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The Only Child by Guojing (December 1, 2015) Library Binding
Like Shaun Tan's The Arrival and Raymond Briggs's The Snowman, this gorgeous and imaginative 100-page graphic picture book is utterly transporting and original. A little girl—lost and alone—follows a mysterious stag deep into the woods, and, like Alice down the rabbit hole, she finds herself in a strange and wondrous world. But . . . home and family are very far away. How will she get back there? In this magnificently illustrated—and wordless—masterpiece, debut artist Guojing brilliantly captures the rich and deeply-felt emotional life of a child, filled with loneliness and longing as well as love and joy.
Unknown Binding
First published September 1, 2015
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About the author
Guojing
8 books108 followersGuojing (Jing Guo) is an illustrator and concept artist. Previously she worked in the game and animation industry. She is now a professional illustrator. Her wordless picture book, ‘The Only Child’, a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book of 2015, and a Publishers Weekly Book of 2015, is published by Schwartz and Wade (Random House, Dec, 2015). The story is based on her own experiences as a child. Guojing is also planning her next picture book. She also likes to paint in oils in her spare time. She loves to share her ideas and feelings through her art work.
Offical website: www.guojingart.com
(from http://www.creativeauthors.co.uk/illu...)
Offical website: www.guojingart.com
(from http://www.creativeauthors.co.uk/illu...)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 669 reviews
September 2, 2018
when i first saw this cover online, months before the book was released, i thought to myself, "i will make you mine."
and then i did.
superficially, the artwork reminded me of a cutesier Shaun Tan or a less-gross Renée French. but i know nothing about art, and when i mentioned this observation to art-snob sean of the house, he scoffed and pointed to a couple of illustrations and said "shaun tan would never do that or that," so i guess i'm wrong. sean of the house does not care for the art in this book, but i love it, so i choose this book over him.
this is a wordless picture book in which a little girl is left alone at home and decides to take the bus to visit her grandmother. she falls asleep and misses her stop, and when she disembarks, she finds herself deep in the forest with no one to ask for help. no human, anyway. fortunately, she meets a beautiful and mysterious stag,
who takes her on a magical journey where they meet other creatures
before she is eventually restored to her parents. spoiler alert, yeah, but it's a children's book - how did you think it was going to end?
it seems like a sweet, whimsical story, but its inspiration comes from a sadder and more haunting source. the bus and getting-lost parts are true, but the animal-intervention was not. the author is chinese, and she came up in the 1980's under china's one-child policy. from the author's note:
When I was young, both of my parents had to work to support our family, so during the day, my grandmother would take care of me. But still, sometimes - if they had to rush to work or if Nai Nai was busy - they would leave me home alone. This experience was common in many families at that time. I belonged to a very lonely generation of children.
and this loneliness permeates the illustrations, even when it is - yes, sean - a little cutesy.
i just thought it was lovely, and tender without veering into saccharine
it made my heart go ba-dump AWWW!! there were genuine feels inside. i thought it was a beautiful story, beautifully illustrated, and even though it came out of her memories of isolation and loneliness, it's not bleak - there's so much fun to be had when you have a stag!
i definitely want to see more books from this author/illustrator. with more baby seals!
come to my blog!
April 14, 2017
To see this and other wordless picture book reviews, please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com
The Only Child is a wordless children's graphic novel that's magical in every way.
The beautiful and detailed illustrations tell a stunning story. One of the best graphic novels for children we've read!
4****
The Only Child is a wordless children's graphic novel that's magical in every way.
The beautiful and detailed illustrations tell a stunning story. One of the best graphic novels for children we've read!
4****
January 16, 2016
Guojing's wordless graphic novel for children is about a little girl in China who leaves home "to visit grandma" but ends up on a magical adventure when she gets lost and meets a stag in the forest.
http://i1.nyt.com/images/2015/10/28/b...
Wonderful images of the stag, the cloud bear, and the whale who swims through the clouds instead of the ocean are lovingly drawn by Guojing.
http://www.creativeauthors.co.uk/wp-c...
http://100scopenotes.com/files/2015/1...
She writes in the introduction:
http://cdn.coolmompicks.com/wp-conten...
The story in this book is fantasy, but it reflects the very real feelings of isolation and loneliness I experienced growing up in the 1980s under the one-child policy in China.
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/1...
When I was young, both of my parents had to work to support our family, so during the day, my grandmother would take care of me. But still, sometimes - if they had to rush to work or if Nai Nai was busy - they would leave me home alone. This experience was common in many families at that time. I belonged to a very lonely generation of children.
http://www.ccbookfair.com/RXCH/RXCH_C...
http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/7...
http://appm.hangzhou.com.cn/admin/kin...
The book is beautiful and fun, if a little sad - but very awe-inspiring.
Ages 0-6
http://i1.nyt.com/images/2015/10/28/b...
Wonderful images of the stag, the cloud bear, and the whale who swims through the clouds instead of the ocean are lovingly drawn by Guojing.
http://www.creativeauthors.co.uk/wp-c...
http://100scopenotes.com/files/2015/1...
She writes in the introduction:
http://cdn.coolmompicks.com/wp-conten...
The story in this book is fantasy, but it reflects the very real feelings of isolation and loneliness I experienced growing up in the 1980s under the one-child policy in China.
http://static01.nyt.com/images/2015/1...
When I was young, both of my parents had to work to support our family, so during the day, my grandmother would take care of me. But still, sometimes - if they had to rush to work or if Nai Nai was busy - they would leave me home alone. This experience was common in many families at that time. I belonged to a very lonely generation of children.
http://www.ccbookfair.com/RXCH/RXCH_C...
http://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/7...
http://appm.hangzhou.com.cn/admin/kin...
The book is beautiful and fun, if a little sad - but very awe-inspiring.
Ages 0-6
December 9, 2022
A lovely wordless picture book fantasy about a little girl who gets lost on her way to Grandma's house and gets befriended by a stag who introduces her to a magical natural world. Lovely pencil drawings. Compared by a lot of people to Shaun Tan's work, maybe because it is also wordless, but this one is sweeter, sadder, a bit more cartoony and sentimental. Soft and somewhat bleak images abound, which Guojing says are meant to reflect her lonely childhood in China under their enforced one-child-only policy. There's lovely escape in it, though. A beautiful black and white silent book.
Read Carmen's review so you can see some of the illustrations.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Read Carmen's review so you can see some of the illustrations.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
December 6, 2015
Wow. Mind blowing. One of the most unique children's picture books I have ever read/owned. There is so much depth of feeling and emotion in the illustrations. Extraordinarily beautiful and poignant. You can almost feel the hair on the animals. A must have for collectors of the best of the best in children's literature. Check out this one my fellow children's book lovers. It is remarkable. Classic children's book material.
February 13, 2019
This beautifully illustrated picture book with no text shows a little girl going to bed in China. She is lonely and bored and decides to run away to see Grandma. Leaving her flat she goes into the night and meets a stag and here the magical journey begins. The illustrations are wonderful and must have taken so long. I didn't like the faces on the people very much, cartoon style with dots for eyes and mouth whilst the rest of the illustrations are realistic and the stag has realistic eyes and features. The mix of realistic and cartoon didn't work for me although the illustrations are very good. I also wonder about books aimed at the very young that feature running away at night and having a magical adventure. Although most children are sensible about this I certainly know several who might try this and can think of one or two that have. In general a very nice story though.
September 6, 2016
Putamerda! Esse livro não tem 1 palavra e eu to aqui chorando de tão lindo!! Amei!! ❤️❤️
January 2, 2016
A snowy new year's day is the perfect time for this story of being lost and found. The author/illustrator, Guojing, was born in China while the one-child policy was in effect. Her memories of loneliness were a springboard for this story about what happens when a little girl decides to set out in search of friendship.
It's told entirely through wordless images, existing as something between a graphic novel and a picture book. The monochromatic illustrations are full of softly rounded lines, gentle transitions between tones, and delicate textures. It evokes an atmosphere of nostalgia and dreams. I particularly loved how certain pages juxtapose detailed, lifelike illustrations with images that are of a more whimsical and cartoonish style. It leaves you wondering what's "real", and whether that even matters. It can be a quick read, but there are many little treats for those who would spend time studying the artwork. I found myself taken aback even by the endpapers, which at first glance seem to show just an empty backdrop of fog and snow... but like many scenes in the book, apparent emptiness is only a veil over the fantastical.
(Suggested music: Song of the Sea)
February 12, 2016
Both the lovely illustrations and telling a story without words made me think of Brian Selznick. The foreword by author Guojing and her loneliness as a politically-mandated single child in China sets the stage for a little girl's adventure on her own, getting lost in the woods, where she is befriended by a stag and some other imagined friends. Just terrific.
July 14, 2017
Beautiful and subtle, the pencil drawings follow the day in the life of a lonely only child who spends the day playing and attempting to while away the hours till her parents return from work. There are no words, just beautiful images of a child's imagination at work when she finds herself alone and lost outside her apartment.
October 28, 2020
This one I need to own.
This is, simply put, beautiful.
Wordless picture books don't get nearly enough appreciation as far as I'm concerned. The depth that your work has to have to convey not just emotion but story cannot be understated. You don't have sound, you don't have words, you've got nothing but your skill as an artist to pull in your reader and hold them and take them on a journey.
This perfect example of that kind of talent did, fortunately, get a whole lot of attention, even making it onto the NY Times best books of the year list in 2015 (among quite a few others) and starting on page one its impossible not to see why.
This is a story about loneliness and love and family. A little girl, left home alone by her parents pages through a family album and decides to go out and visit her beloved grandmother. She navigates the busy city all on her own, totally unnoticed by all the busy, distracted people. When she becomes lost in the woods she happens upon a beautiful, magical elk who takes her on a fantastic journey.
Gah! This is just so beautiful I can't even try to be eloquent about it. The fantasy and fun that are part of the little girl's adventure are wonderful but its the relationship she forges with this animal that is the real heart of the story. She grows up so much as they travel into the clouds and encounter other strange creatures. She starts as this adorable almost toddler pulling on its antlers and by journey's end the depth of their love for each other is almost overwhelming in its strength.
Guojing's artistic style is perfect for this kind of story. The little girl is chubby and has these fabulous scrunchy eyed, wide mouthed expressions. There's such a great, almost tangible texture to everything, from the little girl's overalls to the softness and richness of the elk's fur. Everything is soft, just a touch blurry, almost like a dream and a tiny bit cartoony but Guojing does a lot with gestures and long looks between the characters that give a real depth to what's happening. I was particularly taken with the little girls expressions of sadness which go from a toddler like crying fit to a very adult attempt at holding back tears by the end of the story with her chubby little arm pressed against her eyes.
This is just so absolutely worth checking out. Another one of those beautiful books that you just keep paging through over and over that sends shivers down your spine every time.
This is, simply put, beautiful.
Wordless picture books don't get nearly enough appreciation as far as I'm concerned. The depth that your work has to have to convey not just emotion but story cannot be understated. You don't have sound, you don't have words, you've got nothing but your skill as an artist to pull in your reader and hold them and take them on a journey.
This perfect example of that kind of talent did, fortunately, get a whole lot of attention, even making it onto the NY Times best books of the year list in 2015 (among quite a few others) and starting on page one its impossible not to see why.
This is a story about loneliness and love and family. A little girl, left home alone by her parents pages through a family album and decides to go out and visit her beloved grandmother. She navigates the busy city all on her own, totally unnoticed by all the busy, distracted people. When she becomes lost in the woods she happens upon a beautiful, magical elk who takes her on a fantastic journey.
Gah! This is just so beautiful I can't even try to be eloquent about it. The fantasy and fun that are part of the little girl's adventure are wonderful but its the relationship she forges with this animal that is the real heart of the story. She grows up so much as they travel into the clouds and encounter other strange creatures. She starts as this adorable almost toddler pulling on its antlers and by journey's end the depth of their love for each other is almost overwhelming in its strength.
Guojing's artistic style is perfect for this kind of story. The little girl is chubby and has these fabulous scrunchy eyed, wide mouthed expressions. There's such a great, almost tangible texture to everything, from the little girl's overalls to the softness and richness of the elk's fur. Everything is soft, just a touch blurry, almost like a dream and a tiny bit cartoony but Guojing does a lot with gestures and long looks between the characters that give a real depth to what's happening. I was particularly taken with the little girls expressions of sadness which go from a toddler like crying fit to a very adult attempt at holding back tears by the end of the story with her chubby little arm pressed against her eyes.
This is just so absolutely worth checking out. Another one of those beautiful books that you just keep paging through over and over that sends shivers down your spine every time.
April 17, 2019
This book may be over 100 pages long, but it's easy to get through in just a few minutes. In spite of that, it has a very well-defined story, all told in hazy black-and-white images.
It reminds me more of a graphic novel than a picture book, due to the panels. There's no text at all (except for a couple of words on objects).
The story is about a little girl who's left home alone. She gets bored and decides to go see her grandmother. She leaves a note for her parents, takes her umbrella, and gets on a bus. But the bus leaves her in the middle of nowhere, and the girl, lost and frightened, follows a deer into the woods. The deer becomes her friend for the rest of the magical journey, and eventually helps reunite the child with her family.
The soft, black-and-white drawings perfectly capture the mood of the story. There's light and darkness, friendship and loneliness, joy and fear. And it doesn't hurt that the illustrations are just so darn cute.
I'd recommend this one to fans of picture books, as well as those who like graphic novels. Because of the lack of text, it can even be enjoyed by younger readers. Now I'd like to see what else Guojing has done, because this book has really made me curious!
It reminds me more of a graphic novel than a picture book, due to the panels. There's no text at all (except for a couple of words on objects).
The story is about a little girl who's left home alone. She gets bored and decides to go see her grandmother. She leaves a note for her parents, takes her umbrella, and gets on a bus. But the bus leaves her in the middle of nowhere, and the girl, lost and frightened, follows a deer into the woods. The deer becomes her friend for the rest of the magical journey, and eventually helps reunite the child with her family.
The soft, black-and-white drawings perfectly capture the mood of the story. There's light and darkness, friendship and loneliness, joy and fear. And it doesn't hurt that the illustrations are just so darn cute.
I'd recommend this one to fans of picture books, as well as those who like graphic novels. Because of the lack of text, it can even be enjoyed by younger readers. Now I'd like to see what else Guojing has done, because this book has really made me curious!
January 29, 2022
I mean, can we please just appreciate how adorable this book is?!?! I loved it!
May 21, 2022
Los dibujos no están mal pero la historia es muy simplona.
March 11, 2016
3.5 stars! I loved the illustrations. They are charcoal or pencil. This is a full picture book with no words. These are my kids favorite kind of stories for me to read because I make up the story as I go. There are no spoilers in this review because every story is different. Here's mine :D
Once upon a time, a small girl named Sally, wakes from a pleasant sleep. She yawns and gets out of bed. She sees her mother on the way to the bathroom. "Mom, I'm hungry," the girl says. The mother really has to pee and so she tells her daughter that she must wait in the living room. Soon the girl tires of waiting. There isn't anything good on t.v. so she decides to take matters into her own hands. She quickly writes her mother a note in her loving chicken scratch that usually comes with 5 year olds. Went to get donuts....tired of waiting. Love me.
Teehee! The illustrations continue with the girl going on a dreamy and epic adventure. Who knows what she was going to do, or what her mother was doing behind the "mystery" door. But my children thought it was hilarious especially when I said the mom was on the pooper.
Definitely pick it up if you like making up your own dialogue to stories. My children loved it.
Once upon a time, a small girl named Sally, wakes from a pleasant sleep. She yawns and gets out of bed. She sees her mother on the way to the bathroom. "Mom, I'm hungry," the girl says. The mother really has to pee and so she tells her daughter that she must wait in the living room. Soon the girl tires of waiting. There isn't anything good on t.v. so she decides to take matters into her own hands. She quickly writes her mother a note in her loving chicken scratch that usually comes with 5 year olds. Went to get donuts....tired of waiting. Love me.
Teehee! The illustrations continue with the girl going on a dreamy and epic adventure. Who knows what she was going to do, or what her mother was doing behind the "mystery" door. But my children thought it was hilarious especially when I said the mom was on the pooper.
Definitely pick it up if you like making up your own dialogue to stories. My children loved it.
January 1, 2016
Oh wow. The illustrations are just gorgeous. There's such depth here, worthy of more than a quick read but real study. As for plot? By the end I wasn't sure if this was a dream or a real adventure, which was ok. Ambiguity is good. And maybe, if I read and reread it, I'll decide. I rarely predict the Caldecott's but this one? It'd be very surprising if it doesn't get at least a mention.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
January 26, 2025
I've seen The Only Child marketed as both a picture book and a graphic novel, and it weirdly straddles the line of both! It's completely wordless, makes use of comics style panels, and is over a hundred pages, but it has the art and story styles of a picture book and is very much for a younger target audience. I think it could count as either!
The art is absolutely gorgeous. It has a really cute kid-friendly style to it that is made more appealing to older readers by its gorgeous pencil-shading. It strikes a dreamy feeling that is perfect for the story. The story is based on the author's childhood loneliness, and shows a small child going to visit their grandma on their own when they get lonely and bored at home, but the child gets lost and goes on an adventure with a magical stag (among other creatures) before making it back to their family safe and sound.
It's sweet, cute, and fun, and the art is breathtaking. Recommended!
The art is absolutely gorgeous. It has a really cute kid-friendly style to it that is made more appealing to older readers by its gorgeous pencil-shading. It strikes a dreamy feeling that is perfect for the story. The story is based on the author's childhood loneliness, and shows a small child going to visit their grandma on their own when they get lonely and bored at home, but the child gets lost and goes on an adventure with a magical stag (among other creatures) before making it back to their family safe and sound.
It's sweet, cute, and fun, and the art is breathtaking. Recommended!
September 17, 2019
Left on her own one day when her mother and father must go to work, the titular 'only child' in this gorgeous wordless picture-book sets out to visit her grandmother, only to fall asleep on the bus-ride there. Waking up far too late, the girl disembarks and soon finds herself lost in the woods. When a beautiful stag approaches, she finds a friend and a guide, one who takes her on a fantastic voyage to a far-removed land in the clouds. Here she meets another friend, and together the three pass an extraordinary time, resting on fluffy clouds, being swallowed and disgorged by a massive cloud whale, and sitting contentedly together. When the little cloud creature is reunited with his mother, our human heroine is returned by her stag guardian to her own parents, but she takes something of her friend with her...
An astonishingly beautiful book, The Only Child was apparently inspired by an episode in artist Guojing's own lonely childhood in China, in which she got lost on her way to her grandmother's house. In the book, this results in a magical experience, one in which loneliness is relieved and solitude broken by means of a journey connecting heaven and earth. The stag is such an enchanting figure here, so wise and loving, and although there are no words, the bond of love and affection that the little girl forms with him is deftly communicated by the artwork. I was reminded of the ancient elk who acts as a guide to the children in Pat O'Shea's marvelous Irish fantasy, The Hounds of the Morrigan , and that is high praise indeed! This is the sort of book that rewards each rereading, revealing little details of image and meaning upon each perusal. Recommended to anyone who appreciate beautifully illustrated picture-books, and to those looking for children's stories featuring enchanted journeys and our connection to the fantastic.
An astonishingly beautiful book, The Only Child was apparently inspired by an episode in artist Guojing's own lonely childhood in China, in which she got lost on her way to her grandmother's house. In the book, this results in a magical experience, one in which loneliness is relieved and solitude broken by means of a journey connecting heaven and earth. The stag is such an enchanting figure here, so wise and loving, and although there are no words, the bond of love and affection that the little girl forms with him is deftly communicated by the artwork. I was reminded of the ancient elk who acts as a guide to the children in Pat O'Shea's marvelous Irish fantasy, The Hounds of the Morrigan , and that is high praise indeed! This is the sort of book that rewards each rereading, revealing little details of image and meaning upon each perusal. Recommended to anyone who appreciate beautifully illustrated picture-books, and to those looking for children's stories featuring enchanted journeys and our connection to the fantastic.
February 8, 2017
What does an only child long for?
PLAYMATES - both real and imaginary.
The artwork in this one reminds me of The Arrival, though the story is reminiscent of The Snowman.
It is a wonderful book - sweet but not cloying . . . simply adorable!
PLAYMATES - both real and imaginary.
The artwork in this one reminds me of The Arrival, though the story is reminiscent of The Snowman.
It is a wonderful book - sweet but not cloying . . . simply adorable!
December 21, 2015
Some hybrid of wordless picture book and wordless graphic novel. Beautifully illustrated - a must read.
December 14, 2020
Einfach nur wunderschön!
September 9, 2024
A cute silent book that can be used to discuss becoming lost with young kids (though it's fantastical and doesn't actually show them what to do) and also as a consolation for those who've experienced it.
June 22, 2015
A wordless journey in enhanced pencil drawings. Highly recommended as a picture book for older readers. The emotional journey balances the fantastical one in a seamless visual narrative.
February 10, 2015
This is a beautiful black and white, wordless graphic novel.
December 4, 2016
Poco a poco voy haciéndome con una pequeña colección de libros ilustrados, esas pequeñas obras de arte que no tienen todo el reconocimiento que deberían.
En esta ocasión, una de las últimas maravillas que han caído en mis manos es Hija Única, una historia que está magníficamente narrada con preciosas imágenes en blanco y negro y sin un solo diálogo.
Pero esa falta de palabras no es impedimento para emocionarse con una preciosa historia llena de fantasía y ternura.
Reseña completa: http://beingsaray.blogspot.com.es/201...
En esta ocasión, una de las últimas maravillas que han caído en mis manos es Hija Única, una historia que está magníficamente narrada con preciosas imágenes en blanco y negro y sin un solo diálogo.
Pero esa falta de palabras no es impedimento para emocionarse con una preciosa historia llena de fantasía y ternura.
Reseña completa: http://beingsaray.blogspot.com.es/201...
November 11, 2016
una preciosidad de novela, tanto las ilustraciones que son una delicia como la historia, me ha emocionado a través de sus imágenes.P-R-E-C-I-O-S-A
March 1, 2018
Das erste Mal, dass mich ein Buch zum Weinen gebracht hat, was nur aus Bildern besteht. Ganz große Liebe!! ❤
September 2, 2021
En son ne zaman bir kitap, hem de yazısı hiç olmayan bir kitap bu kadar ağlatmıştı beni hatırlamıyorum. Çok iyi anlatım. Bu kitabı Tübitak'ın yayımlaması bu yılın sürprizlerinden değil de ne bu arada :)
July 9, 2025
Absolutely breathtaking!
March 2, 2017
Sin duda un precioso libro ilustrado que aún sin diálogo consigue transmitirnos un montón de sentimientos y sensaciones con unas imágenes preciosas que sin duda enamoran.
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