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Today I share the book "Little Dot and Anton". The author is Castner, and "The Flying Classroom", "Emile's Catcher", and "Two Little Lots" are his masterpieces. They all have one thing in common, which is that the stories in the book come from the author's imagination. The book "Little Dot and Anton" is very special, its story is bizarre and twisty, but it is based on real events.
One day more than 90 years ago, When Kastena was reading a newspaper, a report of only twenty lines attracted him, and he immediately picked up scissors and cut the report out and stored it in his "inspiration box." It didn't take long for a wonderful novel to grow out of those few sparse lines of small print.
For this novel, the content is almost always true. What tutor coerces Miss Qianjin to beg, the fiancé forces his fiancée to assist in stealing, and the child fights the gangsters, all of which are true things.
Another special thing about this novel is that it is written for young readers who love to use their brains and ask questions. Later in each chapter, Castner leaves a reflection question. For example, about obligation, about friendship, about respect, he not only left this topic to the young readers, but also participated in the answers, and also showed his thoughts to the young readers. Talk to the little readers equally, and everyone can agree or disagree. Most importantly, everyone is involved in thinking.
Why did Castner adopt such a special form?
This is because this novel, based on true events, is close to the real life of small readers. The problems in that book may have been encountered by each of us, and we all need to learn how to face and deal with them. These questions are all-encompassing, some involve life, some involve friendship and morality, some involve emotions, and some involve self-awareness and parent-child relationships. Taking this opportunity, the writer puts the truth of life and his insight into the minds of young readers. Maybe in the future, it can become their guiding light.
All in all, the book "Little Dot and Anton" is a very realistic novel. Its characters are very typical, and the story is also very typical. Being very typical often means being universal and representative. Let's say there are two typical families in this novel, and we may have them all around us.
The little family is very rich, dad is a big factory manager, when he goes out, the car picks up and delivers. Every day, my mother didn't care about anything except shopping and watching plays. Anton's family is very poor, he doesn't even have a father, his mother has just had a tumor removal operation, their mother and son have no money to pay rent, and even eating is a problem. However, these two children, whose families were very different, became good friends, and they actually met when they went out to ask for money.
Why should Miss Qianjin beg? It turned out that she was controlled by a bad governess, and the bad tutor was controlled by his vicious fiancé, and the little mother was unaware of it. Because she only cares about eating, drinking and having fun, she ignores her daughter. The only one who sees through Xiao Budi's secret is the bad boy Dage, but he not only does not find a way to rescue Xiao Budian, but also uses this to extort money. Fortunately, Xiao Budian had the protection of the brave Anton, and The Big Grid not only did not take advantage, but was also slapped twice by Anton.
There are not only typical families like little dots and the Anton family in this story, but also typical good people and bad people, good people and selfish people, brave people and despicable people. They are all molded to be vivid, like some acquaintance around us. In addition to having typical family characters, this "Little Dot and Anton" also has typical story elements.
The first typical story element is the reversal of the identities of poor and rich children. At the beginning of the book, Miss Qianjin xiaofu plays a little beggar selling matches in her luxuriously decorated home, and readers will think that this is a meaningless game when they see this scene. It is not until the story develops to the point of begging with the tutor that we realize that the first act of the book has a deep meaning.
The gap between the identity of the little day and night is very dramatic, and it also leads the reader through a very different world between the poor and the rich. Why do writers like to write stories of this reversal of wealth and poverty?
It is because real life has always been like this, there are rich people and poor people. Children may live happily ever after, but they don't know what poverty tastes like. But poverty is real. The book "Little Bits and Anton" was written in the 1930s, when our world was in the midst of an economic crisis, and the gap between the rich and the poor was huge. Many ordinary people struggle on the brink of bankruptcy, and Kasperner captures this with the conscience of a writer and presents it in fiction.
As he himself says in the book, "Life is serious, but it is also hard and heavy." But if Xiao Budian hadn't disguised herself as a beggar and hadn't gotten to know Anton, she would never have known that there was still a childhood like Anton's in the world. A small child has to earn money to support the family, to take care of a seriously ill mother, and to insist on going to school. So that the young age was exhausted, tired to doze off in class, and to be criticized by the teacher.
But because of this, Xiao Budian realized that poverty is not shameful. It's not a person's innate mistake, a family falling into poverty, probably just because they're not lucky enough. Taking this opportunity, Xiao Budian understood the difficulty of life and understood the value of thoughtfulness and kindness. Not only did she help Anton comfort her frail mother, she also bravely went to Negotiate with Anton's teacher, changing Anton's difficult situation at school.
At the end of the story, Xiao Budian also works with his parents to help the Anton family financially. When Castner wrote this story of the reversal of rich and poor, he actually wrote his best expectations and wishes for human society. That is, if people who live well can consciously help those who live in suffering, then the lives of the poor will become better.
The second typical story element is family issues. Whether it's a novel for adults or for kids, we can always find this element. In this book, the two families have their own problems, the little one is busy with her parents, no one cares about the child, and she is left to a tutor with an unknown background.
The Anton family is a single-parent family. This little friend has to take care of his mother alone and support the whole family. The writer Castner wrote about many such well-behaved and sensible children. For example, the Emir in "The Tale of the Amir", and the little Lot in "Two Little Lots".
Castner admits that he prefers the role of the little adult, and he believes that the more such children, the better. Maybe other children read their stories and decide to be like them, to work hard and honestly, to be as brave and honest as they are, and to be the people most needed by society. More importantly, thanks to the efforts of these children, small and crumbling families have survived difficult times and nurtured hope and kindness.
The third typical story element is the battle between good and evil. It is undoubtedly one of the elements that Castner is best at using. In "Amir's Capture of thieves", Emile leads the children of the city in a beautiful blockade battle. The children drove the vicious thief to no end and finally sent him to the police station.
There is also such a battle in "Little Point and Anton". Witty and brave Anton, discovering the plot of the villain Robert to go to the little family to steal, warned the maid of the little family in advance, and finally let Robert be arrested, so that the evil man paid the price. The "battle" in the book "Little Bits and Anton" is not only this one.
Everyone in the novel is troubled by their own weaknesses and fights with them. After knowing Anton, she began to fight with her own numbness and indifference, becoming more and more upright and kind. Anton has borne the burden of life at a young age, and after knowing Xiao Budian, he also has to protect Xiao Budian from being bullied by tall and strong bad boys, and he has been fighting against cowardice.
The little father is a factory director, but he always feels that he earns too little money, even the children can't care about it, after realizing that his life is wrong, he faces his mistakes and fights his inner greed. The little mother didn't care about anything but shopping and eating, drinking, and having fun, but was deeply shocked after seeing the tragic scene of her daughter begging in the street. She used this as an opportunity to learn to fight selfishness and vanity.
Battles are not only ubiquitous in the book "Little Point and Anton", but also have rich layers and profound meanings, and the degree of excitement is not inferior to that of "The Thief of Emile".
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Zhao Zijun, an article a day, recording work life, reading and learning. Be a seed that spreads love.
Public number: Zhao Jun. Writing is not just about recording, it is evoking some beautiful hearts that are sleeping.