A new book by Chinese illustrator Guojing, “The Only Child” is a graphic novel for children ages 5-9. In her introduction, Guojing explains that while the book is a fantasy, it reflects her feelings of isolation and loneliness that she experienced growing up in the 1980s under the one-child policy in China. With that insight, an older reader will appreciate the book on a different level.
Done in black and white drawings, some small others full page, the story follows a young child who is left alone in his apartment. After he runs out of things to do, he decides to leave his home and travel to grandma’s house. He loses his way and finds himself stranded in a deserted wooded area. At this point, the story becomes a kind of Alice down the rabbit hole adventure. He meets magical creatures and finally makes his way home
The well-drawn, imaginative illustrations will enable a reader to create his or her own version of what is happening on each page. A recent reviewer stated
that “The Only Child” is “an expansive and ageless book full of wonder, sadness and wild bursts of imagination.”