Original Title 纽扣士兵 Text & illustrations by Jiu Er Pages 52 Age 3+ Published Dandelion March 2020 Genre Wordless picture book
His clothes had a button fall off. It had fallen off the road, and no one had found it amid the congested streets. Then it was loaded onto a garbage truck, which bounced and threw it off the road. For a long time, since last spring and winter, it has merely sat there looking at the sky, at the clouds, and sometimes seeing nothing… However, one day, it was dragged out of the snow by a small fat hand. It was a boy. He needed a soldier. His chess set was missing a chess piece. From then on, it was known as the only “button soldier” in chess. A regular button has a new mission. This could be the little boy’s fantasy, or he could actually become a soldier; who knows?
There are numerous riddles to be solved in this book, and readers are supposed to figure them out for themselves.
Award
- Outstanding Award: The 7th Feng Zikai Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award
Jiu Er was born in China’s northeast area and now lives in Beijing. She was devoted to sculptural design for many years and displayed her works at the International Sculpture Symposium on numerous occasions. Since 2012, she has concentrated on the creation of picture books. My Sister’s Big Pumpkin, Unable to Return Home, Wishing for a Serendipitous Encounter, Twelve Puppies, Ewenk’s Camel, Monster Mountain, and Don’t Jump Rope with A Frog are among her best-known works. Several of her pieces have been sold in foreign countries, including Hong Kong.
The exhibition “Hometown Encounter – Jiu Er’s Original Pictures Gallery” was held in the Capital Library of China in July 2015. She has acted as a judge for both the Golden Pinwheel Young Illustrators’ Competition at China’s Children Book Fair and the first Zhang Leping Picture Book Award in 2016. Her illustrations in Don’t Jump Rope with A Frog were nominated for an annual honorable mention in the Chinese Board on Books for Young People (CBBY), making Jiu Er the first female Chinese illustrator who is selected in the International Board of Books for Young People’s booklist (IBBY).
一枚从衣服上脱落的纽扣，它掉下来。 辗转于拥挤的人流，疾驰的车轮底下，臭烘烘的垃圾堆…… 从秋天到冬天，它历经风霜雨雪，身上的光泽早已暗淡。 然而有一天，阳光正好，当它闪出一点微弱的光时，一只小胖手拾起了它。那是一个善良的小男孩，他如获至宝地把纽扣带回家。从此，这枚平凡的纽扣，迎来了崭新的使命……
第七届丰子恺儿童图画书奖 佳作奖
一枚纽扣，孤零零地躺在地上，春去秋来，人来人往，无人问津。 一个小女孩捡起又丢下，直到小男孩发现了它。 于是，这枚纽扣的故事命运发生转变，它带着读者走街串巷、登门入户，穿越时空、纵横沙场……
小男孩将纽扣变成一颗善战的象棋士兵，与外公进行了一场酣畅淋漓的楚汉争霸游戏。 这是一本设计感超强的无字图画书，从封面到环衬，从勒口到封底，画家用镜头式的画面呈现出一系列连续场景，读者通过想像就能完成整个叙事。 全书画面采用铅笔素描的画法，间或点缀红黄蓝三基色，让整个故事的基调平和温暖而又不失灵动跳跃。 故事高潮部分素描与水墨混搭，巧妙地表现出现实与想像的跨界。 好的画面，无语万言。
这是一枚纽扣的故事，也是一个家庭的故事，这是小男孩的故事，也是很多读者的故事。——王志庚（首都图书馆馆长）
九儿 “丰子恺儿童图画书奖佳作奖” 《纽扣士兵》作、绘者。九儿是一位获奖的美术创作者和雕塑家，她也是第一位入选IBBY荣誉书单的中国女画家。 她现在和她的小狗“呼和”一起住在北京。
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