The Only Child

Like Shaun Tan’s The Arrival and Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, this powerful story with magnificent illustrations and no words will surely garner a lot of attention. Drawing on her experiences of being an only child due to China’s birth control policy, and getting lost when sent on a bus by herself as a 6 year old, Guojing weaves a story about loneliness and longing.

In the 100-page visual story, a young girl travels through a wintry landscape from her city apartment, by foot, bus and, ultimately, through the sky on a stag’s back to visit her grandmother who lives in the country. Using fantasy and dream elements, Guojing’s adventure story is rich with themes of loneliness, love, friendship and family. Creating this book–which is ultimately about hope and the powerful longing to be close to the people you love–was a way for Guojing to explore and come to terms with the struggles of her childhood.