Dreams come true! Let's go explore the construction site together!
"Sente pensando, imagina sabendo. / Feel while thinking, imagine while knowing." These words were seen at the former residence of Portuguese poet and children's author Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen (today the Natural History and Science Museum of Porto). They constantly remind me, as an adult, to maintain an imaginative and humble approach to knowledge.
"How do you build a subway tunnel in soft, water-saturated lakebed soil?" Sharing civil engineering knowledge with young children requires imagination to solve major engineering challenges.
1.
The first time I received "Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover," I kept thinking about a story my civil engineering classmate shared with us last year about the construction of the Taipei Metro:
Building a river-crossing tunnel is extremely difficult: when the Taipei Metro needed to construct a section of a river-crossing tunnel, the abundant groundwater and soft soil presented a huge bottleneck for the engineers. One civil engineer, while eating shaved ice, came up with a solution that allowed the project to proceed. And that was... (Readers, guess first! I've put the answer in the comments section of our Facebook page. I think it's so cute, haha! It really sparked my interest in civil engineering!)
"Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover" by Shingo Nagasaki
2.
My initial entry into the world of picture books was driven by a deep love for their poetic quality that transcends language. But sometimes, when I encounter a work like this, I feel like I can finally have a good conversation with my engineering-minded child at home (otherwise, I always have the illusion that we are drifting apart).
Getting a civil engineering-themed picture book holds significant personal meaning for me. "Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover" can actually break down knowledge barriers and allow readers to enter another discipline. Perhaps, a child's worldview should inherently be free of these frameworks, allowing children to enjoy stories with ease and grace.
"Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover" by Shingo Nagasaki
3.
The team undertaking the project in "Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover" should be considerate of the users, and love the earth and nature. Mole Construction's mission is to repair the tilted squirrel treehouse, and their engineering is aimed at making the squirrels' home "grow" better and stronger.
4.
Reading picture books is sometimes a reminder and a restoration for me: I, too, could once be passionate about engineering science! Of course, it also becomes an urban observation lens for child readers. These are all gifts that reading brings.
In "Mole Construction Takes On a Mission: The Squirrel Treehouse Makeover," besides the captivating construction vehicles, one can also see how the construction team focuses on "user needs," collaborating seamlessly in each step to complete an "ideal home." For children reading picture books, the most enjoyable thing is to follow the "feasible path," "habitable dwelling" in the book, and believe that they "can participate in this action." Making civil engineering knowledge full of imagination is perhaps something only picture books can achieve. Engineers who maintain their childhood imagination will surely come up with all sorts of good solutions in their work when they grow up, making difficulties easily resolvable. Little engineers, let's go on a mission!