Sweet orange tree

Author: Cao Wenxuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-03-01
Features: "Growing Up Reading" Series, is another key series of books launched by Jiangsu Children's Publishing House after the "I'm Great" series of early childhood growth picture books. It is an excellent reading material for children aged 5-10, focusing on cultivating their interest and ability in reading. This is a newly created picture book series crafted by renowned authors, with nine touching, humorous, and fun stories specifically tailored for nine famous writers including Jin Bo, Cao Wenxuan, Qin Wenjun, Zhang Lu, Chen Danyan, and Gao Hongbo. Nine painters hand-drew illustrations for each book, and nine children actively participated as readers of the works. The series is divided into three tiers based on readers' cognitive abilities and age: first, helping children transition from kindergarten to primary school reading; second, cultivating children's literary appreciation skills; and third, enhancing their reading aesthetic abilities, providing necessary supplementary teaching for literary appreciation and writing.
Under the autumn sun, shining on a quiet field, a story unfolds beneath the largest sweet orange tree in Youmaidi, about a boy named Wanqiao and his four companions. Wanqiao is a boy with some intellectual challenges and comes from a poor family. The children of Youmaidi all hope to meet Wanqiao, as it is an opportunity to find joy. However, when they tease and play pranks on him, the kind-hearted Wanqiao never gets angry. In a way, bringing others joy by being teased himself also brings him happiness.
One day, when Wanqiao falls into a deep sleep under the sweet orange tree, his four companions once again seize the chance to find happiness. Driven by their mischievous nature, they come up with a wicked idea in unison, as if sensing each other's thoughts: to play a prank on Wanqiao while he sleeps. When Wanqiao wakes up to their satisfied laughter over the prank, he begins to tell them about his beautiful dreams involving his friends and the sweet orange tree. The intellectually challenged boy, Wanqiao, moves his mischievous friends with his sweet dreams and touches their hearts with his kind nature.
In the end, filled with guilt and unease, the friends correct their behavior in their own unique way. "Five children, all with black faces like little devils, spun around under the sweet orange tree, singing and dancing."