The Only Child

Home alone while her parents are away, a Chinese girl decides to go to her grandmother's house. Along the way, she gets lost, and gives in to the fear and despondency of loneliness. A mysterious and magical deer appears, and takes her on a fairytale journey to safety. "Il figlio unico" (The Only Child) is a 'silent' book that is suitable for all ages, which addresses the theme of China's one-child policy. In order to find a solution to the issue of overcrowding, in the 1980s, the government banned couples from having more than one child. Guojing - who, as a result of this policy, is herself an only child - conjures the sense of isolation and loneliness that she, like so many others, has had to face, through a magical, fantastical approach. Entirely rendered in shades of grey, sepia and white created by the pencil shading of the illustrations, the author takes the reader on a journey on several levels - magical, emotional, metaphorical - offering continuous changes of perspective which, without the need for a single word, express the desire of the many "only children" forced to grow up without siblings and with absent parents to have someone to spend time with, and with whom to experience life. Il figlio unico di Guojing Mondadori Ragazzi, 2017