{"id":4236,"date":"2024-11-09T22:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-09T14:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:01:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T09:01:06","slug":"liangyayi_2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2024\/11\/09\/liangyayi_2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Start\u00ading from the inno\u00adcence of a child, water\u00ading the ocean and sky of imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion"},"content":{"rendered":"

These two works, cre\u00adat\u00aded by a pic\u00adture book duo from Hong Kong, were born out of the dai\u00adly grind of par\u00adent-child par\u00adent\u00ading and soar into the imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtive realm of child\u00adlike inno\u00adcence\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

*exist\u201cOrig\u00adi\u00adnal Pic\u00adture Books: Select\u00aded Read\u00adings and High\u00adlights\u201c<\/a>In the arti\u00adcle, I tried to ana\u00adlyze in detail \u201cWait\u00ading\u201d by the Hong Kong cre\u00adator Gao Peicong. I am very hap\u00adpy to see that new pic\u00adture book cre\u00adation mas\u00adters are con\u00adstant\u00adly emerg\u00ading in Hong Kong. The fol\u00adlow\u00ading is anoth\u00ader pair of cre\u00adative com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtions worth look\u00ading for\u00adward to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI Want to Raise a Whale\u201d and \u201cThe Best Dad in the World\u201d are two works by a pic\u00adture book duo from Hong Kong, writ\u00adten by writer Liang Yayi and illus\u00adtrat\u00aded by illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Guo Jingyi. The sto\u00adries in both books are inspired by the dai\u00adly lives of par\u00adents and chil\u00addren, set against the back\u00addrop of warm fam\u00adi\u00adly life. Although record\u00aded by moth\u00aders, they clev\u00ader\u00adly draw on the inno\u00adcence of chil\u00addren. Through inno\u00adcent and humor\u00adous sto\u00adries and clever nar\u00adra\u00adtives, they extend chil\u00addren\u2019s whim\u00adsi\u00adcal imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion from the sea to space, from the sub\u00adtle obser\u00adva\u00adtions of fam\u00adi\u00adly life to wild and imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtive fan\u00adtasies. These books not only res\u00adonate with chil\u00addren\u2019s inner worlds, but also con\u00adtain pro\u00adfound emo\u00adtion\u00adal and edu\u00adca\u00adtion\u00adal sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200bOcean of Imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b\u200b<\/strong>The idea for \u201cI Want to Raise a Whale\u201d stemmed from a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adtion Liang Yayi had with her three-year-old daugh\u00adter. Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton, the char\u00adac\u00adter in the book, is based on her daugh\u00adter, rep\u00adre\u00adsent\u00ading the inno\u00adcent child of every child. Upon hear\u00ading her moth\u00ader\u2019s sug\u00adges\u00adtion of \u201crais\u00ading a whale,\u201d Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton read\u00adi\u00adly accept\u00aded this seem\u00ading\u00adly absurd sug\u00adges\u00adtion, launch\u00ading into a series of wild and imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtive ideas. In the final pic\u00adture book, it\u2019s the girl her\u00adself who pro\u00adpos\u00ades rais\u00ading a whale, a nat\u00adur\u00adal asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion with her moth\u00ader\u2019s sug\u00adges\u00adtion of \u201crais\u00ading a gold\u00adfish.\u201d Per\u00adhaps only such bril\u00adliant cre\u00adativ\u00adi\u00adty can match the unbri\u00addled imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion of a child. From imag\u00adin\u00ading a whale wear\u00ading a crown play\u00ading in the grass to plan\u00adning to take the whale to live under the sea, Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton\u2019s think\u00ading is imbued with the unique log\u00adic and humor of a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Through the inno\u00adcent vision of Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton, this book not only cap\u00adtures chil\u00addren\u2019s imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions but also reveals their sim\u00adple yet pro\u00adfound under\u00adstand\u00ading of the world. Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton solves prob\u00adlems in her own way\u2014teaching the whale how to spout, arrang\u00ading a \u201cwater tank\u201d at home for the whale to live in, and even con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00ading pro\u00advid\u00ading the whale with a healthy car\u00adrot diet\u2014all these sto\u00adries are hilar\u00adi\u00adous, yet deeply mov\u00ading, and cap\u00adti\u00advat\u00ading, with the pure and beau\u00adti\u00adful per\u00adspec\u00adtive of a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly note\u00adwor\u00adthy is the har\u00admo\u00adnious inter\u00adplay between the book\u2019s text and images, depict\u00ading the con\u00adflict between fan\u00adta\u00adsy and real\u00adi\u00adty with dis\u00adtinct lay\u00aders while main\u00adtain\u00ading the sto\u00adry\u2019s humor and flu\u00adid\u00adi\u00adty. Liang Yayi employs sim\u00adple, child-friend\u00adly text. Red font rep\u00adre\u00adsents the moth\u00ader\u2019s ratio\u00adnal coun\u00adsel, blue font depicts Lit\u00adtle Mian\u00adhua\u2019s inno\u00adcent respons\u00ades, and the cur\u00adsive script in the low\u00ader right cor\u00adner includes child\u00adish \u201ccom\u00adplaints.\u201d This typo\u00adgraph\u00adi\u00adcal design clear\u00adly cap\u00adtures the rhythm of the moth\u00ader-daugh\u00adter dia\u00adlogue while enhanc\u00ading the char\u00adac\u00adter\u2019s indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adal\u00adi\u00adty. The nar\u00adra\u00adtion, in black, reg\u00adu\u00adlar font, also pro\u00advides time\u00adly insights into marine life, inte\u00adgrat\u00ading them with the sto\u00adry\u2019s pro\u00adgres\u00adsion, adding a delight\u00adful and engag\u00ading lay\u00ader of knowl\u00adedge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In terms of visu\u00adal nar\u00adra\u00adtive, Guo Jingy\u00adi\u2019s illus\u00adtra\u00adtions breathe life into the sto\u00adry. The pri\u00adma\u00adry col\u00adors of light blue, grass green, and warm yel\u00adlow cre\u00adate a relax\u00ading and warm atmos\u00adphere, clev\u00ader\u00adly blend\u00ading the dreami\u00adness of fan\u00adta\u00adsy scenes with the warmth of real scenes. The illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are full of details, such as Lit\u00adtle Cot\u00adton\u2019s room filled with ocean-relat\u00aded books and dolls, and the occa\u00adsion\u00adal small fish out\u00adside the win\u00addow hint\u00ading at her love for the ocean. The humor pre\u00adsent\u00aded in the details of the pic\u00adtures is very strong: the scenes of whales spray\u00ading water in the bath\u00adtub and shar\u00ading food at the din\u00ading table are hilar\u00adi\u00adous, and the open end\u00ading with the sud\u00adden appear\u00adance of sharks at the end adds a smile to the whole book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The super dad who travels through space<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/strong>The idea for \u201cI Want to Raise a Whale\u201d report\u00aded\u00adly orig\u00adi\u00adnat\u00aded as ear\u00adly as 2012. How\u00adev\u00ader, with the help of an edi\u00adtor, the author devot\u00aded him\u00adself to learn\u00ading the unique nar\u00adra\u00adtive meth\u00adods of pic\u00adture books, pon\u00adder\u00ading and pol\u00adish\u00ading the man\u00adu\u00adscript for three years before it was final\u00adly final\u00adized. With the metic\u00adu\u00adlous col\u00adlab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtion of the edi\u00adtor and illus\u00adtra\u00adtor, it was final\u00adly pub\u00adlished in 2019. Four years lat\u00ader, the duo released their next book, \u201cThe Best Dad in the World.\u201d Although a com\u00adpan\u00adion piece to the pre\u00advi\u00adous one, it does\u00adn\u2019t con\u00adtin\u00adue with rais\u00ading sharks or lizards, nor does it focus on the moth\u00ader-daugh\u00adter rela\u00adtion\u00adship. Instead, the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnist is a boy named Xiao\u00adman, show\u00adcas\u00ading the same ten\u00adder father-son rela\u00adtion\u00adship. The wild imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion remains the same, this time mov\u00ading from the ocean to space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe Best Dad in the World\u201d begins with a sim\u00adple, every\u00adday scene: Xiao\u00adman is picked up by his grand\u00adfa\u00adther after school and, on the way home, men\u00adtions that a class\u00admate\u2019s father is a doc\u00adtor. This seem\u00ading\u00adly ordi\u00adnary begin\u00adning quick\u00adly launch\u00ades into Xiao\u00adman\u2019s world of fan\u00adta\u00adsy. Xiao\u00adman begins to won\u00adder, \u201cWhat if all dads were doc\u00adtors?\u201d This high\u00adly diver\u00adgent imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion is extreme\u00adly child\u00adish and tru\u00adly reflects the admi\u00adra\u00adtion a child feels for their par\u00adents\u2019 pro\u00adfes\u00adsions. From there, the sto\u00adry unfolds, with doc\u00adtors, dri\u00advers, chefs, fire\u00adfight\u00aders, space archi\u00adtects, and even Super\u00adman\u2026 A vari\u00adety of pro\u00adfes\u00adsions take turns appear\u00ading, and Xiao\u00adman\u2019s mind con\u00adstant\u00adly con\u00adstructs inter\u00adest\u00ading and exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded scenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These fan\u00adtasies are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly con\u00adsis\u00adtent with chil\u00addren\u2019s log\u00adic. For exam\u00adple, if dads became doc\u00adtors, all patients world\u00adwide would be cured, but chil\u00addren might be hound\u00aded for injec\u00adtions. If all dads were dri\u00advers, the sky and oceans would be clogged with vehi\u00adcles, but dads might be too busy to return home for din\u00adner\u2026 And if all dads became Super\u00adman, they would be even more busy pro\u00adtect\u00ading the Earth and fight\u00ading aliens. These exag\u00adger\u00adat\u00aded fan\u00adta\u00adsy images not only reflect chil\u00addren\u2019s unique way of think\u00ading, but also make the sto\u00adry vivid and inter\u00adest\u00ading, deeply engag\u00ading for chil\u00addren.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like \u201cI Want to Raise a Whale,\u201d the nar\u00adra\u00adtive uti\u00adlizes a dual nar\u00adra\u00adtive of text and images, cre\u00adat\u00ading a rich sense of lay\u00ader\u00ading and inter\u00adac\u00adtiv\u00adi\u00adty. The text uses dif\u00adfer\u00adent col\u00adors to dis\u00adtin\u00adguish between the voic\u00ades of the child and the adult: blue text rep\u00adre\u00adsents Xiao\u00adman\u2019s inner mono\u00adlogue, reflect\u00ading his imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion and emo\u00adtion\u00adal changes; red text rep\u00adre\u00adsents his grand\u00adfa\u00adther\u2019s dia\u00adlogue, full of warmth and guid\u00adance, serv\u00ading as a bridge between fan\u00adta\u00adsy and real\u00adi\u00adty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, alter\u00adnat\u00ading between col\u00ador and line draw\u00adings, inten\u00adsi\u00adfy the con\u00adtrast between real\u00adi\u00adty and fan\u00adta\u00adsy. In real\u00adis\u00adtic scenes, the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions fea\u00adture soft col\u00adors and com\u00adfort\u00adable com\u00adpo\u00adsi\u00adtions, show\u00adcas\u00ading real-life details like Grand\u00adpa hold\u00ading Xiao\u00adman\u2019s hand and the traf\u00adfic and pedes\u00adtri\u00adans on the street. Con\u00adverse\u00adly, in fan\u00adta\u00adsy scenes, clean, crisp lines depict Xiao\u00adman\u2019s imag\u00adined \u201cpro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal dads,\u201d such as a busy doc\u00adtor in the hos\u00adpi\u00adtal, a dri\u00adver fly\u00ading in the sky, and a chef sweat\u00ading pro\u00adfuse\u00adly in the kitchen. These dense and rich scenes not only show\u00adcase a child\u2019s bound\u00adless imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion but also deliv\u00ader a pow\u00ader\u00adful visu\u00adal impact for read\u00aders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The text and images com\u00adple\u00adment each oth\u00ader in the nar\u00adra\u00adtive, par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly in the tran\u00adsi\u00adtions between fan\u00adta\u00adsy and real\u00adi\u00adty. As Xiao\u00adman\u2019s imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion spi\u00adrals out of con\u00adtrol, the dense inter\u00adplay of pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal images and the blue fan\u00adta\u00adsy text inter\u00adweave to cre\u00adate a humor\u00adous yet slight\u00adly tense atmos\u00adphere. How\u00adev\u00ader, when Grand\u00adpa\u2019s red text appears, the scene returns to real\u00adi\u00adty, pro\u00advid\u00ading the child with a warm and nuanced guid\u00adance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u200bA heart\u00adwarm\u00ading pre\u00adsen\u00adta\u00adtion of par\u00adent-child rela\u00adtion\u00adships<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/strong>What\u2019s most touch\u00ading about these two books is the incred\u00adi\u00adbly heart\u00adwarm\u00ading par\u00adent-child rela\u00adtion\u00adships they por\u00adtray. The moth\u00ader-daugh\u00adter rela\u00adtion\u00adship in \u201cI Want to Raise a Whale\u201d is both authen\u00adtic and inspir\u00ading. When faced with Lit\u00adtle Mian\u00adhua\u2019s \u201cwhim\u00adsi\u00adcal ideas,\u201d her moth\u00ader nei\u00adther direct\u00adly denies nor indulges them. Instead, through humor and patient com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adca\u00adtion, she guides Lit\u00adtle Mian\u00adhua to grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly under\u00adstand the lim\u00adi\u00adta\u00adtions of real\u00adi\u00adty. This equal and gen\u00adtle approach to edu\u00adca\u00adtion gives chil\u00addren full respect and sup\u00adport, while also allow\u00ading par\u00adents and read\u00aders to expe\u00adri\u00adence the wis\u00addom and joy of par\u00adent\u00ading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The touch\u00ading part of \u201cThe Best Dad in the World\u201d is that it not only shows the inno\u00adcence and curios\u00adi\u00adty of chil\u00addren, but also grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly guides them to under\u00adstand the essence of father\u00adly love. Xiao\u00adman\u2019s admi\u00adra\u00adtion for his father is expressed through var\u00adi\u00adous pro\u00adfes\u00adsion\u00adal fan\u00adtasies, and his grand\u00adfa\u00adther\u2019s guid\u00adance sub\u00adtly helps him real\u00adize his father\u2019s true great\u00adness. At the end of the sto\u00adry, Xiao\u00adman final\u00adly real\u00adizes that although his father is not a doc\u00adtor, dri\u00adver, chef or super\u00adman, he works hard every day and devotes him\u00adself to the fam\u00adi\u00adly. It is pre\u00adcise\u00adly because of these extra\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnary things in the ordi\u00adnary that his father has become the \u201cbest dad in the world\u201d in his heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Excellent combination and clever ending<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u200b<\/strong>Both \u201cI Want to Raise a Whale\u201d and \u201cThe Best Dad in the World\u201d demon\u00adstrate Liang Yayi and Guo Jingy\u00adi\u2019s pro\u00adfound insight into chil\u00addren\u2019s psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy and their excep\u00adtion\u00adal cre\u00adative abil\u00adi\u00adty. Draw\u00ading from every\u00adday life, they employ chil\u00addren\u2019s lan\u00adguage and ways of think\u00ading to con\u00adstruct imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtive sto\u00adries. These books not only allow chil\u00addren to expe\u00adri\u00adence the pow\u00ader of imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion, but also teach par\u00adents the impor\u00adtance of sup\u00adport and guid\u00adance. From the ocean to the sky, from whales to Super\u00adman, these two books, with child\u00adlike inno\u00adcence, reveal the vast\u00adness and depth of a child\u2019s world. They are both a won\u00adder\u00adful jour\u00adney for chil\u00addren and a tes\u00adta\u00adment to the love with\u00adin a fam\u00adi\u00adly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The end\u00adings of both books are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly note\u00adwor\u00adthy. The first seems to con\u00adclude with a knowl\u00adedge\u00adable con\u00adclu\u00adsion, but its open-end\u00aded end\u00ading could poten\u00adtial\u00adly trig\u00adger a new round of wild imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion. The sec\u00adond seems to end in the style of Antho\u00adny Brown\u2019s \u201cMy Father,\u201d but it invites new lay\u00aders and new asso\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtions with each turn of the page. It seems this cre\u00adative duo has end\u00adless cre\u00adative poten\u00adtial, and we can look for\u00adward to more excel\u00adlent works that cap\u00adture the inno\u00adcence of child\u00adhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writ\u00adten in Bei\u00adjing on Novem\u00adber 9, 2024<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review of two pic\u00adture books by Liang Yayi and Guo Jingyi<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,12],"tags":[8,5,6],"class_list":["post-4236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-5","tag-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236","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=4236"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6357,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions\/6357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}