編輯推薦
適讀人群 :4歲及以上 The author of Protecting Marie (see boxed review, p. 73) demonstrates his versatility in this fetchingly illustrated story about a young mouse houseguest and her reluctant mouse host. Ages 4-up.
內容簡介
Wendell was spending the weekend at Sophie's house. Playing house, Wendell was the mother, the father, and the children; Sophie was the dog. Playing bakery, Wendell was the baker; Sophie got to be the sweet roll. Wendell shone his flashlight in Sophie's eyes when she tried to sleep. But when he gave her a new hairdo with shaving cream, it was the last straw, and Sophie made up a game that left Wendell speechless for a time --and won the day for friendship.
作者簡介
Kevin Henkes lives in Madison, Wisconsin. His novels include Protecting Marie and Words of Stone. Among his picture books are Owen, a 1994 Caldecott Honor Book; Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse; and Julius, the Baby of the World.In His Own Words...
"I remember drawing at a very early age. I loved it. And my parents and teachers told me I was good at it -- that made me love it all the more."
"I also loved books, and the ones I was lucky enough to own were reread, looked at over and over, and regarded with great respect. To me great respect' meant that I took them everywhere, and the ones I still own prove it. They're brimming with all the telltale signs of true love: dog-eared pages, fingerprints on my favorite illustrations, my name and address inscribed on both front and back covers in inch-high crayon lettering, and the faint smell of stale peanut butter on the bindings."
"I wondered about authors and illustrators back then -- What did they look like? Where did they live? Did they have families? How old were they? -- but I never imagined that one day I would be one myself."
"I became an author-illustrator when I was nineteen years old. I flew from my home in Racine, Wisconsin, to New York City with my portfolio, hoping to find a publisher. And magically enough Susan Hirschman at Greenwillow Books made my dream come true. My first picture book, All Alone, was published in 1987. Since then I've written and illustrated many picture books and written several novels. I like the variety of trying new ways to fill the pages between two covers. Experimenting with words and paint and ink keeps my job interesting."
"I used to live with my parents and brothers and sister and work at a card table in my bedroom. Now I live with my wife, my son, and my daughter in our own house and work at a drawing table in my own studio. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to be a real author and illustrator. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
內頁插圖
精彩書評
"A hilarious read-aloud."
——The Bulletin
"Plenty of humor, both textual and visual."
——Booklist
前言/序言
《星辰軌跡:失落文明的探秘之旅》 一個關於失落的輝煌、未解的謎團以及跨越星係的冒險的史詩故事。 故事梗概 在遙遠的未來,人類文明已經散布到銀河係的各個角落,但對於“前驅者”——一個比人類早瞭數萬年達到技術巔峰的古老文明——的瞭解卻極其有限。他們留下的隻有漂浮在宇宙深處的宏偉遺跡和一些無法破譯的符號。 故事的主角,艾麗婭·凡斯,是一位年輕的、充滿爭議的宇宙考古學傢,隸屬於“星際遺産保護局”(IHPA)。艾麗婭癡迷於尋找“前驅者”的起源地,相信那裏隱藏著能夠徹底改變人類對宇宙認知的鑰匙。她的導師,德拉科·馬爾科姆教授,一位受人尊敬但脾氣古怪的老派學者,堅信“前驅者”並非自然消亡,而是遭遇瞭一場人為的、災難性的事件。 故事開始於一個被認為毫無價值的偏遠星係邊緣——“寂靜之環”。艾麗婭通過對一個微弱的能量信號進行長期追蹤,意外發現瞭一個被時空扭麯場完美隱藏的、保存完好的前驅者空間站的殘骸。這個殘骸——命名為“奧德賽之錨”——內部充斥著未知的輻射和錯綜復雜的機械迷宮。 在對“奧德賽之錨”的初步探索中,艾麗婭和她的團隊(包括技術專傢、語言學傢和一位持懷疑態度的安保主管)發現瞭一個異常的裝置:一個能夠映射過去事件的“記憶迴廊”。當艾麗婭激活它時,她目睹瞭前驅者文明在鼎盛時期是如何運轉的,以及他們最終毀滅前的最後幾個小時的恐怖景象。 主要衝突與挑戰 1. 內部的猜忌與外部的勢力滲透: 艾麗婭的發現很快引起瞭星際間的關注。最大的威脅來自於“涅槃聯盟”(The Nirvana Pact),一個奉行極權主義的商業和軍事集團,他們不關心曆史,隻熱衷於前驅者的技術,尤其是他們的“零點能源”秘密。涅槃聯盟派遣瞭特工滲透進艾麗婭的團隊,企圖奪取“記憶迴廊”的核心數據。 2. 時間的謎團與悖論: “記憶迴廊”顯示,前驅者並非被外敵擊敗,而是他們自己啓動瞭某種自我毀滅程序——一個被稱為“大靜默”(The Great Silence)的事件。核心的謎團在於,這個事件似乎與未來某個時間點的一個“修正”行為有關。艾麗婭必須解開這個時間悖論:前驅者是預見到自己的滅亡而試圖阻止它,還是他們就是造成未來災難的根源? 3. 物理定律的邊界: 為瞭追溯“大靜默”的真相,艾麗婭需要進入前驅者留下的最後一個已知坐標——一個位於星係核心、被視為禁區的“事件視界邊緣”。這需要她修復並升級“奧德賽之錨”上的古老星際飛船“信標”。修復過程充滿瞭危險,包括應對失控的納米機器人群、穿越由引力異常構成的“鬼魂風暴”,以及破解前驅者遺留的哲學陷阱,這些陷阱旨在阻止心智不夠堅定的探險者深入。 探索的關鍵地點 1. “寂靜之環”: 一個被遺忘的、擁有奇異雙星係統的星區。這裏的恒星散發齣不穩定的光譜,使得所有現代導航係統失效,隻有依賴前驅者古老的星圖纔能安全穿越。 2. “記憶迴廊”: 位於“奧德賽之錨”的核心樞紐。它不是一個簡單的記錄設備,而是一個半有生命的數據庫,它會根據讀取者的情感狀態來調整信息的呈現方式,使得真相往往披上瞭強烈的主觀色彩。 3. “幽靈檔案館”: 艾麗婭和團隊在追逐綫索時發現的一個隱藏在小行星帶深處的自動化倉庫。這裏存放著前驅者文明的日常物品、藝術品和大量的實驗日誌,揭示瞭他們是如何從一個充滿好奇心的文明,一步步走嚮對完美和永恒的偏執。 4. “視界邊緣”: 故事的高潮發生地。這是一個接近超大質量黑洞的區域,前驅者在這裏建立瞭一個觀測站,旨在觀察宇宙的最終命運。艾麗婭在那裏找到瞭最後的記錄——關於他們如何嘗試“超越時間本身”的失敗嘗試,以及他們留給後世的警告:某些知識,即使是純粹的真理,也可能成為最強大的武器。 人物側寫 艾麗婭·凡斯 (Aelia Vance): 堅韌、直覺敏銳,但有時過於沉迷於研究而忽視瞭團隊的安全。她與前驅者的命運似乎有一種難以言喻的聯係。 卡爾·裏德 (Kael Reid): 團隊中的安保主管,前精英部隊成員。他代錶著現實和實用主義,對艾麗婭的“學術冒險”始終持保留態度,但其忠誠是毋庸置疑的。 塞拉菲娜 (Seraphina): 一位神秘的語言學傢,精通數十種失傳的象形文字。她似乎比任何人都更快地理解前驅者的思維模式,甚至開始使用他們的方式進行思考,這讓她自己也感到恐懼。 指揮官維剋斯 (Commander Vex): 涅槃聯盟派來的首席特工,一位冷酷無情的戰術大師。他相信力量是唯一的真理,並視艾麗婭的發現為他晉升的階梯。 主題深度 《星辰軌跡》探討瞭知識的代價、文明的周期性衰落,以及人類在麵對無限宇宙時,對“永恒”的渴望所産生的盲目性。它質疑瞭進步的定義:一個文明是否因為技術過於先進而失去瞭人性中最基本的同理心?當探尋終極真理成為唯一的驅動力時,所付齣的道德成本是否值得? 故事的結尾並非提供瞭一個簡單的答案,而是留下瞭一個更深刻的疑問:艾麗婭成功阻止瞭“修正”的發生,但她是否僅僅是取代瞭前驅者,成為瞭下一輪宇宙循環的開端? 準備好,跟隨艾麗婭深入那些被時間遺忘的角落,揭開宇宙中最宏大、最危險的秘密。