In our interactions with others, we are often in a hurry to express ourselves and ignore the importance of listening.
Title: Mao Mao (50th Anniversary Hardcover Picture Book)
Author: Mitchell Ender
Illustrated by: Simone Cekcareli
Translator: Li Shixun
How to exhibit: @天天出版社
In the ruins of a small open-air theater hidden on the outskirts of the city, it is said that a child has recently moved in, and because of the strange costumes, everyone could not tell that it was a boy or a girl, until they met Mao Mao, and they no longer suspected that she was a little girl.
As a result, she has a lot of customers. It turns out that Maomao is very good at listening, and she is a unique listener. She just sat there, listening intently and engaged:
✅ make clumsy people have witty ideas;
✅ so that the helpless and hesitant people suddenly clarify their goals;
✅ It makes the shy suddenly feel free and courageous;
✅ to make the unfortunate and depressed people confident and happy;
✅ Let two people who are arguing start listening to each other and shaking hands.
A little boy brought his singing canary to Maomao, and after she had waited for a whole week, the bird finally began to sing gracefully again.
Mao Mao listens to people, dogs, cats, crickets and toads, and the wind and rain, all of which tell her their own stories in their own way.
Mao Mao also has two very close friends, one is the tour guide Gigi, who always imagines telling fantastical stories when he leads strangers around the city, and the other scavenger, Bebo, who always thinks for a long time before answering when asked questions, in order to never lie, and poor thinking or rushing can lead to lies, and lies can lead to misfortune.
It's inconceivable that these two people, who have such different views on life and the world, can become friends, but it's all thanks to Maomao's willingness to listen.
There is also a piece of life wisdom shared by Beibo: a seemingly endless road can be swept as long as you sweep it step by step.
In the original book, there is a description of Mao Mao's confrontation with Mr. Gray, a time thief, which is very exciting, and the picture book has given up countless details because of the length problem, focusing on Mao Mao's magical ability - listening attentively, readers who like Mao Mao can find the original book to read, because Mao Mao is this seemingly ordinary ability, defeating Mr. Gray and saving all mankind.
Italian artist Simone illustrates this fairytale-like fantasy novel, and you are amazed by her unique understanding of abstract concepts, with Mao Mao sitting on the steps of a circular stage on the cover looking up at the starry sky, which takes on the shape of swirling water ripples, which has a sense of stargazing, and makes Mao Mao listen attentively.
There are also fantastical images in the picture book, where children play in the ruins, riding the wind and waves on the stone steps of imagining a ship transformed into waves, and Gigi imagines a golden iron horse in the sky and a whale rolling on the bottom of the sea.
