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適讀人群 :4-8歲 In this slender but engaging volume, Caldecott Medalist Simont (A Tree Is Nice) retells and illustrates a true story told to him by a friend. Picnicking in the country, a family spies a friendly dog. The brother and sister play with him and even name him, but their parents will not let them take Willy back to their city home. "He must belong to somebody," their mother explains, "and they would miss him." Returning to the same spot the following weekend, they once again see Willy, this time being chased by a dog warden who deems him a stray: "He has no collar. He has no leash." In the tale's most endearing scene, the boy removes his belt and the girl her hair ribbon, which they identify to the warden as Willy's collar and leash: "His name is Willy, and he belongs to us." Simont's art and narrative play off each other strategically, together imparting the tale's humor and tenderness. The final scenes are simple gems of understatement and wit. "They took Willy home" accompanies a full-bleed picture of the children energetically and messily bathing the dog; "And after that... they introduced him to the neighborhood, where he met some very interesting dogs" captions a busy scene of a park full of pooches.
內容簡介
When a little dog appears at a family picnic, the girl and boy play with him all afternoon, and they name him Willy. At day's end they say good-bye. But the dog has won their hearts and stays on their minds.
The following Saturday the family returns to the picnic grounds to look for Willy, but they are not alone -- the dogcatcher is looking for him, too...
Caldecott Medalist Marc Simont's heartwarming tale of a stray dog who finds a home is told with appealing simplicity and grace.
作者簡介
Marc Simont was born in 1915 in Paris. His parents were from the Catalonia region of Spain, and his childhood was spent in France, Spain, and the United States. Encouraged by his father, Joseph Simont, an artist and staff illustrator for the magazine L'Illustration, Marc Simont drew from a young age. Though he later attended art school in Paris and New York, he considers his father to have been his greatest teacher.
When he was nineteen, Mr. Simont settled in America permanently, determined to support himself as an artist. His first illustrations for a children's book appeared in 1939. Since then, Mr. Simont has illustrated nearly a hundred books, working with authors as diverse as Margaret Wise Brown and James Thurber. He won a Caldecott Honor in 1950 for illustrating Ruth Krauss's The Happy Day, and in in 1957 he was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his pictures in A Tree is Nice, by Janice May Udry.
Internationally acclaimed for its grace, humor, and beauty, Marc Simont's art is in collections as far afield at the Kijo Picture Book Museum in Japan, but the honor he holds most dear is having been chosen as the 1997 Illustrator of the Year in his native Catalonia. Mr. Simont and his wife have one grown son, two dogs and a cat. They live in West Cornwall, Connecticut. Marc Simont's newest book is The Stray Dog.
精彩書評
"...The Stray Dog is a showcase for Simont's considerable artistic talent."
-- School Library Journal
"...Simont tells a picture-book story of a happy family and a stray."
-- Booklist
"Really splendid artwork...pure Simont...The sentiments are equally direct and elegant, with generosity and affection….A winner."
-- Kirkus Reviews
"Simont's art and narrative play off each other strategically, together imparting the tale's humor and tenderness...A charmer."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Simont's art possesses its usual deceptive ease and friendly watercolor fluidity... will have pooch-loving kids investigating every park..."
-- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This picture book has all the earmarks of a classic...Overarching shape, knowledge of audience, small details--Simont gets it all right."
-- The Horn Book
前言/序言
遠方的呼喚:一本關於勇氣、友誼與成長的繪本 書名: 星光下的秘密旅程 目標讀者: 5-9歲兒童,及喜愛溫馨故事的成人 頁數: 48頁,全彩精印 裝幀: 硬殼精裝,附贈獨傢藝術明信片一套 --- 故事梗概: 在一個被濃密森林環繞的小村莊裏,生活著一個名叫艾拉的小女孩。艾拉的心思細膩而敏感,她最喜歡做的事情是收集散落在森林邊緣的閃亮石頭,並想象它們是來自遙遠星辰的信物。村子裏的人們習慣瞭日復一日的寜靜生活,幾乎忘記瞭森林深處還隱藏著古老的傳說——每當夜空中最亮的那顆星辰發齣奇異的藍光時,通往“低語峽榖”的隱秘之門就會短暫開啓。 故事的開篇,艾拉發現瞭一枚與眾不同的石頭,它不僅閃爍著微弱的藍光,觸感還帶著一絲暖意。當天夜裏,她被一陣悠揚卻陌生的樂聲吸引,循著聲音,她來到瞭村子邊緣那棵古老的橡樹下。在那裏,她遇到瞭一位與眾不同的訪客——一隻會說話的夜鶯,名叫“織羽”。 織羽告訴艾拉,它來自遙遠的南方,它的族群世代守護著一片即將枯竭的“月光花田”。這種花朵是維持夜鶯王國光芒和歌聲的源泉。為瞭拯救月光花田,織羽需要找到傳說中的“晨露之泉”,而通往泉眼的路,隻有擁有“純淨之心”的孩子纔能找到。 艾拉雖然膽小,但麵對需要幫助的朋友,她的勇氣被激發瞭齣來。她決定和織羽一起踏上這段未知的旅程。 第一段旅程:迷霧森林的考驗 她們的第一個挑戰是穿越“迷霧森林”。這片森林以其變幻莫測的濃霧而聞名,一旦進入,方嚮感便會完全失效。村裏的老人們警告說,森林裏住著會模仿人聲的“幻影精靈”,它們會用親人的聲音誘惑旅人偏離正軌。 在森林中,艾拉聽到瞭母親呼喚她迴傢的聲音,她幾乎就要放下手中的背包,轉身跑去。就在這時,織羽用它清脆的歌聲提醒她:“艾拉,記住你的目標,真正的愛不會讓你迷失,而是指引你前行。”艾拉深吸一口氣,明白瞭真正的呼喚是內在的堅定,而非外在的誘惑。她緊緊握住織羽送給她的第一件信物——一塊能夠發齣微弱穩定光芒的琥珀,藉著這光芒,她成功辨認齣瞭森林中幾株特殊的發光苔蘚,那是織羽根據古老地圖上標注的獨特路徑。 第二段旅程:寂靜之河的難題 穿過森林,她們來到瞭“寂靜之河”。這條河水流湍急,河麵上漂浮著各種巨大的、像玻璃一樣的碎片,那是古代冰川融化留下的遺跡,非常鋒利,無法徒步通過。更令人不安的是,河岸邊棲息著一群不說話的生物——“守望者”。它們體型龐大,眼神犀利,似乎在等待著什麼。 艾拉意識到,這裏考驗的不是力量,而是溝通。她記得母親教過她,即使語言不通,真誠的眼神和姿態也能傳達意圖。艾拉沒有攜帶任何食物,但她拿齣瞭自己最寶貴的財富——她收集的那些閃亮的石頭。她小心翼翼地將石頭排列在河岸邊,擺成瞭織羽教給她的、代錶“感謝與請求”的古老圖案。 守望者們被這些閃爍的光芒吸引,它們靜靜地觀察瞭很久。終於,領頭的守望者輕輕地用鼻子觸碰瞭艾拉的手心。下一刻,它用龐大的身軀輕輕推倒瞭一棵枯死的巨木,橫跨在河麵上,形成瞭一座臨時的、卻異常穩固的橋梁。 第三段旅程:通往晨露之泉的抉擇 在河的另一端,她們終於看到瞭“低語峽榖”的入口。峽榖的入口處立著一塊巨大的石碑,上麵刻著最後的指引:“唯有懂得‘給予’的人,方能觸及‘泉源’。” 進入峽榖後,環境變得異常乾燥和炎熱。月光花田的景象觸目驚心,那些美麗的生靈正變得透明而虛弱。晨露之泉就在不遠處,但在泉眼周圍,生長著一圈巨大的、看起來十分誘人的“甜晶果”。這些果子散發著濃鬱的香氣,能夠瞬間解除所有的疲憊和飢餓。 織羽激動地指著泉水說:“艾拉,泉水就在那裏,快去!” 艾拉已經精疲力盡,她感覺自己的雙腿像灌瞭鉛一樣沉重,那誘人的甜晶果似乎在對她招手。她隻要吃下一顆,就能獲得瞬間的能量繼續前行。然而,她看到瞭泉水邊一株最虛弱的月光花,它正努力地舒展著它幾乎透明的花瓣,似乎在祈求著什麼。 艾拉想起瞭旅途中她所經曆的一切:森林中的堅定、河流上的真誠。她明白,真正的“給予”不是施捨,而是懂得剋製自己的欲望,將最好的留給更需要的人。她強忍住對甜晶果的渴望,用帶來的最後一個乾淨的陶罐,小心翼翼地舀滿瞭清澈的晨露之泉。 當她捧著陶罐走嚮月光花田時,奇跡發生瞭。那些本來已經乾涸的花朵,在晨露的滋潤下,瞬間恢復瞭生機,綻放齣比以往更加耀眼的光芒。 尾聲:迴傢的路 月光花田得救瞭。織羽和它的族群載歌載舞地感謝艾拉。它們用最珍貴的月光花花瓣為艾拉編織瞭一條閃耀的圍巾,作為永恒的友誼信物。 當艾拉帶著圍巾和織羽的歌聲迴到村莊時,她發現自己已經不再是那個隻敢在森林邊緣徘徊的小女孩瞭。她學會瞭傾聽、理解和奉獻。村裏的人們發現艾拉的眼神變得更加明亮,她的講述充滿瞭遠方的色彩和冒險的勇氣。 從那天起,艾拉和織羽成為瞭永遠的朋友。每當夜空中那顆藍色的星辰閃爍時,艾拉就會戴上那條月光圍巾,她知道,真正的力量並非來自魔法,而是來自一顆願意為他人付齣、並敢於跨齣第一步的勇敢之心。 --- 本書特色與教育意義: 主題深度探討: 本書巧妙地避開瞭傳統的“打敗怪獸”模式,專注於內在品質的塑造。它探討瞭同理心、非言語溝通的重要性、延遲滿足(剋製欲望)以及勇氣的真正來源(源於愛與責任,而非魯莽)。 藝術設計亮點: 1. 光影運用: 插畫師運用瞭高對比度的光影效果。迷霧森林部分采用冷灰調和模糊的綫條,突齣迷失感;而月光花田則采用飽和度極高的藍、紫、銀色係,營造齣夢幻而神聖的氛圍。 2. 細節引導: 書中多處設置瞭“尋寶”式的細節,如艾拉收集的琥珀、她在河岸擺放的石頭陣,鼓勵小讀者仔細觀察畫麵,培養觀察力。 3. 角色造型: 織羽的造型靈感來源於歐洲傳說中的“信使鳥”,其羽毛顔色會隨著情緒變化,具有極高的藝術觀賞價值。 特彆附贈: 友誼書簽: 一張印有艾拉和織羽剪影的鏤空書簽,鏤空部分可以完美映襯在書頁的特定插畫上,形成“秘密場景”。 “我的勇氣地圖”內頁: 書的最後幾頁設計成瞭空白的“冒險地圖”,鼓勵孩子畫齣自己剋服睏難的經曆,將故事的意義延伸到現實生活中。 適閤的親子共讀點: 本書非常適閤親子共讀,父母可以引導孩子討論以下問題: 如果你是艾拉,你會選擇吃下甜晶果嗎?為什麼? 你認為“幻影精靈”模仿的聲音代錶瞭生活中的哪些誘惑? 我們如何纔能像艾拉一樣,在不說話的情況下,嚮彆人錶達我們的善意? 《星光下的秘密旅程》不僅是一次視覺的盛宴,更是一次關於如何成為一個更完整、更勇敢的人的溫柔引導。它告訴孩子們,即使是最微小的個體,也能通過善良和堅持,完成影響整個世界的壯舉。