Everyone was accompanied by a flower when he was a child | Picture book Rainbow Flower
Let's talk about rainbow flowers and seven-color flowers first.
The main story of Rainbow Flower is like this. On the melting snow in Yuan Ye, a rainbow-colored flower bloomed. It uses its petals to help ants cross puddles, give lizards beautiful banquet clothes, let mice have a fan to fan the wind in summer, help birds find birthday presents for their daughters, and once sheltered hedgehogs from the wind and rain. After five petals were delivered, winter arrived, and the last leaf was blown away by the strong wind, and the rainbow-colored flowers were buried in the snow; Finally reappeared in the spring of the following year.
In the main line, each petal can help a small animal, which is very similar to each petal in a seven-color flower can realize a wish. The difference is that the flower in Rainbow Flower is the protagonist and alive, and the simplest meaning conveyed is always ready to help others and give generously; The protagonist of Seven Colors Flower is the little girl Jenny. Seven-colored flowers are more props and exist to satisfy their wishes. Moreover, through the little girl's continuous efforts to make up for mistakes and waste wishes, she finally wants to tell young readers that wishes should be used for truly meaningful things.
Obviously, the two stories point in completely different directions. I don't know what this generation of children will read in Rainbow Flower and what memories this story will bring them. I only know that readers of our generation ignored its educational significance and were immersed in the fantasy of "If I had a seven-color flower …", but it was a real childhood. I really want to say that there was a flower in my childhood. As for what kind of fruit will bear in the future, let nature take its course.
However, as parents, it is inevitable to think more. Frankly speaking, I am a little entangled in the shallow dedication theme of rainbow flowers. There are quite a few parents like me. I also saw that some parents mentioned this book and said, "If it weren't for the theme of self-sacrifice and dedication to others, this book would definitely be my most recommended one among young children."
Our generation has been instilled with the concept of being willing to give and being brave in giving since childhood. Due to the social environment, even the expression of love "and the silkworm will weave until she dies" will be misinterpreted as a dedication without regrets, and the deeds of heroes are overwhelming. What was overemphasized when I was a child will inevitably lead to more reflection and conflict when I grow up. Therefore, it is inevitable to be vigilant when you see rainbow-colored flowers so self-sacrificing. Fortunately, however, this book is not boring.
I want to compare it with a picture book called I am a rainbow fish. I am a rainbow fish tells a story: there is a unique and beautiful rainbow fish in the sea. It is very proud, cherishes its scales, and refuses a request from a little blue fish for its smallest shiny scales. From then on, I was isolated by other fish and had no friends. In order to be with other fish, it followed the advice of the omniscient octopus grandmother and gave all the scales on its body to everyone. From then on, they played happily together.
This story is really embarrassing. I still remember the first time I saw this book. It's in the China Children's Book Section of Stuttgart Library. At that time, a Chinese mother I met read this book to her daughter, and when she read it, she heard something was wrong. The mother closed the book directly after reading it and said to her daughter, "This book is not good at all. Rainbow fish should not give up their uniqueness, let alone give their scales to other fish to please them. We will never read this book again. " The children put their books aside in a daze. I admire this mother's sharpness and directness. Although her personality makes it, I will guide the children to find that this book is not good enough. Anyway, this book has been blacklisted by me directly.
Many days later, when I look back at the book My name is Rainbow Fish, I still can't understand how this work was published, circulated and even translated into Chinese. It wants to talk about sharing and don't be too proud, but the book is full of negative themes such as jealousy, isolation, buy-off, unprincipled, giving up self, ignoring everyone, etc. How sad. In contrast, this is the same as giving your most precious things to others. Besides making people feel suspicious, rainbow flowers will not be rejected, and they have always been loved by children and parents. There must be something special about it.
I have always said that the shallowest theme of the rainbow flower is dedication and sharing, so it must have a deeper theme, that is, life and reincarnation. I saw this in the reading introduction on the back cover of the little book:
With the change of seasons, the rainbow-colored flowers slowly wither and get old, and are covered under the snow. Although she left this world, she left a warmth for everyone. Winter goes and spring comes, and the rainbow-colored flowers come back to see the sun ... life can be repeated, and the spirit of helping others will last forever, leaving readers with endless meaning.
Before reading this introduction, I just briefly thought about why this story is easy to accept; Combined with this introduction, I think it's because everything is related to life:
1, rainbow flowers are happy, warm and friendly. Since she appeared, she has warmly welcomed everything in life. Her life declaration is: I want to share my happiness with everyone!
Every time she sends petals to small animals, she is voluntary. She is happy because she can help others. Moreover, in the process of helping others, she doesn't think highly of herself. She really wants to help others. I hope everyone is happy. Some people just have this realm, and perhaps in their view, that is the meaning of their life.
In the four seasons, the petals of flowers will eventually wither one by one. It is better to give it to other small animals to bring them happiness and convenience than to drop it on the ground without meaning. Therefore, if the realm is not as good as mine, it is acceptable, because it conforms to the law of life.
4, you think about it, maybe the origin of this story is because the author saw the petals withered and couldn't bear to see them blowing in the wind in vain, so he had to give it some meaning, so he had this book. There is love and respect for life here.
The rainbow flowers don't ask for anything in return, but after accepting her kindness, other small animals are also grateful. When the rainbow-colored flowers were completely covered by heavy snow, they all came from afar and thanked the rainbow-colored flowers for their help from the bottom of their hearts, which also made the readers feel warm. The rainbow-colored flowers were considered as a fair death and her life was recognized.
6. Another spring has come, the rainbow-colored flowers are blooming again, and life is endless with good intentions. This is really a relief.
Looking back at "I am a Rainbow Fish" from these angles, it has almost nothing, and it is no wonder that the two stories have completely different positions in readers' minds.
The Flower of the Rainbow is deeply loved by readers because of its variety.
Painting and color are the most conspicuous places. They are all big color blocks and colorful, but they are well mastered, which will not make readers feel monotonous and boring at all, because every animal is particularly spiritual, that is, a silent flower, which can see the changes of her mood and state. Those big color blocks are also rich in details, and can feel the author's intention without fine correction.
The theme of the story is not only the big theme of dedication and life cycle, but also the small themes such as color change, understanding of animals, use of goods, weather and seasonal changes, which can be expanded with the growth of children's age. It is a book that can be read by two or three years old to five or six years old.
There are also stories and dialogues, and many roles are played in turn, which is very suitable for reading and even performance of different roles, which can arouse children's reading enthusiasm and provide them with a sense of participation.
Moreover, through rainbow-colored flowers, you can also learn some art of getting along with others, such as understanding and being good at perceiving each other's difficulties; For example, be good at communication and take the initiative to ask questions to find problems; And after finding the problem, actively try to solve it; And how to keep yourself happy and quiet when the sun is shining and the clouds are gathering, and so on.
Finally, this book is not afraid to show life and death, but also shows this serious and heavy topic lightly. In this way, it is good for children to touch, experience a little sadness, and then experience a little warmth, and life is endless.
I don't know what a two-year-old girl can read from this book. The only thing that is clear is that she can read the book from beginning to end, from ants, lizards, mice, birds and hedgehogs one by one, and she can't hear some chatter clearly, so she enjoys it. Let her understand slowly.
To tell the truth, if all the difficulties can be solved by a petal, it is really a simple and beautiful world.
May there be a flower like this in our childhood.
Extended picture book:
Related flowers
Seven-color flower (Su) Kateev
About the cycle of life
Eric Carr, Little Seed (USA)
The journey of a seed (Germany) Anne Moeller
About life and death
Badger's Gift Susan Wallace
Remarks: The pictures in this article are from picture books.