Some Thoughts on an Abstract Children’s Book
The children’s book mentioned in my last post, New Horizon, is an idea to play with rather than a project already under way. If you would like to play, come and join us. The encouraging responses made me want to explore it a little further.
I am no expert on raising children, though, like other parents, I have had some practical experience. I remember an interview from years ago whose thought stayed with me: children learn a great deal by copying us, whatever we tell them to do. I am no longer certain of the speaker, so I will leave the name aside.
Tom and Jerry
Two boys in my family circle, whom I call Tom and Jerry here, have brought me much joy. By the time of these notes, there were three boys in that circle. I often played with them and read from their books. Many of the books left me cold: busy pictures, little room for the imagination. They preferred coming up to my apartment, where there was so much strange stuff to see. Then we could read what I rather grandly called “the real stuff”. With those stories, I noticed how much they began to invent for themselves.
Young children’s drawings often delight me. Look at this picture made after a visit to the circus: it finds its own way to describe what mattered. I sometimes feel that this freedom gets lost when children begin drawing the way they think a picture is supposed to look.
Reading, writing and arithmetic receive plenty of attention. I would like to make room for practising the imagination as well. This book idea is one possible way: begin with something recognisable, then gradually invite the reader into abstraction.[1]
Start with a Familiar Story
At the beginning there could be simple stories with partly abstract illustrations. One possibility is Old Mr Wang and His Funny Little Dragon Friend. Fluffy likes playing tricks on Mr Wang, who pretends to be outraged mainly to keep the little dragon happy. He would not want to be without this lively fellow for a single day.
For a quick experiment, I gave an AI program the outline and asked it for a story. The result is reproduced in the notes below. It was a way of testing the idea, rather than a decision about who would write a finished book.[2]
Towards the end, there could be pictures without stories. The children would invent those themselves. One starting point might be The Little Girl Who Loves Dogs and Wishes She Could Be a Puppy for Christmas. What would happen next?
What I See — What Do You See?
The middle of the book would be about discovering things. How many fish can you find? I can see four faces — how many do you see? Which animal seems out of place under the sea? It would not matter whether a shape was “really” a fish. The interest would lie in looking, comparing and finding something another reader had missed.
The pictures could move from easier, partly recognisable forms towards greater abstraction. Many children’s books I have seen rely on outlines and flat colour. I would also like to offer the experience of depth: looking into a space, or imagining oneself within it.
These details from my diving studies suggest a possible range. Some forms readily become creatures; others make us work a little harder.
Stumbling Blocks
This is still a thought experiment. A short story in the Zhuangzi, in the chapter Lie Yukou, comes to mind: a man spends his wealth learning to slaughter dragons, masters the skill, then finds no use for it. I would rather not become an expert in making a book nobody wants.
Would children enjoy it? The real test would be showing them the pictures. Children can be the most direct critics, which is both useful and slightly frightening. Whether the adults who buy books would welcome it is another question.[3] So please do not put this book on a Christmas gift list just yet.
Extra
I dedicate this post to the two lovely little rascals whose Western names are Tom and Jerry. They have brought so much joy into my life, and they remind me that playing together can be a good beginning.
Footnotes
[1] Children learn whenever they discover something new. I am imagining a playful immersion in abstract images, combined with activities such as counting and inventing stories, rather than a textbook. ↩
[2] For fun, I gave ChatGPT the outline. If this ever became a real book, I would want to find someone to write the stories. Here is the experimental AI-generated version: ↩
Old Mr Wang was lonely and felt something was missing in his life. One day he found instructions on how to tame a dragon in an old book. He decided to give it a try and, after many weeks of hard work, finally succeeded. He now had a cute little dragon friend named Fluffy.
Fluffy was a delight for Mr Wang. Always full of energy and joy, he loved keeping his new friend on his toes. Fluffy played funny pranks and teased Mr Wang out of his reserve. Mr Wang often pretended to be outraged, but only so as not to spoil Fluffy’s fun.
One day, Mr Wang took Fluffy for a walk. The little dragon flew ahead, performing acrobatics. Suddenly he pirouetted and landed on Mr Wang’s hat. The hat fell over his face and Mr Wang laughed. Fluffy had managed to make him smile again.
Despite the pranks, Mr Wang loved Fluffy with all his heart. He could not imagine life without this lively fellow who could not sit still for five minutes. Fluffy made him feel alive again.
[3] I would write in German, for a smaller readership than the English-speaking market. My doubts concern the adults choosing the books as much as the children looking at them. Before taking the idea further, I would also want to discuss it with people experienced in children’s education. ↩
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