{"id":553,"date":"2024-12-08T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/?p=553"},"modified":"2025-09-10T17:00:39","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T09:00:39","slug":"odeyu86_2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/2024\/12\/08\/odeyu86_2024\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Whim\u00adsi\u00adcal Lit\u00adtle Frog\u201d builds an ide\u00adal bridge for read\u00ading growth"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two works in this series, \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be Friends\u201d and \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be a Mom,\u201d dif\u00adfer slight\u00adly from typ\u00adi\u00adcal pic\u00adture books in their for\u00admat and serve as quin\u00adtes\u00adsen\u00adtial bridge books for ear\u00adly ele\u00admen\u00adtary school readers\u2014transitional read\u00adings between pic\u00adture books and text books. Japan\u00adese author Nori\u00admat\u00adsu Yoko cap\u00adtures the joys and psy\u00adcho\u00adlog\u00adi\u00adcal char\u00adac\u00adter\u00adis\u00adtics of chil\u00addren\u2019s lives with a del\u00adi\u00adcate and humor\u00adous touch. Illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Yukako Oide brings the sto\u00adries to life with soft, play\u00adful illus\u00adtra\u00adtions. The Chi\u00adnese trans\u00adla\u00adtion by Zhu Ziqiang, a Chi\u00adnese chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture the\u00ado\u00adrist and author, cap\u00adtures the essence of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal work in flu\u00adent and nat\u00adur\u00adal lan\u00adguage, mak\u00ading \u201cThe Whim\u00adsi\u00adcal Frog\u201d an excel\u00adlent choice for chil\u00addren\u2019s inde\u00adpen\u00addent read\u00ading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

A clever fusion of pos\u00adi\u00adtive val\u00adues and chil\u00addren\u2019s fun<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These two works focus on the themes of friend\u00adship and respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty respec\u00adtive\u00adly. They have pro\u00adfound mean\u00adings but are not preachy at all. The sto\u00adries and dia\u00adlogues are very humor\u00adous and read in a nat\u00adur\u00adal and child\u00adish way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be Friends\u201d uses two sto\u00adries to illus\u00adtrate the impor\u00adtance of friend\u00adship and the chal\u00adlenges of inter\u00adper\u00adson\u00adal rela\u00adtion\u00adships. In \u201cI Also Want to Have the Symp\u00adtoms of a Cold,\u201d Frog envies the care Qing\u2019er receives for hav\u00ading the \u201csymp\u00adtoms of a cold,\u201d mis\u00adtak\u00aden\u00adly think\u00ading that \u201csymp\u00adtoms\u201d are some\u00adthing fun. Ulti\u00admate\u00adly, after expe\u00adri\u00adenc\u00ading a real cold, he real\u00adizes that health and com\u00adpan\u00adion\u00adship are the most valu\u00adable. This sto\u00adry not only cap\u00adtures the inno\u00adcent imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtion of chil\u00addren but also embod\u00adies pos\u00adi\u00adtive val\u00adues regard\u00ading health and friend\u00adship. In \u201cDoes\u00adn\u2019t Spi\u00adder Want to Make Friends?\u201d, Aunt Spi\u00adder ini\u00adtial\u00adly appears as a with\u00addrawn, eccen\u00adtric, and unap\u00adproach\u00adable elder. How\u00adev\u00ader, as Frog grad\u00adu\u00adal\u00adly approach\u00ades her in a child\u00adlike man\u00adner, she reveals a child\u00adlike and under\u00adstand\u00ading side. The val\u00adues the author wish\u00ades to con\u00advey include respect for oth\u00aders\u2019 lifestyles and a strong appre\u00adci\u00ada\u00adtion for kind\u00adness among peo\u00adple. Tru\u00adly good rela\u00adtion\u00adships are built on kind\u00adness, respect, and under\u00adstand\u00ading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two sto\u00adries in \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be a Mom\u201d explore chil\u00addren\u2019s secrets and promis\u00ades, role-play\u00ading, and under\u00adstand\u00ading of respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty. In \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Tell a Secret!\u201d, Frog learns Aunt Squir\u00adrel\u2019s secret and then cre\u00adates one of his own. How\u00adev\u00ader, he stead\u00adfast\u00adly adheres to his promise to keep it secret. Despite his moth\u00ader\u2019s ten\u00adder entice\u00adments, he refus\u00ades to divulge it, allow\u00ading the secret to blos\u00adsom and bear fruit only in his dreams. This sto\u00adry demon\u00adstrates the pow\u00ader\u00adful growth chil\u00addren draw from secrets and empha\u00adsizes the spe\u00adcial sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance of self-con\u00adtrol. In \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be a Mom!\u201d, Frog, dis\u00adsat\u00adis\u00adfied with Qing\u2019er always play\u00ading the role of \u201cmom,\u201d decides to try to be a real moth\u00ader. After a series of fail\u00adures, while help\u00ading Moth\u00ader Moun\u00adtain Dove pro\u00adtect her eggs, he final\u00adly real\u00adizes that \u201cwait\u00ading and pro\u00adtect\u00ading\u201d are also impor\u00adtant moth\u00aders\u2019 respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adties, and thus deep\u00adens his under\u00adstand\u00ading of the mean\u00ading of mater\u00adnal love. This sto\u00adry, which encour\u00adages empa\u00adthy, is like\u00adly some\u00adthing moth\u00aders will par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly enjoy hav\u00ading their chil\u00addren read, clev\u00ader\u00adly com\u00adbin\u00ading chil\u00addren\u2019s growth with grat\u00adi\u00adtude for mater\u00adnal love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Cheng Songyezi, a moth\u00ader her\u00adself, writes a fairy tale cen\u00adtered around two frogs, the char\u00adac\u00adters\u2019 actions and dia\u00adlogue are like\u00adly inspired by her dai\u00adly obser\u00adva\u00adtions of chil\u00addren\u2019s lives. Frog\u2019s inno\u00adcent ques\u00adtions, care\u00adfree star\u00adtles, and catch\u00adphrase \u201cuh\u201d (er) all inspire young read\u00aders to under\u00adstand and empathize. When I read Aunt Spi\u00adder\u2019s solil\u00ado\u00adquy, \u201cI nev\u00ader thought this \u2018uh\u2019 could become addic\u00adtive,\u201d I could\u00adn\u2019t help but smile in agree\u00adment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pow\u00ader of visu\u00adal sto\u00adry\u00adtelling<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suc\u00adcess of \u201cThe Whim\u00adsi\u00adcal Frog\u201d is also large\u00adly due to the out\u00adstand\u00ading work of illus\u00adtra\u00adtor Yukako Oide. This pop\u00adu\u00adlar pic\u00adture book artist in Japan has already had sev\u00ader\u00adal of her works intro\u00adduced to Chi\u00adna, includ\u00ading her first self-writ\u00adten and illus\u00adtrat\u00aded pic\u00adture book, \u201cPolar Bear Shoe Shop.\u201d In addi\u00adtion to illus\u00adtra\u00adtion, she has also worked on illus\u00adtra\u00adtions and designs for sta\u00adtionery, sun\u00addries, and food pack\u00adag\u00ading, and has also worked in toy sales. She excels at cre\u00adat\u00ading fairy\u00adtale scenes that evoke the charm of every\u00adday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these two new books, she imbues these play\u00adful, heart\u00adwarm\u00ading fairy tales with rich visu\u00adal charm through soft, vibrant col\u00adors and del\u00adi\u00adcate lines. Her style is imbued with child\u00adlike play\u00adful\u00adness, the ani\u00admals vivid\u00adly por\u00adtrayed, and the emo\u00adtions expressed direct\u00adly res\u00adonate with chil\u00addren. The illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are not only rich and col\u00ador\u00adful, but also cap\u00adture the del\u00adi\u00adcate beau\u00adty of nature, such as the rainy for\u00adest, the splash\u00ading water from div\u00ading, and the dec\u00ado\u00adra\u00adtions on spi\u00adder webs, all metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly exe\u00adcut\u00aded. The images are rich\u00adly lay\u00adered, and the con\u00adtrast between back\u00adground and fore\u00adground high\u00adlights key scenes in the sto\u00adries, allow\u00ading read\u00aders to quick\u00adly grasp the key points and enhance their sense of immer\u00adsion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More impor\u00adtant\u00adly, the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions and text form a har\u00admo\u00adnious inter\u00adplay. Many of the images not only aid com\u00adpre\u00adhen\u00adsion of the text but also enhance the plot\u2019s inter\u00adest. For exam\u00adple, when Qing\u2019er proud\u00adly describes the \u201csymp\u00adtoms of a cold,\u201d the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions con\u00advey the char\u00adac\u00adter\u2019s state of mind through her cocky expres\u00adsion. And the drowsi\u00adness and anx\u00adi\u00adety of Wa\u2019er as she waits for her eggs to hatch are vivid\u00adly con\u00adveyed through dynam\u00adic details in the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions. Even with\u00adout read\u00ading the text, chil\u00addren can \u201cread\u201d the plot\u2019s devel\u00adop\u00adment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yukako Oide\u2019s illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are not only visu\u00adal\u00adly appeal\u00ading but also demon\u00adstrate excep\u00adtion\u00adal visu\u00adal sto\u00adry\u00adtelling. By syn\u00ader\u00adgiz\u00ading text and images, they imbue the sto\u00adry with greater emo\u00adtion and inter\u00adest, allow\u00ading read\u00aders to bet\u00adter under\u00adstand and con\u00adnect with the core sto\u00adry through the images. This com\u00adbi\u00adna\u00adtion of artistry and nar\u00adra\u00adtive qual\u00adi\u00adty is a cru\u00adcial ele\u00adment in the suc\u00adcess of the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trib\u00adute to clas\u00adsics and a com\u00adfort\u00adable present<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frankly, these two bridge books fea\u00adtur\u00ading a pair of frogs remind me of \u201cFrog and Toad,\u201d a clas\u00adsic series pub\u00adlished in the 1970s that has inspired count\u00adless sub\u00adse\u00adquent cre\u00adators. The \u201cWhim\u00adsi\u00adcal Frog\u201d series bor\u00adrows some of this for\u00admat from the series, as bridge books are cru\u00adcial read\u00ading mate\u00adri\u00adals for chil\u00addren tran\u00adsi\u00adtion\u00ading from pic\u00adture books to text books. They require a bal\u00adanced bal\u00adance of illus\u00adtra\u00adtions and text, with lan\u00adguage of mod\u00ader\u00adate dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty and con\u00adcise plots that remain engag\u00ading and engag\u00ading enough for chil\u00addren to read again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could\u00adn\u2019t help but com\u00adpare the frog duo of Frog and Toad to \u201cFrog and Toad,\u201d and I found some sim\u00adi\u00adlar\u00adi\u00adties. For exam\u00adple, both sto\u00adries focus on friend\u00adship and car\u00ading for oth\u00aders, the pro\u00adtag\u00ado\u00adnists have dis\u00adtinct and com\u00adple\u00admen\u00adtary per\u00adson\u00adal\u00adi\u00adties, the nar\u00adra\u00adtives are both based on every\u00adday life but are both light\u00adheart\u00aded and humor\u00adous, and the illus\u00adtra\u00adtions are both soft\u00adly col\u00adored and sim\u00adple and bright. How\u00adev\u00ader, the dif\u00adfer\u00adences between the two are also quite sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcant. The frog and toad duo are more like adults with a child\u00adlike heart, focus\u00ading more on inward explo\u00adration and philo\u00adsoph\u00adi\u00adcal think\u00ading, while Frog and Toad are authen\u00adtic chil\u00addren, focus\u00ading more on the fun and growth expe\u00adri\u00adences of chil\u00addren\u2019s dai\u00adly lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Com\u00adpared to tra\u00addi\u00adtion\u00adal clas\u00adsics, \u201cThe Whim\u00adsi\u00adcal Frog\u201d fea\u00adtures lan\u00adguage more rel\u00ade\u00advant to chil\u00addren\u2019s lives today, with live\u00adly humor and bright, light\u00adheart\u00aded illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, mak\u00ading it par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly appeal\u00ading to the tastes and inter\u00adests of young read\u00aders. Fur\u00adther\u00admore, it focus\u00ades on unleash\u00ading chil\u00addren\u2019s nat\u00adur\u00adal instincts and stim\u00adu\u00adlat\u00ading their imag\u00adi\u00adna\u00adtions. Plots like \u201cThe Signs of a Cold,\u201d \u201cA Secret Told Is No Longer a Secret,\u201d and \u201cI Real\u00adly Want to Be a Moth\u00ader\u201d are par\u00adtic\u00adu\u00adlar\u00adly relat\u00adable to chil\u00addren\u2019s psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy. Sim\u00adply put, this is a book tai\u00adlored for chil\u00addren at a spe\u00adcif\u00adic stage of devel\u00adop\u00adment, embody\u00ading both a clas\u00adsic atmos\u00adphere and a strong sense of the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

High-qual\u00adi\u00adty trans\u00adla\u00adtion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lan\u00adguage is a key fac\u00adtor in the suc\u00adcess of bridge books. Designed specif\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly for young read\u00aders, they need to be acces\u00adsi\u00adble to chil\u00addren in grades two and three. There\u00adfore, the lan\u00adguage lev\u00adel is often low\u00ader than that of stan\u00addard pic\u00adture books (usu\u00adal\u00adly read aloud by adults), yet they must be engag\u00ading for inde\u00adpen\u00addent read\u00aders. As an import\u00aded bridge book, the suc\u00adcess of the orig\u00adi\u00adnal work does\u00adn\u2019t guar\u00adan\u00adtee the suc\u00adcess of the trans\u00adlat\u00aded ver\u00adsion unless the trans\u00adla\u00adtion is of high qual\u00adi\u00adty, ensur\u00ading a pre\u00adcise match between lan\u00adguage dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adty and engag\u00ading\u00adness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Zhu Ziqiang is indeed an excel\u00adlent trans\u00adla\u00adtor for this series of books. Not only is he a chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture the\u00ado\u00adrist who has won the Inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal Grimm Award, he has also long been com\u00admit\u00adted to the research on the appli\u00adca\u00adtion of chil\u00addren\u2019s lit\u00ader\u00ada\u00adture in Chi\u00adnese lan\u00adguage teach\u00ading. He has trans\u00adlat\u00aded many clas\u00adsic Japan\u00adese chil\u00addren\u2019s nov\u00adels and pic\u00adture books. He also has con\u00adsid\u00ader\u00adable expe\u00adri\u00adence in writ\u00ading chil\u00addren\u2019s books, espe\u00adcial\u00adly the chil\u00addren\u2019s nov\u00adel \u201cRat Blue and Rat Gray\u201d, whose tar\u00adget read\u00aders are rough\u00adly matched with those of the bridge book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Chi\u00adnese trans\u00adla\u00adtion of \u201cThe Whim\u00adsi\u00adcal Frog\u201d feels remark\u00adably flu\u00adid, retain\u00ading the orig\u00adi\u00adnal\u2019s unique charm while also being tai\u00adlored to Chi\u00adnese chil\u00addren\u2019s read\u00ading habits. Its close\u00adness to the tar\u00adget lan\u00adguage might even lead one to mis\u00adtake it for the orig\u00adi\u00adnal Chi\u00adnese work. The trans\u00adla\u00adtion is con\u00adcise and flu\u00adent, res\u00adonat\u00ading close\u00adly with chil\u00addren\u2019s lan\u00adguage. The dia\u00adlogue is con\u00adcise and humor\u00adous, with short, play\u00adful sen\u00adtences. The book\u2019s empha\u00adsis on acces\u00adsi\u00adble vocab\u00adu\u00adlary and avoid\u00adance of com\u00adplex phras\u00ades makes it easy for begin\u00adning read\u00aders to grasp and under\u00adstand the con\u00adtent. The trans\u00adla\u00adtion also excels in emo\u00adtion\u00adal trans\u00admis\u00adsion, offer\u00ading warmth, nuance, and a touch of humor, accu\u00adrate\u00adly cap\u00adtur\u00ading the char\u00adac\u00adters\u2019 inner thoughts. This trans\u00adla\u00adtion demon\u00adstrates more than just a trans\u00adla\u00adtion of lan\u00adguage; it also metic\u00adu\u00adlous\u00adly con\u00adsid\u00aders chil\u00addren\u2019s psy\u00adchol\u00ado\u00adgy and cul\u00adtur\u00adal back\u00adground, mak\u00ading it a prime exam\u00adple of a bridge book trans\u00adla\u00adtion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cFun\u00adny Frog\u201d series offers an ide\u00adal read\u00ading expe\u00adri\u00adence for chil\u00addren through its inno\u00adcent and instruc\u00adtive sto\u00adries, beau\u00adti\u00adful illus\u00adtra\u00adtions, and high-qual\u00adi\u00adty Chi\u00adnese trans\u00adla\u00adtions. It not only sparks chil\u00addren\u2019s inter\u00adest in read\u00ading and helps them tran\u00adsi\u00adtion from pic\u00adture books to text books, but also inspires chil\u00addren\u2019s growth through themes such as friend\u00adship, respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty, and mater\u00adnal love. It is high\u00adly rec\u00adom\u00admend\u00aded by par\u00adents and teach\u00aders. Whether for inde\u00adpen\u00addent read\u00ading or shared read\u00ading, this series of books builds a warm bridge for chil\u00addren to enter the world of read\u00ading and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writ\u00adten on Decem\u00adber 8, 2024 in Dali Ancient City<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review of the Japan\u00adese bridge books \u201cI Want to Be Friends\u201d and \u201cI Want to Be a Moth\u00ader\u201d<\/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":[8,21,10,6],"class_list":["post-553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","category-ajia-review","tag-8","tag-21","tag-10","tag-6"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553","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=553"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":599,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553\/revisions\/599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ajia.site\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}