内容简介
A lonely New York City resident finds companionship and good cheer at the Westway Cafe where dreams come true.
作者简介
As a child in West Virginia, Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant devoured comic books and paperback romances. She never dreamed of being a writer until she took one college English class. Then she became "hooked on great writing...I didn't know about this part of me until I went to college—didn't know that I loved beautiful stories." One night, inspired by the Southern writer, James Agee, she wrote her first picture book, When I Was Young in the Mountains, which was an instant success. Since then, she's written more than 60 children's books and received numerous awards, including the Newbery and the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award. With simplicity and grace, Rylant's books explore such subjects as aging, the trials of spirituality, the loss of a loved one, and the spirit and integrity of family life with all its joys and hardships. Rylant has said, "Books alter our hearts." Her books are a testament to this promise. Rylant lives in the Pacific Northwest.
精彩书评
"Grade 3 Up-- Solomon Singer is a middle-aged man who lives in a hotel for men in New York City. One night his solitary wanderings take him into a restaurant where he reads these words on the menu: ``The Westway Cafe -- where all your dreams come true. '' A soft-voiced waiter (metaphorically named Angel) welcomes him and invites him back. Each night Singer returns, ordering food and, silently, ordering his wishes for the things he remembers from an Indiana boyhood. Rylant has sketched a spare portrait, in flawless, graceful prose, of a man weighted down by hopelessness. Readers do not know the details of his circumstances, but they will feel his forlornness acutely. There is a symbolic and ambiguous quality to this book, which, despite its uplifting ending, is heightened by the illustrations. Catalanotto's signature watercolors have never been more affecting. He captures the smudgy nighttime murkiness of urban streets illuminated by artificial lights that float upward to become stars and bleed downward onto wet pavements to become a vision of midwestern wheat fields. This can be read as a familiar allegory in which the mysterious stranger represents the wish giver--the angel. It also works as a straightforward reminder that, in the face of staggering social problems, a smile in chance encounters has power. Not for the average story-hour crowd, but this title will be of great value to libraries in which whole language demands new creative uses for picture books for older readers, writers, and thinkers."
--Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
"Old Solomon lives alone in a dreary hotel on N.Y.C.'s Upper West Side, longing for things he can't have--a balcony, a picture window to see the birds, the freedom to paint his wall purple. Not loving where he lives, he wanders the streets, where he finds the Westway Cafe. He likes the name--it reminds him of his native Indiana; he responds to a friendly waiter's smile (whose name turns out to be Angel); and, pursuing his own dreams, he imagines ordering the things he yearns for along with the tomato soup. In time, this tenuous beginning transforms Solomon's outlook: he begins to enjoy the city lights, feels friendlier, and makes at least one dream come true by secretly adopting a cat. This tender vignette, narrated with eloquent simplicity, has appeal for almost any age; Catalanotto's empathetic watercolors extend (but certainly don't limit) the range to younger children. Using telling details and an evanescent blend of imagination and reality, as he did so effectively for Lyon's Cecil's Story (1991), he poignantly evokes Solomon Singer's loneliness and poverty and the way one warm human contact changes him. A very special union of text and art in a memorable portrait of one lost old man who symbolizes many more."
--Kirkus Reviews
前言/序言
好的,这是一部关于探险、友谊与成长的故事,暂定名为《星辰之下的秘密航程》。 《星辰之下的秘密航程》 卷首语: “有些旅程,并非为了抵达某个目的地,而是为了遇见未知的自己,以及在浩瀚宇宙中,那些与你并肩而行的灵魂。” 故事背景: 故事发生在一个名为“伊瑟利亚”的古老大陆上。伊瑟利亚并非我们熟知的世界,它被巨大的、漂浮在空中的“永恒之岛”所环绕,这些岛屿由一种奇异的、会发光的矿石支撑,自古以来就被认为是神祇的居所。大陆的中心是一片广阔无垠、被称为“低语之海”的迷雾森林,据说森林深处隐藏着失落文明“奥术之光”的遗迹。 伊瑟利亚的文明建立在对天文的深刻理解之上。当地人相信,星辰的运行不仅预示着天气和收成,更记录着历史的兴衰与个体的命运。社会阶层森严,上层阶级居住在被保护的“高地城邦”,掌控着稀有的“光辉晶石”能源;而大多数人则生活在森林边缘的村落,依靠简朴的农业和捕猎为生。 主要人物群像: 艾洛拉(Elara): 十六岁的少女,来自边缘的“风语村”。她拥有罕见的“共鸣之耳”,能听到自然界中微弱的能量波动——森林的呼吸、矿石的低语,甚至遥远星辰的震颤。她性格坚韧,对高地城邦的刻板秩序心存疑虑。她的梦想是找到传说中能与星辰直接沟通的“天穹之塔”。 凯伦(Kaelen): 一位神秘的流浪制图师,年龄约二十出头。他拥有一套精密的、由黄铜和水晶构成的测绘工具,据说这些工具是失落文明的遗物。凯伦表面上冷漠寡言,沉迷于绘制那些从未被世人踏足的地图,但内心深处隐藏着一个重大的秘密:他正在追寻一幅残缺的星图,那星图指向的,是他被放逐的故乡。 奥利安(Orion): 一只体型巨大的、拥有银色羽毛的“驭风隼”。它并非普通的鸟类,而是被认为是伊瑟利亚古老血脉的守护者。奥利安能与艾洛拉进行心灵感应,并引领她穿越危险的气流。它肩负着一个古老的预言——关于两个世界交汇的时刻。 萨拉斯(Sarthas): 高地城邦“苍穹之冠”的首席学者,也是维护现有秩序的实际掌权者。他是一位极具魅力的演说家,但其统治手段严苛,尤其反对任何对“星辰教义”提出质疑的行为。他似乎对低语之海的秘密有着非同寻常的了解,并秘密地囤积着强大的能量源。 故事梗概: 故事始于一场突如其来的“黯星事件”。夜空中,最亮的那颗指引航向的“守护星”突然黯淡,随之而来的是低语之海深处能量的剧烈波动,导致风语村的生命之源——一块古老的导能石——开始衰竭。 艾洛拉意识到,这不仅仅是自然现象,而是某种更深层的失衡。她冒险进入了被严禁踏足的低语之海,在那里,她与正在绘制神秘航道的凯伦不期而遇。 凯伦起初对艾洛拉的闯入充满警惕,但艾洛拉能“听见”凯伦测绘工具中传出的微弱“共鸣”,这证明了她非同寻常的能力。两人发现,黯星事件与凯伦正在寻找的那张残缺星图,以及传说中控制永恒之岛浮力的“核心水晶”,有着千丝万缕的联系。 主要情节推进: 1. 迷雾森林的考验: 艾洛拉和凯伦必须穿越低语之海中变幻莫测的迷雾,应对会模仿人声的“回音藤蔓”和依靠生物电生存的“潜行兽群”。在此过程中,艾洛拉学会了如何利用自己的共鸣能力来平息和引导周围的自然能量,而凯伦则向她展示了如何利用天体位置来导航,即使在迷雾中也能保持方向感。他们的友谊在共同面对危险时迅速升温。 2. 古老遗迹的发现: 两人根据星图的残片,找到了一处被藤蔓覆盖的“奥术之光”遗迹。在遗迹深处,他们发现了记载着伊瑟利亚历史真相的壁画。壁画揭示:永恒之岛的漂浮并非神迹,而是一种精密的能量平衡。而萨拉斯所在的“苍穹之冠”,正在秘密地抽取核心水晶的能量以巩固其高地的特权,这正是导致守护星黯淡和低语之海动荡的根源。 3. 驭风隼的引导与背叛的阴影: 奥利安引导他们飞越了危险的“雷鸣峡谷”,前往“天穹之塔”——一个位于一座独立漂浮岛屿上的古老观测站。在塔中,他们找到了一枚可以“重置”能量平衡的古代信标。然而,就在他们准备激活信标时,萨拉斯的追兵赶到。萨拉斯的目的并非阻止他们拯救世界,而是要夺取信标,将其用于巩固他对“核心水晶”的绝对控制,从而彻底奴役低地人民。 4. 星辰下的对决与抉择: 在天穹之塔的顶端,一场力量与信念的较量展开。萨拉斯利用他囤积的光辉晶石制造出强大的能量屏障。艾洛拉必须依靠她的“共鸣之耳”,找到能量屏障中与外界环境频率不协调的“裂缝”。凯伦则利用他的测绘知识,预测了萨拉斯能量爆发的“时间窗口”。最终,艾洛拉没有选择摧毁萨拉斯,而是将信标连接到奥利安身上,通过共鸣之力,将核心水晶的能量释放回了整个伊瑟利亚的自然循环中。 结局与启示: 核心水晶的能量得以重新平衡,守护星重焕光芒,低语之海的迷雾开始散去,露出广阔的、充满生机的森林。萨拉斯的力量根基被动摇,但他并未被彻底击败,留下了未来冲突的伏笔。 艾洛拉和凯伦没有选择回到固定的城邦,而是决定继续他们的旅程。他们意识到,真正的秩序并非由少数人制定的教条所维系,而是由万物间的和谐共存所构成。他们将继续绘制伊瑟利亚的真实地图,探索那些未被记录的星辰轨迹,成为新时代探险家与守护者。他们的故事,是关于倾听微弱之声,以及相信即使是最微小的个体,也能汇聚成改变世界的巨大力量。 主题探讨: 倾听的力量: 强调感知世界原始脉搏的重要性,而非被既有的教条所束缚。 知识的界限: 探讨科学与神秘力量的交汇点,以及知识被权力滥用的危险。 友谊与信任: 两个背景迥异的年轻人如何因共同的目标和相互的尊重而紧密结合。 适合读者: 喜爱复杂世界观构建、注重角色内心成长的青少年读者,以及对天文学和失落文明主题感兴趣的探险爱好者。本书旨在激发读者对自然界更深层次的好奇心。