At the age of 14, wanda gag's father died, and at the age of 24, her mother, who had been ill for a long time, died. She raised her six brothers and sisters by herself with perseverance.
Many people compare her to Cinderella. She studied in Minneapolis Art School and new york Art School with loans and scholarships from her family and friends. After graduation, she painted fashion illustrations for several years. However, she was eager to paint what she liked, so she quit her job in new york and went back to the countryside to concentrate on her creation.
During this period, she once created three picture books and sent them to publishers in new york, but they were quickly returned each time.
In 1926, wanda gag was 33 years old, and Emerson, a children's book editor of "Coward-Maccann" publishing company, discovered wanda gag's works in the Weihei Art Museum in new york.
She asked wanda gag: Would you like to publish a picture book?
wanda gag took out one of the three picture books returned by other children's book editors and mailed it to the children's book editor of "Coward-Maccann" publishing company. This picture book is "One Million Cats".
In 1928, One Million Cats was published. This picture book won her a reputation, winning the Silver Award of the Newbery Award in 1929 and the Lewis Carroll Bookshelf Award, which was established after her death. This book is also known as the first "real picture book" in America, which started the "golden period of picture books" in 193s.
In fact, there are many difficulties in real life behind this seemingly elegant story. How hard does it take a 24-year-old girl who lost her parents to support a family of seven? No wonder there are always seemingly weak heroes in her works, but they are full of infinite vitality. ?
Let's take a look at the simple story of 1 million cats:
Once upon a time, there was an old man and an old woman who lived in a beautiful and clean house, surrounded by flowers. But they are not happy because they are too lonely.
"If only we had a lovely furry kitten!" Grandma said with a sigh.
"Honey, I'll get you a cat." Grandpa said.
So, grandpa climbed over the sunlit hills, walked through the shady valleys for a long time, and finally came to a hill full of cats.
There are cats here and cats there. There are big cats and kittens everywhere.
hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions of cats, tens of millions of cats, hundreds of millions of cats.
Faced with so many cats, the grandfather who had difficulty in choosing took all the cats home. He climbed over the sunlit hills, crossed the shady valleys, and went home with all his cats. He wanted to show grandma these beautiful cats.
On the way, these cats drank a pond and ate grass on a hillside.
when she got home, grandma saw so many cats. She cried, "We can't afford them. They will eat up our house. I just want a kitten. "
grandma thought for a while and decided to let the cat decide which one to keep.
Grandpa shouted to the cat, "Which of you is the most beautiful?"
"it's me!" "It's me!" "No, it's me!"
"No, I am the most beautiful!" "It's me!"
"no, it's me! It's me It's me! " Hundreds, thousands, millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions of voices shouted, because every cat thinks it is the most beautiful.
They bit, scratched and tore at each other, making a terrible noise. Grandpa and grandma ran home at once.
After a while, the quarrel stopped. There were no cats left. They ate each other!
suddenly, grandpa saw a frightened kitten in the tall grass. Grandpa and grandma picked him up. He was so thin and his hair was messy.
Grandpa said, "Poor kitten, what happened? Why haven't you been eaten by hundreds, thousands, millions, tens of millions and hundreds of millions of cats? "
"Oh, I'm just a very ordinary kitten," said the kitten. "So when you asked who was the most beautiful, I didn't say anything. So that no cat will come to my trouble. "
Later, grandpa and grandma took the kitten home and fed it a lot of milk every day. Soon, it grew fat and cute.
Grandpa and grandma think this kitten is the most beautiful cat in the world. Because they have seen hundreds of cats, thousands of cats, millions of cats, tens of millions of cats, hundreds of millions of cats-but no cat is so beautiful.
the story is over.
But the kitten's understatement "Oh, I'm just a very ordinary kitten, so when you asked who was the most beautiful, I didn't say anything. So that no cat will come to my trouble. " This sentence left a deep impression on me.
Its words remind people of the philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuangzi, Carnegie's survival wisdom, and the secret of a happy life in Harvard University ...
Lao Zi once said, "The husband is the only one who does not dispute, so the world can't compete with him." It means: only the one who does not contend with others, no one in the world can contend with him. This sentence fully embodies Laozi's philosophical thought of "weakness is better than strength". Laozi's so-called "indisputable" is not to give up everything, but to be invincible by indisputable. The ideology of "it's hard to be confused" and "it's a blessing to suffer" spread in later generations has something to do with Laozi's so-called "indisputable virtue".
Zhuangzi once said, "The victory over the small is the greatest victory", which means that on some small issues, we don't have to compete with secular people, but win in a big way is the real victory. It is unwilling for a wise man to fight for a little human interest. If he sees a higher goal with a detached attitude, he can achieve greater victory. As the saying goes, "simplicity can't compete with beauty in the world": if a person can keep his simple nature, he is the most perfect person in the world.
Carnegie once said in The Weakness of Human Nature: If you want to get enemies, you are better than your friends; If you want to get more friends, let your friends get the better of you.
Harvard University once did a study, followed 724 people for 75 years, and found that all happy lives have one thing in common: good interpersonal relationships.
after reading 1 million cats, you can't help but marvel at the words of the kitten in the story. Although it is only very simple, it just feels that it is ordinary, there is no need to fight, and its self-awareness is in place, so it survives.
We can't help but sigh: What a clever kitten is this? Seemingly simple language and low-key attitude, but it tells the wisdom of its survival in times of crisis.
A Million Cats subtly conveys the virtue of being ordinary and restrained to children, without preaching, but with far-reaching implications.
This is a children's book. For children, it is a strange, exaggerated but warm story.
This is also a fairy tale for adults. For adults, it is the philosophy of life behind the story.
Since its publication, One Million Cats has won many top prizes in children's books. It won the Newbury Award, the highest honor for children's books in the United States. At the same time, it is regarded as the first real picture book in American history, and the new york Times enthusiastically calls it readers' favorite forever. It was selected as one of the "1 Books Affecting the Whole World" in library journal, USA, and was selected as one of the 1 picture books that everyone should know.