Book Mom Picture Book, Reading Grows Up!
Leo Lionni
Leo Leoni
Leo. In the form of a concise animal fable, Leonido lays out a multi-layered will. Themes often emphasize individuality, explore the relationship between the individual and the group, and praise nature and art. He excels at using playful plots to encourage readers to imagine, experiment and experiment with how to become "confident individuals".
In the history of modern children's picture books, the four-time Caldecott Prize-winning Leoni is a legend.
The Designer of Ford Motor Cars and the artistic director of Fortune and Life magazines embarked on a picture book creation path while telling his granddaughter stories on tiny pieces of yellow and blue paper. "This is Little Blue", this sentence ushered in a new era of picture book art, and also opened his picture book life.
Leo Leoni created dozens of picture books in his lifetime, translated into China and published more than a dozen, almost all of which are classics. Whether it is the "inch worm" who measures the song with his body, or the "vole A Buddha" who sings the collection of sunlight and chants poetry, his picture books are always full of allegorical philosophies, including his insights and attitudes about life and what he says to children in these interesting stories, and thinking and confidence for children in his own way.
Here are 10 truths leo leoni told children in ten picture books to understand before they grow up.
1
Recognize yourself and be yourself
- A Color of His Own, 1975
Love Tree Children's Book
4 years old + parent-child reading
The chameleon was distressed because he didn't have his own color, and wherever he went, the color became. One day, he met another chameleon, and they agreed that since they could not change the conditions of reality, they would change the color of their bodies together. From then on, the two chameleons lived a happy and contented life...
Chameleons envy others for having their own unchanging colors, and others envy that he can change colors! Everyone has something that everyone is good at, recognize yourself, and be yourself.
2
Dare to explore and experiment
- Tillie and the Wall, 1989
5 years old + parent-child reading together
The wall has been standing there ever since the rats began to remember. They never paid attention to it, and never thought about what the other side of the wall looked like. Only the youngest little mouse, Tilly, was always wondering what kind of world there was on the other side of the wall, and was determined to go to that side to see it. She led her friends up, drilled with nails, and walked along the wall to the end, but without success. Later, Tilly was inspired by earthworms and thought of a good idea. In this way, Tilly finally saw the world on the other side of the wall...
In life, we also have to face a variety of "high walls": various rules, commonly used problem-solving methods, familiar living habits... Are you the little mouse who is blind to the wall, or the Tilly who wants to go to the other side of the wall?
3
Dare to be different
- Cornelius: A Fable, 1983 (Crocodile Cornelius)
Cornelius is a tall crocodile walking upright, but because of this "maverick", he is rejected by everyone. So he left the house. On the way, he learned from a monkey the techniques of handstanding and hanging upside down from a tree with his tail. When he returned, he shared with his companions the skills he had seen and learned. That immutable environment began to change...
"Go your own way and let others say go!" What a cool phrase, but it's really hard to do, and it's even harder for kids. So we can only encourage children as much as possible: don't be afraid of ridicule, believe in yourself, be yourself, and do everything seriously.
4
Pursue what suits you
- The Biggest House in the World, 1968
The little snail wanted to own the largest house in the world, but when he understood that such heavy desire would only become a burden for himself, he took the small and light house on the road. He was able to see the world better, and the early morning dewdrops, the mushrooms on a red background, and the flower shadows like lace edges all left surprise and gratitude in his heart. Pursue what suits you, unload unnecessary baggage, and make fresher discoveries.
When you are too far and too tired, it is better to stop and think about what makes you so tired.
5
Material pursuits are just as important as spiritual pursuits
- Frederic, 1967 (Afo the Vole)
While the little voles were busy gathering food for the winter, Afo sat alone and told everyone that he was working too, but gathering something else. The winter was long and cold, and slowly, the food was eaten by everyone, at this time, Afo took out the things he "collected"...
Without material pursuits, we may be starved, and without spiritual pursuits, we will feel empty and bored, and the two are equally important.
6
In any situation, remember the dream
- Matthew's Dream, 1991
The little mouse Matthew's family lives in a tattered attic. Mom and Dad have high expectations for their only son, Matthew, and hope that he will grow up to be a doctor. But Matthew was always looking for what he really wanted to do, and a trip to the art museum ignited Ashur's dream of becoming a painter. So he began to devote himself to it...
Whether adults or children, they should have the look of their expectations, something they really want to do and are willing to work hard and sweat for, which may be called a dream. Listen to the world more, contact the world, and look for it without dreams! If you find your dream, try to achieve it!
7
A man's range of walking is his world
- Fish is Fish, 1969
There was a small fish and a tadpole in the pond, and they were inseparable. Slowly, the tadpoles turned into frogs and left the pond to see the outside world. He told the fish about his novelty, and the fish began to envision the outside world. One day, he finally plucked up enough courage and climbed to the shore...
The fish envied the frog's description of the world of birds, cattle, and people, so he imagined the world according to his limited knowledge. We are not like this, and we can only imagine the world we have not reached based on the descriptions of others (possibly books) and combined with our own experiences. We often say that both the soul and the body are on the road, and that both the body and the range of the mind constitute a person's world.
8
Use wisdom to live with dignity
Xinyi Picture Book
An inch bug is charming and cute! It energizes anything in the world, from the tail of a robin to the beak of a toucan. The hungry nightingale threatened to eat an inch of the worm for breakfast unless the worm could measure its song. But does song also have energy? Can an inch of worm use wit to escape this fate?
A clever and wise worm lets us know that no matter how small we are, no matter how weak our strength is, as long as we use our brains and think of ways, we can definitely resolve various crises and solve problems by relying on our own wisdom.
9
Sharing makes people happier
- It's Mine! , 1986 (This Is Mine!) 》）
3 years old + parent-child reading
On the small island in the middle of the rainbow pond, there lived three selfish frogs, who quarreled all day long, afraid that the other party would take advantage. One day, when a torrential rain was coming and the island was about to be engulfed, they huddled together and faced difficulties together. After the flood receded, the frogs stopped making noise, but played together and shared happiness together...
Sharing is really a very magical thing, originally thought that possession makes us happy, but after sharing with friends, I found that it made us happier and our hearts felt satisfied.
10
It's important to have a few true friends
- An Extraordinary Egg, 1948
The three frogs are good friends and they live together every day. One day, the adventurous frog retrieved a huge egg, and when the egg hatched, they became good friends with the "chick" in the egg. Everyone lived and played together, until one day, the "chicken" found his mother, the three frogs were very happy, but they were very confused and funny: "how did the chicken" mother call her child a little crocodile?
Three little frogs are silly, but it is also a kind of happiness to have such a "silly" friend in life, and they can not care about the image of each other, have similar interests, share fun and delicious food, share happiness, and share sadness.
Leoni once explained his creative ideas this way: "All works of art, no matter how simple, should contain some degree of meaning, and children's books are no exception. Implicit meaning often lingers in children's hearts longer than blunt indoctrination. "Yes, his picture books are not only gentle and feminine, the story is delicate and vivid, but also contains deep philosophy.
In addition, picture books such as "Little Blackfish", "Tico and the Golden Wings", "Alphabet Tree", "Alexander and the Clockwork Mouse", "Theodore and the Talking Mushroom", and "Pezzetino" are also unmissable choices.
- Swimmy, 1963 (Little Blackfish)
- Tico and the Golden Wings, 1964
- The Alphabet Tree, 1968
Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse, 1969
- Theodore and the Talking Mushroom, 1971
- Pezzettino, 1975 (Pezzetino)
Throughout Leoni's works, all of them reflect the temperature of reason, the care of human nature, and the philosophy of humanity. His brilliant grasp of the content of the story makes the allegorical picture book gentle rather than a moral admonition.
From that point of view, we can feel the childish innocence of Leoni's heart. Beneath this naivety is his deep humanistic concern and rationalist tradition. With his own creations, he restored the world to us.
Perhaps, children who read picture books cannot learn anything immediately; perhaps, children are concerned with Leoni's simple drawing style and beautiful words; perhaps they do not understand the protagonists in the story who are trying to find their own meaning; perhaps they just listen to the picture book quietly and do not express themselves. However, there is always a picture book that will resonate with him, and there is always an emotion that will hit his heart. In the long journey of life, the child needs the guidance of a gentle and loving wise man, so that he can feel peace and tranquility, experience courage, and realize himself.
When they grow up, they will smile when they recall the picture books they read as children—courage and revelation are already ingrained in their hearts. They will thank this wise man a million times for his wisdom and his selfless gift.
Read Leoni with your child and let this wise master dance with your child's soul.
Who says picture books are just books for children? In the eyes of children, in picture books they will encounter beautiful stories, wonderful pictures; for those of us who accompany children to read picture books, they will see the philosophy of life from picture books. This is especially true of Leo Leoni's works, even if the child does not understand the philosophy in it for a while, he can plant a beautiful seed in the child's heart.