Sponsored by National Publishing Fund
Best National Children’s Literature Award
Best Book Award for the Project of “Five One”
The Pear Violin
Chinese Government Prize for Publishing
Soong Ching Ling Children’s Literature Award Bing Xin Children’s Literature Award Chen Bochui Children’s Literature Award
Awards n well selected from honorable wri ole collectio ters. The wh
Comments Wenxuan Cao Vice Director of Children’s Literature Committee of China Writers’Association Professor of Peking University
CCPPG
Chinese Original Classic Picture Books will knit a colorful tie for all the children. It will help them to build up an imaginary castle and make a beautiful wish.
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Selected and Editted by Children’s Literature Committee of China Writers’ Association ◎ Consultant Bo Jin ◎ Chief Editor Hongbo Gao
Chinese Original Classic Picture Books
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The Pear Violin Written by Bing Bo Illustrated by Zhenjun Liu
Chinese Original Classic Picture Books Written by Bing Bo
Illustrated by Zhenjun Liu
The Pear Violin Edited by Children’s Literature Committee of China Writers’ Association Consultant Bo Jin Chief Editor Hongbo Gao
A little squirrel lived in a pine tree. One day, he climbed down to the ground from the tree to play. He was walking up and down on the ground when he saw a large pear.
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The large pear was yellow with one big end and one small end. However, the squirrel did not know what it was. “Gee! What’s this? It’s interesting.”
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The squirrel carefully carried the pear home.
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He found a knife and cut the pear in half. Immediately the air was filled with a pleasant smell. “Ah, it smells so good!� The squirrel ate half a pear. He liked it so much that he hated to eat the other half. The little squirrel held the remaining half of the pear and took a closer look at it. Suddenly he had a good idea. 8
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“It will make a nice violin!� So, the little squirrel made a violin out of the half pear, and then he made a bow with a twig and some of his whiskers. The little squirrel sat on a branch and began to play the violin.
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The violin produced very good music, which carried a hint of fragrance and traveled far and wide. 12
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Such good music had never been heard in the forest. 14
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Somewhere in the forest, a fox was chasing a little pheasant. The little pheasant was crying while desperately fleeing.
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“I must catch you!” The fox shouted fiercely. The fox was fast and the little pheasant was slow, so the fox soon caught up with it. “Help! Help!” The little pheasant was scared and screamed loudly.
Suddenly the lovely music floated in the fox’s ears. Wow, beautiful music! The fox shouted at the little pheasant, “Hey, I’ll spare you today. I’ll go enjoy the music instead.” 18
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Somewhere else in the forest, a lion was chasing a little hare. The little hare was crying while desperately fleeing.
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“I must catch you!” The lion roared fiercely. The lion’s steps were long and the little hare’s steps were short, so the lion soon caught up with it. “Help! Help!” The little hare was scared and screamed. Suddenly the wonderful music reached the lion’s ears. Wow, beautiful music! The lion shouted at the little hare, “Hey, I’ll spare you today. I’ll go enjoy the music instead.”
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The little squirrel was still playing the violin on the pine tree.
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Many animals in the forest gently came and sat down under the pine tree.
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The fox came, followed by the little pheasant. The lion came, followed by the little hare.
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The little squirrel played and played. The stars came to listen to the music. The moon also came to listen to the music. The beautiful music flew into the animals’ hearts like nectar. They all felt intoxicated.
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It was really quiet in the forest. The fox allowed the little pheasant to lie on his big tail so that it would feel more comfortable while listening to the music. The lion even allowed the little hare to lie in his arms so that it would feel warmer while listening to the music.
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The squirrel was playing and playing when suddenly something fell off the violin onto the ground. “Gee, something fell off the violin!�
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The little squirrel said, “I was careless and a little musical note has fallen out of the violin.�
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The next day, a little green shoot came out from under the earth. The animals surrounded it and said, “This must have grown out of the little musical note.� With its its bent body, the shoot seemed to be shy with so many strangers around.
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The little squirrel played the violin for the green shoot. Hearing the music, the little green shoot grew and grew till it became a tall tree. Soon, the tall tree yielded lots and lots of pears.
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Some of these pears covering the pear tree were large and others were small. 42
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The little squirrel said, “All of the pears can be made into violins!� 44
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The little squirrel picked the pears and sent them to the animals. The biggest one was given to the lion, the medium ones were given to the fox and the little hare, and the smallest one was given to a little beetle.
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These pears were all made into instruments. The larger ones became cellos, and smaller ones became violins. Animals no longer chased and fought each other. Instead, they learned to play their instruments every day. When the moon was in the sky, they came to hold a concert under the pine tree.
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