtion, though there was no pub\u00adlicly stat\u00aded fact on the mat\u00adter. Years lat\u00ader, accord\u00ading to Don Shevy, a New York art and the\u00adater crit\u00adic, Adri\u00adana con\u00adfessed to him at a solo exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion that they lat\u00ader dis\u00adcov\u00adered her father was a clos\u00adet\u00aded gay man. Today\u2019s read\u00aders seem unfazed by this; on an Arnold enthu\u00adsi\u00adast web\u00adsite, users unan\u00adi\u00admous\u00adly vot\u00aded that Arnold was actu\u00adal\u00adly bisex\u00adu\u00adal. Clear\u00adly, this does not dimin\u00adish their love for Arnold.<\/p>\n<p>Adri\u00adana Lobel is a high\u00adly influ\u00aden\u00adtial fig\u00adure in New York\u2019s the\u00adater and arts cir\u00adcles. An active stage design\u00ader since the 1980s, she is also a painter, hold\u00ading a solo exhi\u00adbi\u00adtion in Jan\u00adu\u00adary 2010. She and her broth\u00ader Adam co-pro\u00adduced the suc\u00adcess\u00adful musi\u00adcal *Frog and Toad*, which received three Tony Award nom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions in 2004, with Lobel her\u00adself receiv\u00ading a nom\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion for Best Orig\u00adi\u00adnal Score. Adam is a musi\u00adcian liv\u00ading in Boston, where he and his sis\u00adter man\u00adage their father\u2019s estate and works. Adri\u00adana\u2019s hus\u00adband, Mark Linn-Bak\u00ader, a promi\u00adnent and accom\u00adplished actor in the Amer\u00adi\u00adcan enter\u00adtain\u00adment indus\u00adtry, also par\u00adtic\u00adi\u00adpat\u00aded in the musi\u00adcal. He is said to be a devot\u00aded fan of the *Frog and Toad* sto\u00adry, and upon meet\u00ading Adri\u00adana and learn\u00ading she was Arnold Schwarzeneg\u00adger\u2019s daugh\u00adter, he was over\u00adjoyed and like\u00adly fell hope\u00adless\u00adly in love with her from that moment on.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-018.jpg\" alt=\"\u300a\u5b89\u5a1c\u7684\u65b0\u5927\u8863\u300b\u5c01\u9762\">The cov\u00ader of Anna\u2019s New Coat<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Let\u2019s talk about Ani\u00adta Lobel. She\u2019s actu\u00adal\u00adly the most inter\u00adest\u00ading mem\u00adber of the fam\u00adi\u00adly. Chi\u00adnese read\u00aders aren\u2019t very famil\u00adiar with her; cur\u00adrent\u00adly, only one book illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by her, *Anna\u2019s New Coat*, has been import\u00aded to main\u00adland Chi\u00adna. Although the sto\u00adry may not nec\u00ades\u00adsar\u00adi\u00adly take place in a Jew\u00adish com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty, it inevitably evokes Jew\u00adish cul\u00adture, which is cer\u00adtain\u00adly relat\u00aded to this artist. The sto\u00adry is set right after the end of World War II, a peri\u00adod Ani\u00adta is most famil\u00adiar with and has the most to say about.<\/p>\n<p>Ani\u00adta was born in 1934 into a wealthy Jew\u00adish fam\u00adi\u00adly in Poland. Her father, Leon Kem\u00adpler, owned a suc\u00adcess\u00adful choco\u00adlate fac\u00adto\u00adry and report\u00aded\u00adly pos\u00adsessed a large col\u00adlec\u00adtion of furs and jew\u00adel\u00adry. Her moth\u00ader employed a group of ser\u00advants and a nan\u00adny to care for Ani\u00adta and her broth\u00ader. As suc\u00adcess\u00adful busi\u00adness\u00admen, the Kem\u00adpler fam\u00adi\u00adly employed local Pol\u00adish work\u00aders to avoid appear\u00ading too Jew\u00adish. The nan\u00adny, known as Ninya, was a devout Catholic. Had life con\u00adtin\u00adued as nor\u00admal, Ani\u00adta, this \u201clit\u00adtle princess,\u201d might have been pam\u00adpered, received a high\u00adly aris\u00adto\u00adcrat\u00adic edu\u00adca\u00adtion, and entered into a mar\u00adriage of equal social stand\u00ading\u2026 But the Ger\u00adman inva\u00adsion of 1939 destroyed every\u00adthing. At the age of five, she wit\u00adnessed the hor\u00adrif\u00adic scenes of loot\u00ading and mas\u00adsacre. Her par\u00adents were sent to a ghet\u00adto and a con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion camp. Ninya, the nan\u00adny, dis\u00adguised the two chil\u00addren as her own, hid\u00ading them in the coun\u00adtry\u00adside and lat\u00ader in a con\u00advent, where the nuns cared for them. He remained hid\u00adden until 1944 when Nazi sol\u00addiers dis\u00adcov\u00adered him and sent him to the Plasov con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion camp.<\/p>\n<p>This was a tru\u00adly ter\u00adri\u00adfy\u00ading child\u00adhood expe\u00adri\u00adence. After hear\u00ading about Ani\u00adta\u2019s ordeal, many peo\u00adple urged her to write it down. How\u00adev\u00ader, Ani\u00adta was always reluc\u00adtant to write it, prob\u00ada\u00adbly because it was a mem\u00ado\u00adry she did\u00adn\u2019t want to eas\u00adi\u00adly revis\u00adit. But in 1998, when she was a 64-year-old grand\u00admoth\u00ader, she final\u00adly agreed to write it down and pub\u00adlish it. The pub\u00adlish\u00ader of this book, *No Pret\u00adty Pic\u00adtures: Chil\u00addren in War*, was Green Wil\u00adlow Books, found\u00aded and man\u00adaged by Susan Hirschman. In the book, Ani\u00adta express\u00ades her deep\u00adest grat\u00adi\u00adtude to Susan.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-019.jpg\" alt=\"\u5b89\u59ae\u5854\u81ea\u4f20\u5c01\u9762\">Ani\u00adta\u2019s auto\u00adbi\u00adog\u00adra\u00adphy cov\u00ader<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Some\u00adwhat sur\u00adpris\u00ading\u00adly, this lit\u00adtle book recount\u00ading those hor\u00adrif\u00adic years is quite sim\u00adple and straight\u00adfor\u00adward, nar\u00adrat\u00aded entire\u00adly from a child\u2019s per\u00adspec\u00adtive. There are no dra\u00admat\u00adic scenes, no intense sad\u00adness or hatred on the sur\u00adface; instead, it\u2019s filled with the unique feel\u00adings of child\u00adhood and an ever-present curios\u00adi\u00adty. For exam\u00adple, the Jew\u00adish girl\u2019s appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion of the beau\u00adty of the Catholic church (which lat\u00ader led her to a pas\u00adsion for paint\u00ading and music); the immense sense of secu\u00adri\u00adty she felt hold\u00ading the stat\u00adue of the Vir\u00adgin Mary and Child giv\u00aden to her by her nan\u00adny; even the sis\u00adter\u2019s inex\u00adplic\u00ada\u00adble sense of accom\u00adplish\u00adment at being able to find her way through the infa\u00admous Auschwitz con\u00adcen\u00adtra\u00adtion camp dur\u00ading their trans\u00adfer to Ger\u00admany. For some rea\u00adson, read\u00ading this sto\u00adry remind\u00aded me of the Ital\u00adian film *Life Is Beau\u00adti\u00adful*.<\/p>\n<p>Ani\u00adta and her broth\u00ader were for\u00adtu\u00adnate; they were res\u00adcued by a Swedish Red Cross res\u00adcue team in 1945 and tak\u00aden to Stock\u00adholm. The kind Swedes helped them recov\u00ader, cared for them, and sent them to school. Ani\u00adta imme\u00addi\u00adate\u00adly fell in love with every\u00adthing Swedish, and she became mad\u00adly in love with school, almost every sub\u00adject, but of course, her great\u00adest loves were draw\u00ading and read\u00ading. 1945 was also the first year of Astrid Lind\u00adgren\u2019s Pip\u00adpi Long\u00adstock\u00ading series, and Ani\u00adta became obsessed with Pip\u00adpi, enthu\u00adsi\u00adas\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly illus\u00adtrat\u00ading the sto\u00adries. In 1947, the image of the Vir\u00adgin Mary and Child that Nin\u00adja had giv\u00aden them seemed to have worked again; the sur\u00adviv\u00ading Kem\u00adplers arrived in Stock\u00adholm and were reunit\u00aded with their two chil\u00addren. The fam\u00adi\u00adly, sep\u00ada\u00adrat\u00aded by war and mas\u00adsacre, was mirac\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly reunit\u00aded!<\/p>\n<p>In 1964, when Ani\u00adta wrote her first chil\u00addren\u2019s book, \u201cSven\u2019s Bridge,\u201d she ded\u00adi\u00adcat\u00aded it to the Swedish peo\u00adple who res\u00adcued and helped her, the peo\u00adple who built the bridge of recon\u00adstruc\u00adtion that would for\u00adev\u00ader be etched in her heart.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Argenti\u00adna)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-020.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The fol\u00adlow\u00ading is a sto\u00adry about Arnold Lobel, \u201cThe Frog and the Toad For\u00adev\u00ader,\u201d a screen\u00adshot from \u201cThe Pow\u00ader of Child\u00adhood\u201d by Huang Jian\u00adping.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-021.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-022.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-023.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-024.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-025.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 1em auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/ajia-weibo-2309404678918748635377-026.jpg\" alt><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u200b\u200b &nbsp; \u300a\u56fe\u753b\u4e66\u5c0f\u53f2\u300b\u7684\u201c\u521b\u4f5c\u8005\u4fa7\u8bb0\u201d\u7bc7\uff0c\u56e0\u7bc7\u5e45\u6709\u9650\uff0c\u53ea\u4fdd\u7559\u4e86\u5341\u4e09\u7bc7\u3002\u6211\u4f1a\u5728\u8fd9\u91cc\u9646\u7eed\u589e\u8865\uff0c\u7b97\u662f\u552e\u540e [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8603,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,4,498,12,1],"tags":[8,406,5,513,514,10,6,26,92,235],"class_list":["post-12912","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-myworks","category-story-of-story-tellers","category-498","category-ajia-review","category-thoughts","tag-8","tag-406","tag-5","tag-513","tag-514","tag-10","tag-6","tag-26","tag-92","tag-235"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/\u732b\u5934\u9e70\u7684\u773c\u6cea\u8336.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12912","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12912"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12912\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13318,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12912\/revisions\/13318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12912"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12912"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12912"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}