A Correct Attitude towards Life's Misfortune —— Intensive Reading of Funeral of Birds

Reading promoter Si Tong

First, the content introduction

One day, the children found a bird lying on the roadside. It closed its eyes and lost its heartbeat. The children felt sorry for the bird, so they decided to say goodbye to it and hold a funeral for it. They came to the Woods in the park and dug a grave for the bird. They wrapped these birds with warm and sweet ferns, covered them with flowers and covered them with soil. They bid farewell to the birds with soft songs. Since then, they have come back to sing for it every day.

Second, the picture book information

Title: Funeral of Birds

Text: [America] margaret white Brown

Photo: [America] Christian Robinson

Translator: A Jia

Suitable reading age: 3-8 years old (for reference only, not absolutely)

Topic planning: Beijing Tianluo Book Co., Ltd.

Press: Beijing United Publishing Company

Date of publication: May 2020

Third, the picture book guide

front cover

Analysis:

The cover is a piece of green grass. Above the grass, there are four pairs of small feet, and there is a bird lying on the ground at the feet. You can see that four children are bending over and holding the bird. Combined with the title of "Bird's Funeral", the bird is dead. What will the children do?

This is a story about life death, but the atmosphere created is full of love and warmth. In a way that children are willing to accept, close to their psychology, telling the true meaning of life, death and love as delicately, naturally and warmly as running water.

This little bird, when it was touched by children, had no breath of life, no rhythmic heartbeat, no warmth on its body and lay quietly on the ground. The discovery of that bird excited the children, which was a joy of life. But the death of the bird made the children extremely sad and lost their lives. In this complicated mood, the children finally made a decision, that is, to hold a funeral for the bird.

The title of this book is a combination of black and white. Black is the color of birds, representing death, and white is synonymous with funeral.

Front ring lining

Analysis:

Parks with beautiful environment, dense forests, winding rivers and flying bridges on both sides belong to children's pure paradise. At the far end of the picture, there are tall and dense gray buildings, which belong to the adult world, a gray world.

title page

Analysis:

The title page and the page are integrated, and the black font is slightly elegant. Four children in different heights lined up with the gray puppy to face the readers correctly to show their innocence and beauty.

Picture 1

When the children saw the bird, it was dead.

Analysis:

"When the children saw the bird, it was already dead." Unexpected, straightforward, simple and direct, leaving a rich imagination space. Imagine how children will react when they see a motionless bird. What will you do next? How to judge whether it is still alive?

Four children and a dog are playing in the park. The leading boy wears a fox mask and tail, the tall girl wears butterfly wings on her back, and the last boy holds a kite. Only the youngest girl is not dressed, but her yellow hair is different.

These animal costumes are props for children's role-playing and also symbolize animals. In the real world of children, animals such as butterflies and birds are not only life, but also friends of human beings. In this way, the illustrator blurs the difference between human beings and animals, perfectly fits the creative core of margaret white Brown, and highlights children's friendliness to everything in the world and respect for life. It is these characteristics of children that staged the funeral of dead birds.

The dog running in front found the bird on the ground first, but the bird was dead. In the lower right corner of the book, that little black dot is a dead bird.

This bird is so humble that the illustrator only left it less than a centimeter. This also reflects the mentality from the perspective of adults. Birds are not only small, but also insignificant when they die. But in the world of children, this bird is not small, and its death is a huge event.

Picture 2

But it didn't take long to die-its eyes were closed and its body was still a little warm. The children touched the bird's chest with their fingers to see if its heart was still beating fast. However, I can't feel my heartbeat. So they knew that the bird was dead.

Analysis:

What is "death"? They touched the bird's chest with their little hands. Although it is still a little warm, there is no "heartbeat acceleration". The bird just died and its eyes closed. The oldest girl touched the bird like an adult, the youngest girl looked nervous, and the two little boys were calm.

Obviously, children understand the state of the body after death: unable to move or speak, that is, incapable. This is also an indispensable link in death education, and it is necessary to explore the characteristics of death. In the story, the children judge that the bird is dead according to these characteristics.

They are meticulous and considerate, and even a humble bird is carefully regarded as a treasure. Let people feel the child's pure heart. In their eyes, everything in the world is so lovely and beautiful that it is worth guarding and commemorating with the best love.

They hold kites, mouse masks and butterfly wings in their hands, which shows that they are playing games, but when one life leaves, they still put aside their happiness and sympathize with another life.

The puppy first found the bird lying on the ground. After the children gathered around, they all stepped back and watched quietly, which also made the puppy nervous.

Picture 3

Moreover, although they were holding the bird, it gradually became cold and the weak body became stiff. They can't bend the bird's legs, and its head doesn't swing when it is moved.

Analysis:

The oldest little girl has a bird in her hand, and the black hand indicates ominous. The other children and the puppy looked at the dead bird sadly. The bird's body became cold and stiff, its thin legs stretched straight into the sky, unable to bend, and its head stopped. The children's faces are all sad, and even the dogs are not as naughty and noisy as usual.

Illustrators use close-ups, and the bird is magnified in the hands of children, which gives readers a good opportunity to observe what kind of bird it is. Without beautiful feathers and unique appearance, it is not enough to recognize its origin, but it can touch the hearts of children in this way. Because they are sad, it doesn't matter what bird it is. The bird was unfortunate but lucky because they met an innocent child.

Especially the scene where children are surrounded by birds that have just died in their hands, and the scene where children are surrounded by the cemetery of birds and arranged in a neat line is very expressive and emotional.

What would they do if they were adults and faced with a dead bird that landed on the lawn? Someone took a look and continued on his way. "Oh, it's so dirty." Some people scowled and hurried away, covering their noses. Finally, the dead bird will be thrown into the trash can by the cleaner, and a life will die quietly. The children read a story about death, love and respect for life.

Margaret white Brown's wisdom and feelings when he created this work. The funeral of birds is just a form, but the core of the message is: love and respect for life.

This is true in the face of occasional birds, not to mention the death of their pets. When the child's pet died, many parents took it lightly and tried to change a pet to make up for the child's lack. However, this behavior of parents is a dangerous signal for children.

The child feels sorry for the lost pet, which lies in the affection between the child and the pet in the process of careful care. Parents' indifference will make children feel that their feelings are not understood and respected, and they will be more sad and angry. They may even feel that their parents are indifferent to life. Slowly, their children's initial sincerity to life will disappear, their hearts will no longer be soft to life, and their emotional field will be a desert. When such children grow up, it is difficult to care about their loved ones from the heart.

Picture 4

This is what animals look like after death for a period of time-no heartbeat, cold body, as hard as stone, motionless.

Analysis:

Children realize that animals or people are like this after death-no heartbeat, cold body, as hard as stone, motionless, birds will never fly again, and will never make beautiful calls again. The breath of its life was cut off, and the life of the bird left this world.

The author witnessed the characteristics of bird death and the screening process with three big pictures, showing his love for children and pushing this process to young readers.

Step by step, know the true face of death. Young children have no clear understanding of death. Parents always hope that they can grow up happily and unconsciously avoid discussing and witnessing death. But as an indispensable part of life education, it is absolutely necessary for children to understand.

In this book, they will gradually understand that death is like a bird in a story, without a fast heartbeat. Not long after his death, his body was still a little warm. Even if it is warm, its body will gradually get cold, its weak body will become stiff, its limbs will not move, its eyes will always be closed, it is impossible to bend the bird's legs and its head will not swing.

Such a narrative and description, if not out of concern and concern, can not be so detailed. What will happen to this description in people? What story will you remember?

The little girl solemnly held the dead bird in her hand and crossed the bridge with her companions. What should they do? Puppies seem to understand their intentions and move on. The ducks and reflections in the water are in the same direction as the children, suggesting that they should try their best to complete the handling of bird affairs together.

The small bridge in this link uses rubbings to present readers with rich details. At the same time, scattered points are used in the trunk and other links, which makes the picture produce different texture effects of points or fog.

Picture 5

The bird is dead and can't fly anymore. The children are very sad. But they are also happy to find the bird, because now they can dig a grave in the forest and bury it. They can hold a funeral and sing for it, just like adults do when someone dies.

Analysis:

They crossed the bridge and went on, and the puppy joined the farewell team sadly. Will they find a burial place? A big tree in the middle is like an old man, escorting the children's compassion.

The death of this bird made the children sad, even though it was not their friend. "But they are also happy to find the bird." Why are the children "happy" when the bird is dead? Because "they can hold a funeral and sing for it, just like adults do when someone dies." Because thanks to their discovery, they can find a quiet and safe habitat for the bird, otherwise the bird may be trampled by the wind and rain, which is also a sad relief.

Death is obviously a sad thing, so why "sing"? This memorial ceremony helps children to alleviate the fear and sadness caused by death. For children, death is not without sadness, and they will also feel sorry for the death of birds.

For children, this is something they have the opportunity to do independently outside the control of adults, "like adults", which not only means their own growth, but also means that they can face the death of animals weaker than themselves independently.

The words in this book perfectly describe the complex feelings of the protagonists, and at the same time save their heavy images. Although the story is sad at the beginning, readers can still feel the flow of time and life goes on.

Picture 6

So they took it to the Woods. They dug a hole in the ground.

Analysis:

The children took the birds to a quiet forest, and four people worked together. One stayed with the bird, one dug a hole, one picked flowers, and the other found a big branch. The dog dug a big hole with its sharp claws. It is a kind of happiness and masturbation for the three birds to watch all this and witness their companions being buried.

The watercolor illustration of Bird's Funeral is fresh and elegant, with delicate and vivid brushwork and full of childlike interest. The background is all green, and the deep and shallow green is spread on the paper, occasionally dotted with warm and bright small yellow flowers and small white flowers, which makes the small park in the city background look very amiable.

Margaret's text is eternal, describing the soothing effect of memorial ceremony on the soul. Christian fully understood Margaret's text, and ended the story with an open perspective of vibrant trees and children flying kites, suggesting that the protagonists returned to carefree daily life.

There is no barrier between boys and girls with different skin colors, and dogs are their most loyal friends. Laughing and crying together, the silent picture vividly shows the beautiful scene of racial equality and harmonious coexistence between man and biology.

Figure 7

They put warm sweet fern under the grave, and then wrapped the birds with grape leaves and put them in the grave. Then, they spread some ferns on it and sprinkled small white violets and yellow star flowers.

Analysis:

What should children do in the face of death?

The children imitated adults and held a "funeral" for the dead bird. They came to a quiet garden, where green grass, dense leaves and flowers were in full bloom, and they dug a small pit there. They put warm sweet fern under the grave, wrapped the birds with grape leaves, put them in the grave, and finally sprinkled small white violets and yellow star flowers to decorate the bird's grave.

The children held a very grand funeral for the bird, and every link was done in an orderly way, no less than that of adults. Although the funeral is a bit of a game, it also fully shows the natural kindness and warmth of the children and touches people's hearts.

Although the children met a bird they didn't know, they were distressed to see the dead bird, and they didn't think I didn't know it had nothing to do with me, but they held it in their hands solemnly, felt sorry for it and buried it carefully. This is a heartfelt respect for life. They know that without the care of their parents, birds can no longer sing and laugh, so they should be friends of birds, bury and mourn with a sense of ceremony, and give them the truest care.

What does the child feel in this sincere behavior? We cannot express it in words, but we should do it. Because children can raise fish, turtles, cats and dogs, but what if these playmates die or disappear? A funeral with childlike innocence is the best memorial to those playmates who bring us joy.

In fact, the children are really good.

Figure 8

Then, they sang a song for it: Oh, bird, you are dead. You can't fly in the high sky with other birds anymore, because you are dead. We in song for you, feathered birds, will bury you in this grave with flowers and grass, because you can no longer fly freely in the high sky, rest in peace! Dead bird.

Analysis:

The children are holding hands around the bird's grave, singing simple and touching songs for the dead stranger, for themselves who are still alive, and for everything in the world. The crisp songs floated in the Woods, arousing the birds to fly.

A true and sincere ceremony: find the right grave-dress up the grave-sing for the birds. Children treat their dead relatives and friends like adults. Although there is a trace of sadness, it is more about singing about life. Such a memorial ceremony not only responded to the children's curiosity and fear of death, but also played a role in calming the mind.

In the face of death, a ceremony is to let go and commemorate. Why do children have funerals? It comes from children's imitation of adult behavior. In fact, the meaning of children's death is very vague, because most of them are positive things, and the dynamic and positive growth environment makes children unprepared for death. Children's behavior of holding a funeral is not necessarily because they are sad about the death of a bird, but may be out of respect for life or imitation of death etiquette.

In fact, in the process of children's growth, it is very necessary to understand death, because in life, there may be something dead around us at any time.

Under the external appearance of bird burial game, there is also a simple philosophy of life: whether it is a good mood or a bad mood, it will be smoothed by time. Just as children are sad that birds can no longer fly and sing, in the process of holding a funeral to commemorate birds, their mood gradually rises from depression, then slowly enters calm and finally returns to daily life.

Picture 9

Then they cried. Because their songs are so beautiful, ferns smell so sweet, and because birds are dead. While singing, they covered the birds with soil, and then spread more ferns and flowers on the soil, as well as a gray stone.

Analysis:

After singing, the children cried. This bird is not their good friend, but they are still sad for the death of a young life. If someone hears their songs at this time, they will definitely cry. The world is so beautiful, fern smells so sweet, but the bird is dead and can no longer fly in the sky.

Why are they crying? The description in the story is very intriguing, crying because of the sweetness of the song, crying because of the fragrance of the fern, and crying because of the passing of birds.

So, did they hold the funeral because of sadness, or were they sad because of the funeral?

Picture 10

They wrote on the stone: Here lies a dead bird.

Analysis:

They dug a hole in the ground for the bird, padded some leaves for the bird, and then covered it with soil. Finally, they put a lot of bracken and small flowers on the bird's grave, sang an elegy together and set up a tombstone for the bird. They wrote on the stone, "Here lies a dead bird." The stone is also surrounded by white violets and wild geraniums picked by children, just like adults.

They are obsessed with holding a complete funeral for the bird according to the "regular" process.

Picture 1 1

Around the stone, they planted some white violets and wild geraniums, but the geraniums have withered.

Analysis:

Beside the stone, some violets and wild geraniums were planted. With flowers and herbs, birds will sleep soundly. People will take a detour when they see this.

Any life has an end, and we have to accept death. Let this slightly sad but warm and touching story give children more understanding and respect for life.

In the semi-final of men's doubles at the Australian Open in 2002, French player Rodera returned strongly and hit a bird chasing moths. The bird landed motionless on the ground. Bout, another player who was ready to catch the ball, quickly threw away the racket, ran to the place where the bird fell, and knelt down with his hands crossed.

On 20 16, several workers in Manchester, England held a grand funeral for a dead robin. The workers put the body of a robin in a small wooden box, which read: "Roger, a good husband, father, brother and uncle." 20 16 August 1 1 fell from the sky and will rest here. "

Holding a special funeral for birds is actually an attitude towards life. Life on earth is not only human beings, but also those animals and plants that live with human beings. By the way people deal with the death of a bird, we can convey our attitude towards life and what value our life should have.

Photo 12

Every day, until they forget the bird, they will come here to sing for the dead bird and put flowers on its grave.

Analysis:

At the end of the story, on the left is the quiet grave of birds, and on the right is the scene of children playing happily. This shows that in fact, in the end, the children forgot the death of the bird.

The funeral is over, but that doesn't mean the sadness will disappear in a short time. Every day, children still come here to sing for the dead bird and put flowers on its grave, just like in real life. When we miss them, we will go and see them, as if they just live in a different place.

Although the children were very sad about the death of the bird, although they used to go to its grave to offer flowers every day, they finally forgot the bird. We will eventually forget death, but love will last forever.

Although children forget the dead birds, their respect and love for birds will not fade with the passage of time. On the contrary, this kind of love will always accompany the child to grow up and become a compassionate and kind person.

Rear ring lining

Analysis:

This is a quiet world, and the same park prospect as before, no matter the Woods, rivers, bridges or distant tall buildings, has not changed at all. There is neither a bird's grave nor children's frolicking, as if nothing had happened. The children ran away laughing, and the bird turned to dust completely. The children in the book witnessed a farewell and personally held a funeral for the dead bird.

Isn't this the real life? Therefore, if children learn to face death correctly and respect life, they will become a caring and kind person. Of course, this is also an indispensable quality for children nowadays.

In this story, from beginning to end, no adult appears, but we can see the influence of adult society on children. Whether singing at a funeral, digging a grave to bury a bird, or putting a tombstone on a bird, these behaviors exist in the adult world.

Maybe some children will ask after reading this painting: What will happen to birds after they die? The dead bird finally returned to the embrace of Mother Earth and merged with the soil. Next spring, it may become a grass, or a small flower, or a big tree ... Anyway, the bird's life will continue in another way.

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