Good book recommendation|"Looking for the Big Sprinkling Brocade"
Writer Ma Jia
Ma Jia is a member of the Chinese Writers Association, a member of the China Science Writers Association, a member of the Yunnan Writers Association, and the vice president of the Kunming Children's Literature Research Association. He has published children's literature such as "Green Olive Tree", "School of Phoenix Blossoms", and "Flower Buds Singing". Some of his works have been selected into the monthly list of "China's Good Books", the recommended books of the National Press and Publication Administration's Rural Bookstore, and the recommended books of the National Library's "Four Seasons Children's Reading".
In April 2024, children's writer Ma Jia's children's novel "Looking for the Great Sprinkled Brocade" was published by Beijing United Publishing House.
Introduction
Caijun, a city girl, followed her grandfather on an unforgettable trip to the countryside, where they walked into the scenic area of karst landforms, befriended several local Yi children, and had a wonderful time. In this scenic area, there is a very rare lotus flower, called Da Sprinkle Brocade, which symbolizes beauty and hope, and is also the reason why Caijun first came here. After learning the news of the big sprinkled brocade, Caijun and his friends went to look for ...... The divorce of her parents once made Caijun confused, but the beautiful scenery of nature, innocent friendship, and colorful ethnic customs healed Caijun's soul and allowed her to build confidence in her ideals and future.
"Looking for the Great Sprinkle Brocade" is a new work by Yunnan writer Ma Jia. This book vividly tells the story of a girl's growth, shows the troubles and joys of several children's growth, and shows the richness and diversity of rural life. The delicate psychological description, beautiful scenery description, and colorful display of minority culture in the book make this novel full of unique charm.
In today's fast-paced world, children face no less pressure than adults every day, they have to go to school step by step, complete homework assigned by teachers, have to use the only entertainment time left to attend various interest classes, and even face sudden changes. Over time, children will become anxious when they are in a high-pressure state.
Parents will find at some point that the child who used to laugh suddenly becomes untalkative, does not want to go to school, and is not interested in anything.
Caijun, the girl in "Looking for the Great Sprinkler Brocade", is like this, her parents divorced, her grandmother died of illness, this kind of change made her once excellent fall into confusion, she became uneasy to talk and not interested in anything. Her academic performance kept declining, and she never wanted to go to school again. Seeing his granddaughter become like this, the grandfather was distressed. So, Grandpa took Caijun to a beautiful scenic area, where he found the magic to heal Caijun's mind.
What is the magic that helps Caijun relieve her anxiety and make her happy and confident?
01
Step into nature and feel the magical power of nature
Nature is the best healer. The beautiful natural scenery of the scenic area made Caijun feel the beauty and infinite possibilities of life, helped her release her emotions, and gave her upward strength.
In nature, children can let go of their burdens, breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds singing, observe the insects busy, and experience the subtle changes of everything. These simple experiences can purify children's minds and relieve anxiety.
02
Make friends and let the joy be delivered
Making friends is an integral part of a child's development. By interacting with others, children can learn to share, cooperate and understand, while also feeling the warmth of friendship.
In the story, Caijun met a lot of friends in the "Haozhala" family: Ayi, who has a poor family background and is diligent and motivated, Ah Cong, who has poor academic performance and loves adventure, and Ajiyu, who is obsessed with and focuses on his own ethnic restaurant culture. The innocent and simple friendship helped Caijun soothe the pain and let her slowly come out of her sad emotions.
In getting along with friends, children learn to listen and express, and also learn how to deal with conflicts and contradictions in interpersonal relationships. These experiences not only made the child more cheerful and confident, but also gave him more support and help in the face of anxiety.
03
Labor practice makes growth more fulfilling
Labor is an effective way to exercise children's willpower. By participating in labor, children can experience the joy of giving and receiving, and can also develop perseverance.
In daily life, we can encourage children to participate in household chores, such as washing dishes, mopping the floor, etc. These seemingly simple tasks can make children experience the hard work and fun of labor.
During this trip to the countryside, Cai Jun worked hard, not only raising animals and picking sea cauliflowers, but also helping out in the restaurant...... This undoubtedly made Caijun's life more fulfilling, and his attention was gradually diverted. Slowly, she turned back into the girl who loved to laugh and was full of confidence.
In the face of Caijun, who is in an anxious mood, the grandfather's approach in the novel brings us a lot of inspiration. Growing children are actually very sensitive inside, and they need to be cared for. If you find that your child is in a bad mood, you may want to look for healing magic with your child in "Finding the Great Sprinkling Cake"!
"Looking for the Great Sprinkle Brocade" is given to every child who is bound by bad emotions and needs to be healed.
Masters · Review
A children's novel with multiple interpretations
Deputy editor-in-chief of "October Juvenile Literature" Leng Linwei
In the field of children's literature, children's novels are the literary genre with the most carrying capacity and the most able to reflect the style of the times and real life. Someone once said that the theme of a good literary work must not be single, but has room for multiple interpretations. From this point of view, "Looking for the Great Sprinkler Brocade" can be regarded as a masterpiece with multiple connotations.
The big framework of the story is about the girl Caijun, because her life and soul have suffered a heavy blow, and she and her grandfather came to the beautiful scenery and simple folk customs of Yunnan to recuperate and rest. Here, Caijun looks at the beauty of nature every day, feels the kindness of the world, experiences different life scenes with his friends, and also experiences some thrilling events...... In the process, love and nature became the medicine that healed her wounded heart. After a few months of recuperation, her inner pain was relieved and she was finally able to return to her daily life and studies normally.
This theme can be seen as a common motif of love in children's literature. When a child's heart is traumatized, the only thing that can heal him is endless love and patience. The author writes the whole process quite delicately and fully - the love of family, neighbors, companions, and even small animals, like layers of sunshine and endless breeze, gently soothing the child's heart. At the same time, nature also healed the child with her colorfulness and broadness, giving her the strength to grow. The plot and examples in the novel are written in a real and full way, so it is very convincing, and people can't help but want to go to that beautiful place to receive spiritual healing. This can be seen as the connotation of the first level of this novel - love and growth.
The connotation of the second level of the novel can be summarized as the theme of education. In fact, in addition to the protagonist Caijun, who has suffered psychological trauma, this novel also vividly creates a group portrait of children, many of whom have full personalities and are unforgettable. The eldest son of the owner of the "Hao Zhala family" B&B family, Ah Cong, has a stubborn and independent personality, does not like to study and is always naughty, he doesn't like the excellent class leader, and he is against her everywhere, but he is the child king in the class. In stark contrast to him, Ayi, a little girl from a difficult family, is strong, hardworking, sensible, kind, and ingenious, which makes us feel infinite pity. There is also the little boy Ajiyu who wants to become a chef, his yearning for the chef industry is of course to help the family share the financial pressure, but it is more out of a naïve love. These children have different personalities and have their own strengths and weaknesses, and how to guide and educate them is the part of the novel that focuses the most.
In the novel, the character of Caijun's grandfather mainly assumes the role of an educator. He is full of endless love for his children, and his selfless love is not only given to his granddaughter Caijun, but also to the other children around him. He accompanies the children every day with their homework and plays, criticizes and points out when they make mistakes, and praises and encourages them when they achieve results. He is a wise and loving figure, and he also knows how to teach according to his aptitude, because every child has his or her own nature, and he needs to adapt to their personality and not use forceful methods. With the careful company of their grandfather, in a few months, several children have grown spiritually to varying degrees, and they have a clearer direction for the development of the future. This is the purpose of education, to stimulate children's potential and give them internal motivation.
If the third theme of the novel is bigger, it can be attributed to rural revitalization. The novel is about the current rural life, which is not the state of parents going out to work and children staying at home in our impression before, but a fresh state of life under the new situation. The village, which was originally remote and backward, has been developed in an orderly manner, which not only retains the traditional local way of life, but also creates more convenience for tourists through modern management and facilities. In the process of developing tourism, the local villagers can benefit from it and obtain good economic benefits, and the villagers can also help each other, so that every family can achieve common prosperity, while also trying to preserve the culture and customs of the ethnic minorities. All these themes are not preachy, but through the setting of the plot of the novel, through vivid stories, these ideas and practices are naturally displayed, which seems very real and credible. We can feel that the author has done a lot of fieldwork before creation, and then through the weaving of the storyline, the theme to be expressed is displayed in a natural and simple way, which is still relatively rare.
As a work of children's literature born in Yunnan, the detailed description of local history and culture, customs, natural landscapes, intangible cultural heritage cuisine and other aspects is also a major attraction of this novel. From the author's afterword, we can know that all the details in the novel have been investigated and studied on the spot, and the characters in the novel also have many prototypes in reality, but this is not an inevitable element that makes the novel successful, what really moves people is the author's inner cultural self-confidence and deep love for his hometown. Because of this, she can't help but boast to readers about the richness and beauty of this land of Yunnan, and she takes the trouble to show all aspects of culture and folklore with a lot of details and lists. When reading these chapters, the reader has the feeling of reading an encyclopedia, and at the same time, they can't help but be full of yearning for this beautiful frontier town.
The author Ma Jia is a diligent writer, her creation is extremely serious, but also very religious, works are often based on mastering a large number of life materials, from which you can also feel her love for life and attention to children. I sincerely hope that writers who have grown up in Yunnan can further deepen their lives, dig into materials, further strengthen their literary accomplishment, improve their work standards, and continue to create more beautiful, novel and precious literary works based on the rich ecological resources of the local area and the current good development trend.
Source: Happy School
Editor: Tang Yina