内容简介
There'd been a terrible mistake. Wayside School was supposed to be built with thirty classrooms one on top of the other...thirty stories tall! (The builder said he was very sorry.)
That may be why all kinds of funny things happen at Wayside SChool...especially on the thirteenth floor. You'll meet Mrs. Gorf, the meanest teacher of all, terrible Todd, who always gets sent home early, and John who can read only upside down--along with all the other kids in the crazy mix-up school that came out sideways. But you'll never guess the truth about Sammy, the new kid...or what's in store for Wayside School on Halloween!
There was a terrible mistake-Wayside School was built with one classroom on top of another, thirty stories high! (The builder said he was sorry.) Maybe that's why all kinds of funny things happened at Wayside-especially on the thirteenth floor.
作者简介
When Louis Sachar was going to school, his teachers always pronounced his name wrong. Now that he has become a popular author of children's books, teachers all over the country are pronouncing his name wrong. It should be pronounced "Sacker," like someone who tackles quarterbacks or someone who stuffs potatoes into sacks.
Mr. Sachar received a B.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley. His first book, Sideways Stories from Wayside School, was accepted for publication during his first year of law school. After receiving his law degree, he spent six years asking himself whether he wanted to be an author or a lawyer before deciding to write for children full-time. His books include Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger, There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom, Wayside School is Falling Down, Dogs Don't Tell Jokes, and the Marvin Redpost series.
Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife and their daughter, Sherre.
精彩书评
'Thirty clever, fast-moving stories that describe the bizarre events at Wayside School ... each story is refreshingly different.'
-- Guardian
精彩书摘
Chapter One
Mrs. Gorf
Mrs. Gorf had a long tongue and pointed ears. She was the meanest teacher in Wayside School. She taught the class on the thirtieth story.
"If you children are bad," she warned, "or if you answer a problem wrong, I'll wiggle my ears, stick out my tongue, and turn you into apples!" Mrs. Gorf didn't like children, but she loved apples.
Joe couldn't add. He couldn't even count. But he knew that if he answered a problem wrong, he would be turned into an apple. So he copied from John. He didn't like to cheat, but Mrs. Gorf had never taught him how to add. One day Mrs. Gorf caught Joe copying John's paper.
She wiggled her ears--first her right one, then her left--stuck out her tongue, and turned Joe into an apple. Then she turned John into an apple for letting Joe cheat.
"Hey, that isn't fair," said Todd. "John was only trying to help a friend."
Mrs. Gorf wiggled her ears--first her right one, then her left--stuck out her tongue, and turned Todd into an apple. "Does anybody else have an opinion?" she asked.
Nobody said a word.
Mrs. Gorf laughed and placed the three apples on her desk.
Stephen started to cry. He couldn't help it. He was scared.
"I do not allow crying in the classroom," said Mrs. Gorf. She wiggled her ears--first her right one, then her left--stuck out her tongue, and turned Stephen into an apple.
For the rest of the day, the children were absolutely quiet. And when they went home, they were too scared even to talk to their parents.
But Joe, John, Todd, and Stephen couldn't go home. Mrs. Gorf just left them on her desk. They were able to talk to each other, but they didn't have much to say.
Their parents were very worried. They didn't know where their children were. Nobody seemed to know.
The next day Kathy was late for school. As soon as she walked in, Mrs. Gorf turned her into an apple.
Paul sneezed during class. He was turned into an apple.
Nancy said, "God bless you!" when Paul sneezed. Mrs. Gorf wiggled her ears--first her right one, then her left--stuck out her tongue, and turned Nancy into an apple.
Terrence fell out of his chair. He was turned into an apple.
Maurecia tried to run away. She was halfway to the door as Mrs. Gorf's right ear began to wiggle. When she reached the door, Mrs. Gorf's left ear wiggled. Maurecia opened the door and had one foot outside when Mrs. Gorf stuck out her tongue. Maurecia became an apple.
Mrs. Gorf picked up the apple from the floor and put it on her desk with the others. Then a funny thing happened. Mrs. Gorf turned around and fell over a piece of chalk.
The three Erics laughed. They were turned into apples.
Mrs. Gorf had a dozen apples on her desk: Joe, John, Todd, Stephen, Kathy, Paul, Nancy, Terrence, Maurecia, and the three Erics--Eric Fry, Eric Bacon, and Eric Ovens.
Louis, the yard teacher, walked into the classroom. He had missed the children at recess. He had heard that Mrs. Gorf was a mean teacher. So he came up to investigate. He saw the twelve apples on Mrs. Gorf's desk. "I must be wrong," he thought. "She must be a good teacher if so many children bring her apples." He walked back down to the playground.
The next day a dozen more children were turned into apples. Louis, the yard teacher, came back into the room. He saw twenty-four apples on Mrs. Gorf's desk. There were only three children left in the class. ''She must be the best teacher in the world," he thought.
By the end of the week all of the children were apples. Mrs. Gorf was very happy. ''Now I can go home," she said. "I don't have to teach anymore. I won't have to walk up thirty flights of stairs ever again."
"You're not going anywhere," shouted Todd. He jumped off the desk and bopped Mrs. Gorf on the nose.
The rest of the apples followed. Mrs. Gorf fell on the floor. The apples jumped all over her.
"Stop," she shouted, "or I'll turn you into apple sauce!"
But the apples didn't stop, and Mrs. Gorf could do nothing about it.
"Turn us back into children," Todd demanded.
Mrs. Gorf had no choice. She stuck out her tongue, wiggled her ears--this time her left one first, then her right--and turned the apples back into children.
"All right, " said Maurecia, "let's go get Louis. He'll know what to do."
"No!" screamed Mrs. Gorf. "I'll turn you back into apples." She wiggled her ears--first her right one, then her left--and stuck out her tongue. But Jenny held up a mirror, and Mrs. Gorf turned herself into an apple.
The children didn't know what to do. They didn't have a teacher. Even though Mrs. Gorf was mean, they didn't think it was right to leave her as an apple. But none of them knew how to wiggle their ears.
Louis, the yard teacher, walked in. "Where's Mrs. Gorf?" he asked.
Nobody said a word.
"Boy, am I hungry," said Louis. "I don't think Mrs. Gorf would mind if I ate this apple. After all, she always has so many."
He picked up the apple, which was really Mrs. Gorf, shined it up on his shirt, and ate it.
前言/序言
《魔法罗盘的秘密》 一本关于勇气、友谊与探索未知世界的奇幻冒险小说 适合年龄:8-12岁 --- 内容梗概 在宁静的港口小镇星湾镇,生活着一个名叫埃利奥特(Elliot)的十一岁男孩。埃利奥特和镇上其他孩子一样,过着平静的暑假生活,直到一个暴风雨之夜,一个神秘的漂流瓶打破了这份宁静。瓶子里装着一张泛黄的羊皮纸地图和一把锈迹斑斑的黄铜罗盘。 这张地图指向的不是陆地,而是一片被古老传说笼罩的“迷雾海域”。更令人惊奇的是,这把罗盘并非指向北方,它的指针总是指向一个不断变化、充满活力的方向——埃利奥特称之为“心之所向”。 很快,埃利奥特发现,这把罗盘是传说中失落的“星辰导航仪”的一部分。它不仅能指引方向,还能在持有者心中描绘出未知的可能性。这份发现很快引来了不速之客:一位自称“阴影收藏家”的神秘人物,他觊觎罗盘的力量,想要利用它来消除世界上的“色彩”和“想象力”,让一切都变得秩序井然,但也死气沉沉。 为了保护这件神奇的物品,埃利奥特与他最好的朋友——爱钻研机械的莉娜(Lina)和性格大胆的邻家女孩萨姆(Sam)——踏上了一场惊心动魄的航行。他们的目标是找到地图上标记的三个“光之信标”,传说只有集齐光之信标,才能真正激活罗盘的全部力量,并解开迷雾海域背后的古老谜团。 他们的旅程充满了挑战。他们需要穿越由巨大发光水母组成的“荧光森林”,攀登被遗忘的“回声山脉”,还要智斗那些会模仿他人声音、试图迷惑探险者的“幻影鱼群”。在每段旅程中,埃利奥特必须学会信任他的朋友,并勇敢地面对自己内心的恐惧。 莉娜的机械天赋帮助他们修复了一艘老旧的帆船,赋予它穿越迷雾海域的动力;而萨姆的勇气和果断,则多次将小队从危险的境地中解救出来。但最重要的是,埃利奥特必须学会如何解读那把不断旋转的罗盘,辨别出哪些是真实的危险,哪些只是内心的不安。 在故事的高潮,他们终于到达了地图的终点——一座漂浮在云层之上的古老图书馆。在那里,他们不仅找到了关于罗盘起源的真相,还遭遇了阴影收藏家设下的终极陷阱。他们必须用勇气和智慧,而不是武力,来对抗那个试图扼杀所有奇迹的敌人。 《魔法罗盘的秘密》是一部关于成长、探索以及捍卫我们内心深处那份对未知世界的好奇心的故事。它提醒我们,真正的方向不是固定不变的,而是需要我们用自己的心去创造和追寻的。 --- 核心主题与阅读体验 1. 探索未知与发现自我 本书将引领小读者进入一个充满想象力的世界,挑战他们对“常识”的认知。埃利奥特从一个有些胆怯、依赖常规的孩子,成长为一个能够领导团队、相信直觉的探险家。罗盘不仅仅是工具,它象征着内在的指引——鼓励孩子们倾听自己内心的声音,而不是盲目跟随外界的既定路线。 2. 友谊的力量与团队合作 埃利奥特的冒险小队由三个性格迥异的孩子组成。莉娜代表逻辑与创造性思维,萨姆代表行动与无畏精神。故事强调了多样性的价值:面对不同的难题时,只有当他们结合各自的优势,互相支持,才能克服看似不可能的障碍。 3. 想象力与现实的边界 迷雾海域是一个物理上存在,但又完全由想象力构建的地方。这里的生物、环境和规则都颠覆了我们习以为常的自然规律。这鼓励小读者拥抱创意和非线性思维,理解“奇怪”和“不合逻辑”的事物往往蕴含着最深刻的真理。 4. 勇气与恐惧的对决 阴影收藏家代表着对秩序的过度追求和对想象力的压制。他是一个无形的威胁,迫使主角们面对自己最深层的恐惧——害怕失败、害怕迷失方向。最终的胜利不是通过消灭敌人,而是通过散发出的光芒和坚定的信念来化解黑暗。 --- 精妙的细节描写 星湾镇的氛围: 故事始于一个被海盐和旧木头气味笼罩的小镇,那里的一切都按部就班,孩子们的生活平静得像退潮后的沙滩,为后续的奇遇做了完美的铺垫。 奇特的地理奇观: 沉默之岛(The Isle of Mute): 一座被特殊磁场所笼罩的岛屿,所有声音进入后都会被吸收,任何言语都无法传达,探险者必须学会用肢体语言和眼神交流。 时间之河(The Chronos Current): 一条流经迷雾海域的洋流,乘坐它航行时,船上的人会经历时间加速或减慢的奇特感受,要求他们精确控制船只的航向以避免被困在某个时间点。 星光珊瑚礁: 海底的一片由能吸收星光并缓慢释放的珊瑚构成的礁石群,只有在罗盘的引导下,船只才能安全通过,否则会被礁石的能量波动撕裂。 富有想象力的角色互动: 埃利奥特和小队与一位会说古老航海术语的章鱼老船长相遇,这位船长只用谜语和诗歌来交流,考验着莉娜的解码能力。他们还必须与一群热爱收集闪亮小物件的“海怪小妖精”进行一场关于“价值”的辩论,以换取通过一片危险水域的许可。 --- 作者寄语(致小读者) “你是否曾经感觉自己的人生地图上,有一个方向是你不知道如何去标记的?也许你有一个疯狂的想法,一个别人都不相信的梦想?这趟旅程就是关于那个‘不知道’的地方。当你拿起这本故事书时,请想象你手中的罗盘指针也在为你轻轻转动。它指向的不是任何一个已知的方向,而是你心中最渴望去探索的那个未知角落。去吧,带着你的好奇心,我们一起航行。”