After the wind and rain, the rainbow will eventually be seen, and the brilliant rainbow must go through the baptism of wind and rain to shine brightly.
At the dawn of the new year, the vagaries of the pandemic have dragged back the footsteps of many returnees. Modern children, especially a large number of left-behind children, because of the recurrence of the epidemic and the alienation of family affection, it is inevitable to produce some lonely, lonely, depressed and helpless psychological emotions. Only when children grow up to face their own psychological problems and learn ways to solve psychological problems can they eventually become a physically and mentally healthy person.
"Autumn Wind Train" is such an original picture book that pays attention to the psychological and life growth of modern children, through the perspective of children, with fresh brushstrokes and magnificent paintings, depicting the children's growth stories that are close to real life and have distinct regional colors. This book leads the children into the inner world of the protagonist of the picture book, Xinliang, so that the children not only experience the colorful traditional culture with the train, but also learn how to face loneliness, cherish encounters and accept separation with Xinliang.
"Autumn Wind Train", Haiyan Publishing House
Focus on children's spiritual growth
The author of "Autumn Wind Train" once went to Lianzhou, Guangdong Province, to collect wind, traveled to the ancient villages in Fengyang Ancient Town during the day, played with local children in the evening, and enjoyed the performance of the Qi Opera Troupe composed of villagers in the evening. Outside the village house where the carved beams and paintings are carved in the book, the characters appear in turn, and the carefully outlined lines are all passed on to the children's unique traditional Chinese culture that has a long history.
The picture book focuses on the spiritual growth of children throughout. Early childhood psychological nutrition is extremely important for the development of a person's life, and the cornerstone of a person's sound personality and perseverance character formation is mostly derived from childhood. Children who are full of nutrients at an early age will still be warm and peaceful in their hearts even if they experience wind, frost, snow and rain during the journey of growing up.
Loneliness, whether city or country, rich and poor, young and old, will more or less follow everyone. Children in the city who have no worries about food and clothing and left-behind children who lack care in the countryside will have subjective psychological feelings of helplessness that are not understood and loneliness that no one talks about. The continuous attention of society and the devotion of parents are all beacons that lead children out of loneliness. Children can learn from books and xinliang to untie the knot and get out of loneliness.
Illustration of the picture book "Autumn Wind Train" Courtesy of Haiyan Publishing House
One flower and one grass, one person and one worm, any encounter is not easy. During the journey of the train, Xinliang successively met the grandmother, the grandfather, and the singing animals. Although the encounter is short, cherish the time together, there will be no regrets, only good memories. In the book, the children meet new friends with Xinliang to bid farewell to old friends, cherish the moments of mutual integration, and continue to move forward with satisfaction.
Separation is a separation, parents leaving home at work is a separation, children going to school is a separation, the loss of the accompanying puppy is a separation, and the death of a loved one is also a separation. When children face separation, they will be like Xinliang, who did not have a father and mother to accompany them at the beginning, lonely and lonely, and unable to be discharged.
In the book, the grandmother "jumped" and ran out of the car, the grandfather "laughed" and chased to the night sky, and the small animals sang with "crisp laughter" to jump out of the car or fly away. It turns out that apartheid and sad, separation can also be another form, cheerfully saying goodbye to each other. Although "the song of the autumn cicadas gradually disappeared" and "the laughter of the fireflies faded away", the "journey" did not end. Because the children and Xinliang understand that "there are countless journeys waiting ahead".
A feast for the mind and the vision
The protagonist of the picture book story, Xinliang, is an ordinary child in Lianzhou, Guangdong Province, accompanied by an old dog that runs through the whole text. The opening chapter ends from time, the night is quiet, the wind dances and the trees move, originally looking forward to the birthday night, the autumn wind brings a trace of melancholy, delicately and meticulously showing the loneliness of children who lack the company of their parents.
Immediately afterward, the brilliant and bright train ticket contrasts with the melancholy and bleak night, which strongly sets off the excitement and curiosity of Xinliang for the unknown autumn wind train. At the same time, the clock with the wrong numbers reveals that this is an illusory world of time and space.
In the following journey, the specific images of unique Chinese cultures changed in the order of the places where the train passed: villages on the Qin and Han Ancient Road, flying cornices on the roof, lion ushers in lion dance customs, ancient buildings in villages, etc., and even the big toads, cicadas and fireflies commonly found in the countryside also sang.
Those little animals sang the sorrow of parting in a happy tune, which had a different charm. The overlapping words in the song are cleverly used, and the relaxed and joyful mood infects every reader. From the beginning of the stillness to the movement of the moment, the static is transformed into motion, the contrast is clear, and the process of opening and closing the new cool mood is subtly revealed. People, paintings and songs are harmoniously integrated, the painting style is bright and beautiful, the singing is melodious, and the visual and auditory senses are perfectly combined, which makes people sigh three times.
At the end of the journey, the train jumped to the top of the mountain and the passengers entered the starry sky. Under the moonlight, the stars shine brightly, and the extraordinary scene of pearls and emeralds creates a majestic and empty atmosphere, which has a great visual impact. This strange imagination of the underground heavens forms a strong shock and is extremely infectious.
In the end, all the prosperity returns to peace, the new cool dream wakes up, the autumn wind can be personified, and the main purpose of the book is implicitly expressed through the light words of the autumn wind: everyone's life will experience large and small separations. When children face separation, as long as they remember the companionship they have been, have love and hope, they can deal with it head-on. Separation can also be a precious experience in life.
The whole book combines fiction and reality, really writes about the new cool birthday, and virtually writes about the fantasy journey. The artistic conception is open and the afterglow is long, which paints a beautiful and magnificent picture for us, allowing us to experience mysterious and strange feelings.
"Autumn Wind Train" is a wonderful encounter between time and space, a shocking visual enjoyment, and a strange journey that shows the impressions, confusion and hopes of childhood with the speed or slow travel of the train.
Source: Henan Youth Times Dongfeng News
Author: Che Fei Haiyan Publishing House
Edit: Xia Sai Sai
Proofreader: Wang Bing
Review: Tian Zhen