This article was once submitted to Dan Ma, which earned me the first contribution fee in my life. It was first published on Dan Ma’s children’s book reading public account. There are many pictures, so it is recommended to view them in large size.

Excellent pictures can sow a seed in a child's heart, and bring them not only knowledge, but also power.

1. Tenderness flowing in the blood

Some classic picture books are really warm to read, maybe it’s the pictures, maybe the words, maybe it’s the situations. I always remember a few picture books. When I read them with my son, we would look at each other and smile in tacit understanding after every time. Under the dim light, the silent warmth is ironed into the heart and flows into the blood.

All children are gentle at heart. They like animals, care for them, and treat all things like angels.

Say good night to the comb...

All classic picture books know how to stir up the softness in children's hearts and let them treat the world gently.

But they are gentle yet sensitive, just like the little boy in the "Dear Little Fish" picture book, who treats the little fish with both reluctance and reluctance to let go, love and apprehension. There is no child who does not love his mother. If the mother does not give appropriate feedback, it will make them feel at a loss and anxious.

Many classic picture books do this very well. For example, in "Olivia" and "David Can't", no matter how naughty the children are, the mother will always say one thing in the end:

No matter what my father or mother is like, I will always say one thing in the end: "Me too." Love you".

I have always believed that love can give children the most primitive power. However, love must be expressed.

Some mothers may feel at a loss about this because they don’t know how to express themselves in daily environments, so "Picture Book" will help you a lot.

"Hug", "Magic Kiss", "Runaway Bunny", "Good Night Moon", "Guess How Much I Love You", etc. are all very gentle picture books that express love. , it can build a very reliable and warm parent-child relationship. This type of picture book is an indispensable part of the parent-child reading list.

There are many heart-warming picture books, and "Amo's Sick Day" is one of my favorites. It is a rare tender work among the Caldecott Awards. It tells the story of Amo (grandpa) who goes to the zoo every day to visit his old friends, play chess with the elephant, race with the tortoise, and sit with the penguins. Tell the owl a story. One day, Amo fell ill. These old friends from the zoo missed him so much that they came to his home. The elephant played chess with him, the turtle sat with him, the penguin prepared water for him, and the owl told him stories. Finally, everyone The story of sleeping together.

This is a story of giving and reward, and it is also a story of warmth and love. The old man in the picture book is called Amo, and his name sounds very friendly. It does not promote the view that elders are respected, but chooses another angle, that is, it reflects the view that the elderly are lonely and need care. Explains the meaning of love and feedback. In addition, this is a picture book in which roles are reversed. Through proper reading guidance, it can effectively cultivate children's empathy.

I have always believed that only writers and translators who best understand children's psychology can create a classic work. "Amo's Sick Day" can be said to be the best among them.

2. Aesthetics rooted in the heart

What is aesthetics? Very abstract.

Actually, I have no aesthetic foundation. On this road of picture books, I am learning and exploring at the same time. As my children grow, so do I. Among them, children's growth is difficult to perceive, but self-improvement is real. Especially in terms of aesthetics, from being very repulsive to certain types of works at the beginning to now being able to tolerate, accept and like many different works, this is a huge improvement.

I first liked to buy watercolor style picture books. I thought the paintings were beautiful, fresh and niche. This may have been influenced by some Internet celebrity illustrations, but looking back now, it’s quite unbearable. The mother's vision determines the child's vision. If all I see is a sky, do you think the child can jump out of this field? It's hard. What to do?

Learn to be tolerant. When you see a picture book, especially an award-winning picture book, don’t try to deny it first. Carefully read its information, comments, and even other people’s recommendations. The more you study, the more you will understand.

Let’s take a look at the master-level paintings.

Everyone here is a world-class master. It can be seen that each master has his own painting style and style, and there is no good or bad style for children. Good illustrations are the soul of picture books, and they can effectively improve the quality of a picture book. Since the price difference is not big, I highly recommend everyone to buy a "master-level picture book".

I don’t know if you have this experience. Many best-selling works, when you search on the platform, there will be many versions. Let’s talk about an example, “Niels’ Travels on a Goose”. This is also a classic case of my purchasing mistakes. I bought a set of "Niels Riding a Goose" very early on. I made two mistakes when I bought it: First, I bought it at the wrong time and it was a little too old. This set of stories is suitable for children over 5 years old, and even elementary school students can read independently. The second is that I bought the wrong version. Looking at it now, the style of painting in this set of picture books is too "horrible to bet on".

This is a version I recently found. You can compare the differences between the two. The latter is much better than the former in terms of proportion, color, lines, etc. This is like the difference between cartoons and animated movies.

The effect of excellent works on infiltrating people's hearts is silent. You may not be able to see it now, but after the precipitation of time, it will appear. Why do I especially want to recommend picture books? It’s because I always feel that mothers often miss out on many excellent picture books due to time and energy.

Excellent works can bring you beautiful feelings and inspiration. There are no good or bad picture books, but there are differences in aesthetics; just like a circle, if you don't jump out, your children won't be able to jump out either. There was an article that became very popular some time ago - "Aesthetic ability will be the core competitiveness of future children." On this point, I firmly believe. At least aesthetics is a basic project. Engineers in architecture, clothing, film and television, directors, photography, animation, games and even interface design all need aesthetics, and aesthetics covers almost all fields. Showing "masterpieces" to children from an early age has all the benefits and no harm.

3. Philosophy buried deep in thinking

When I was a child, I had an appointment to watch a movie called "Sophie's World" from the Central Six Best Films. This is inspired by philosophy. To be honest, I have forgotten the content of this movie, but I still remember the inspiration this movie inspired me. It seems that there is a force that deeply pulls me... and makes me learn to think about everything.

Thinking is philosophy.

Think about life, happiness, growth, and pain.

Do you want to provide philosophical enlightenment to children? I suggest it is a must. The enlightenment here is not obscure theories and dull preaching, but the meaning of thinking. There is such a master in the picture book world, and I think his works are full of a strong Zen flavor. This master is Leo Leo.

I feel it is necessary to introduce the experience of this master.

Leo Leoni, four-time Caldecott Medal winner. Born on May 5, 1910 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, his father was a Belgian Jewish businessman and his mother was a soprano singer. Because his family is near an art museum, and his uncles are architects, painters, and art collectors, he has been immersed in a rich artistic atmosphere since he was a child.

Leoni is a talented and unfettered artistic genius, proficient in painting, sculpture, graphic design, printing, ceramics, photography... He was the design director of Fortune magazine in the United States for 10 years. In 1955, he won the American Graphic Arts Society's Best Art Director Award for Advertising Production, and in 1956, he won the Architectural League's Gold Medal.

The first half of Leoni’s life had nothing to do with children’s picture books. He really started creating picture books in 1959, when he was 49 years old. He was already a grandfather at that time, and he took his two granddaughters on the train. When the granddaughter was bored and messing around, she tore two color blocks from a magazine and started telling a story. This is the famous "Little Blue and Little Yellow". What is the story that a man over fifty wants to paint when he picks up a paintbrush? If you are interested, you can read it.

"Vole Afo" tells the story of a group of voles preparing food for the winter. One vole is particularly different. The other voles ask him, what are you doing? It says: "I am collecting sunlight," followed by "I am collecting colors," and finally "I am collecting sounds." When the earth was completely white and all the food was gone, everyone asked Afo, "Where is your sunshine?" "Where is your color?" "Where is your voice?" What happened? Mothers should go to the picture book to find out. In the end, everyone said, "Afo is a poet." This story is very light, and it is difficult for you to tell clearly what it wants to express, but it really touches you. This is Leo's work.

During the summer vacation, Dabao returned to his hometown and once had a video chat with Dabao. I asked him what he was doing. He said he was looking at the sky, it was so beautiful, and then he pointed his phone at the sky to show me. I don’t know why, but at that moment, I felt a little touched.

Leoni’s work is a picture book highly recommended by the master translator Mr. Ajia. But because of its Zen flavor, it may be more suitable for older babies. But each one is worth reading. Another book that impressed me deeply was "Fish is Fish". What are humans like in the world of fish? This is a question worth thinking about. I wonder if you have watched Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid". The most hilarious police station alarm scene in the film may be able to find clues about this picture book.

After reading more picture books, I found that many movies have the habit of finding inspiration in children's picture books. In the movie "Spirited Away", the most puzzling thing is why mom and dad turned into a pig. Maybe children who have read the picture book "The Story of the Zhu Family" can answer you. It is precisely because of this that I want to promote picture books more and more. All picture books you read will become a source of inspiration for your future career. This has always been a belief that I insist on parent-child reading.

4. Self that is melted in the bones

All children need to be recognized. Whether he is a naughty, quiet, innocent or squeamish child, every child has his own temperament. You must recognize his behavior and temperament before he will put away his fangs and sharp weapons.

There are many picture books about self-recognition, and "Olivia" is one of my favorites. The cool little pig Olivia is not only my favorite, but also my Dabao’s favorite. Dabao and I read the book Olivia once, and the second time he could tell it by looking at the pictures. Moreover, he often learns it.

Alongside "Olivia" is "Madeline".

Lotte’s Madeleine is also my favorite. When I see these excellent picture books, I always think that the author is really amazing. He can create such a three-dimensional image in just a few words. Madeline and Olivia are completely different little girls. Madeleine is an optimist, carefree and heartless, but kind, brave, smart and witty. The author Bemelmans is very talented. He has created 6 books in the Madeleine series, 2 of which won the Caldecott Medal. This is very rare in the history of Caldecott. The same series generally will not give a second Caldecott. Obviously, the judges gave "Madeline" a special case.

In addition, there are many similar picture books about self-recognition.

For example, "Bigfoot Dances Ballet" series, "Naughty Princess" series, "Yiyi among the Sheep", "Giraffes Can't Dance", "Little Red Bird", "Stripes on the Body" and so on. Through these picture books, I want to tell children that it is best to be yourself. Everyone has their own shining point. A giraffe can dance and a little red bird can be a singer. There are no absolutes. Don't underestimate yourself, no matter what it is, as long as you like it, you can try it.

5. Imagination sealed in the subconscious

Children are the best at imagining.

Why did Caldecott particularly admire Surrealism?

Caldecott winners David Wisner, Alan Becker, Maurice Sendak, Anthony Brown, etc. are all masters of imagination. Their works are often unconstrained and free-spirited. The transition from one picture to another can only be handled with the word "exclamation".

In "Beast Country", the little boy lying on the bed found that his room had changed and turned into a forest.

The boy in "Fantasy Flight" found that his quilt extended out and turned into a field.

In "Crazy Tuesday" the frog takes a magical journey on a flying carpet.

"The Incredible Journey" The little girl took a paintbrush and drew a door on the wall, and when it opened, it turned out to be a forest.

Are these four scenes very familiar? I feel like they are like a dream. Surrealist painters are good at translating subconscious images onto canvas. The above four works are all Caldecott Gold Medal works. Almost all of them have no words. What the author wants to say is basically conveyed by pictures. She is very fond of such picture books.

Here, I would like to solemnly recommend a master: David Wisner, a six-time Caldecott Medal winner who specializes in wordless picture books. He has authored 11 picture books, 6 of which won the Caldecott Medal. Here you can get a glimpse of his talent. Every reading of his works is an inspiring journey of imagination. "June 29, 1999" is the most recent book I have read with my children. I rarely see anyone recommend this picture book, but it is really great! It tells the story of a little girl who did an experiment and launched vegetable seedlings into space with a balloon. After a while, many giant vegetables (giant radish, giant pumpkin, giant broccoli, etc.) floated down from the sky.

The little girl thought her experiment was successful, but slowly she discovered that many vegetables she had not launched were floating down from the sky, and she began to wonder if these were the vegetables she had experimented with. Want to know the results? David Wisner is good at burying surprises at the end of the article. If you like it, you can read it.

Regarding imagination, I often think of our great poet Li Bai. He is a very imaginative poet, and his song "Dream Wandering in the Heavens and Songs of Farewell" can be said to be a masterpiece here. I often think of this poem when I read some works. Although poetry and painting are two different fields, sometimes I feel that they have some similarities. After studying for such a long time, I found that the world's top poets, writers, painters, artists, etc. all have one thing in common, and that is imagination. Therefore, we must protect children’s imagination, and picture books are one way to do so.

6. Calmness spreading all over the body

The unknown makes people scared, but knowing how to do it makes people calm. Reading a variety of picture books can bring more calmness to children. Learning to understand, learn to awe, learn to be brave, understand and manage emotions, learn about love, life, old age, illness and death, etc. in picture books can make children more calm and calm when facing various scenes.

(1) Learn to understand.

"The Zhu Family Story", a work by Anthony Brown. Zhu's mother did all the housework in the Zhu family. Then one day, Zhu's mother disappeared, and her father and children turned into pigs if they didn't do the housework. Later, when mother came back, they changed back again. From then on, they were all a family. Do housework happily. Through this book, children can understand their mother's difficulties and learn to share the burden.

(2) Learn to be in awe.

"Mr. Nelson is Missing", a work by Allard. The students in Class 307 were very noisy and did not listen to the words of the gentle teacher Nelson. One day, Teacher Nelson disappeared and a witch-like teacher Swanpo came. The sinister teacher took out a ruler and used a sharp voice to discipline the children severely. The children were so scared that they listened to her quietly. Everyone began to miss Teacher Nelson, so they spontaneously went to find Teacher Nelson. Finally, Teacher Nelson came back, and the children all sat and listened to the teacher telling stories. Of course, at the end of the story, Mr. Swanpe disappeared! Maybe it’s because the paintings by Mr. Swanpo here are too scary. Since reading this book, sometimes when Dabao is disobedient, I will remind him: “Mother Swanp is coming out!”, after my Dabao hears it. Change your tone and expression immediately. This is the power of awe.

(3) Learn to be brave.

"Coward Willy" tells the story of a skinny little boy who becomes strong and brave through exercise. The quality of Anthony Brown's works has always been guaranteed.

(4) Understand emotions. "Feifei is Angry", "Angry Arthur", "Angry Soup", "Beast Country", "I Turned into a Fire-breathing Dragon", "Jerry's Calm Space", etc. are all excellent films for understanding emotions and relieving them. picture book.

(5) Understand dreams and pursuits. "The Sky is Under My Feet", "Aerial Man", "Flower Mother".

(6) Understand birth, old age, illness and death. "The Cat Who Lived a Million Times" and "The Badger's Gift".

There are also many very classic and excellent picture books that cannot be described clearly in a few words. The ones mentioned above are basically inspirational picture books. In fact, there are many excellent encyclopedia picture books. For example, Le Fun's "Secret Series", Tatsuo Matsuoka's biological encyclopedia picture books, etc. Some mothers may find it difficult to explain encyclopedia knowledge picture books, but in fact it is not difficult. The key is not to regard reading as reading. Reading is a process, and books are just a way. You must spread some of the knowledge you have mastered through parent-child reading, even if You think he might not understand.

When I was reading the book "The Secret of the Body" with Dabao, we looked at it carefully and briefly introduced the principles. Then I told him that the eyes are the windows to the soul, so you should look at the eyes when looking at people. I don't know why I told him this, he was only four years old at the time. But one time he went to draw, and during that class, the teacher guided them to draw an old grandfather. He performed very well in that class. After class, the teacher praised him and told me that he was great. Do you know why? Because when the teacher talked about eyes, he said: "Eyes are the windows to the soul."

Picture books provide a way to convey thinking and a bridge for parent-child interaction. If you feel at a loss when it comes to maintaining a parent-child relationship, then read on together!

Epilogue:

While struggling on this road of education, what makes me most helpless and helpless is the word "circle". "Donkeys give birth to donkeys, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and mice are born to make holes." The ancient proverb is a warning. My father and I are both working-class people, and both of us have relatively stable jobs. But in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, they still belong to the middle and lower classes; learning can be regarded as a stepping stone, and poor families can produce noble children through learning, but more and more signs show that it is difficult to produce noble children from poor families, but it is easy to produce noble children from wealthy families.

A while ago, Ma Yili’s daughter won the national Latin dance championship; Huang Yi’s daughter won an award in the model competition; Li Yapeng’s daughter Li Yansheng has her own aura; Li Xiang’s daughter won an award for her 9-year-old painting.

These are not innate, they are either experience or environment. Having seen the world and having a big picture are never empty words.

If you want to hire a famous teacher to teach painting, the single lesson fee will make you jaw-dropping; if you want to take your children to watch a dance drama, you will never be able to sit in the middle seat. These are realities and very helpless, but some are available to everyone and are equal to everyone. For example, books are the most affordable educational products.

Obama takes the children to read "Beast Country" and "The Incredible Journey", which are already on my bookshelf; "The Little Zebra Who Loves Hiccups" recommended by Deng Chao, I can buy a copy at any time . So, if I only have 50 yuan a month to invest in my children’s education, I will definitely choose books. Because it can bring the greatest uncertainty, it may also produce the highest value gains.

With the rapid development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data, what abilities do we want to cultivate in our children? A while ago, after AlphaGo defeated the world's strongest chess player, I began to reflect on whether to enroll my children in Go. Although my child is only 6 years old, I have already begun to worry about which direction and career to let him pursue so that he will not be eliminated by society. To be sure there are careers that require similar creativity, aesthetics, and imagination. Pure knowledge memorization and repeated calculations will inevitably become the domain of artificial intelligence. Therefore, I pay special attention to the cultivation and guidance of children's aesthetics, imagination, and creativity. This is also the original intention of writing this article. What can pictures bring to our children? There is no absolute answer, and there are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers, but the key is to take action.