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適讀人群 :5歲及以上 Winner of the Caldecott Award.
內容簡介
In this astonishingly beautiful and imaginatively illustrated picture book, Mosquito tells Iguana a tall tale that sets off a chain reaction that ends in jungle disaster. Iguana is so upset at being told such nonsense that he plugs his ears. So, of course, when Python says good morning, Iguana doesn't hear and ignores him altogether. Python suspects Iguana is plotting mischief against him, so he hides in a rabbit hole - which terrifies Rabbit. And so this amusing African legend goes, until finally the chain of mishaps reaches Mother Owl, who reacts by refusing to hoot and wake in the sun. Eventually all is resolved, and jungle life returns to normal. But although Mosquito learns her lesson and gives up telling tall tales, she adopts a worse habit. Leo and Diane Dillon's striking full-color illustrations complement and enlarge upon the tale, perfectly capturing the expansive African imagination.
作者簡介
Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen (6 June 1911 – 11 May 2000), best known by the name Verna Aardema, was an American author of children's books.
Born in New Era, Michigan she graduated from Michigan State University with a B.A. of Journalism in 1934. She worked as a grade school teacher from 1934 to 1973 and became a correspondent for the Muskegon Chronicle in 1951, which lasted until 1972, the year before she retired from teaching elementary school.
From the time she was a small girl, she knew that she would be a writer. She spent every free second reading anything she could get her hands on. In her Senior Year at Michigan State she won three writing contests, though not the first, they were the most influential in her decision to continue to follow her childhood dream. She first considered writing for children when her daughter refused to eat until she'd heard one of her mother's stories. These bribes were often set in the places that she had been reading about recently, and as she became more and more interested in Africa, they began to be set there more frequently.
In 1960 she published her first set of stories, Tales from the Story Hat which were very successful, and so she continued to adapt traditional tales and folklore from distant cultures, (usually from Africa and Mexico) to expose young children to the vast variety of human expression.
Her book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears (1975), illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon, received the Caldecott Medal in 1976 and the Brooklyn Art Books for Children Award in 1977. Who's in Rabbit's House? 1977 was the 1977 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award winner in 1978. Aardema received the Children's Reading Round Table Award in 1981, and several of her works have been selected as Notable Books by the American Library Association. Her Oh Kojo! How Could You! won the 1984 Parents' Choice Award for Literature.
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前言/序言
叢林深處的秘密:關於智慧、友誼與自然的迴響 《叢林深處的秘密:關於智慧、友誼與自然的迴響》 作者: 阿瑪拉·迪奧普 插畫: 塞巴斯蒂安·科瓦奇 適閤年齡: 5歲及以上 裝幀: 精裝 --- 序章:陽光下的低語 在廣袤無垠的非洲大地上,有一片被古老榕樹和參天猴麵包樹覆蓋的森林,我們稱之為“恩德爾之境”。恩德爾不僅是野生動物的傢園,更是時間靜止、故事流淌的地方。在這裏,每一片葉子的顫動都可能是一個未解的謎團,每一條河流的蜿蜒都可能蘊含著先祖的智慧。 這本故事集,收錄瞭來自恩德爾之境深處,流傳已久的七則獨立而又相互關聯的民間傳說。它們並非僅僅是講給孩子們聽的睡前故事,更是對生命、秩序、以及人與自然和諧共存哲學的一種溫柔提醒。 第一章:獨眼巨象的睏境與象群的團結 故事的開端,我們跟隨體型龐大卻心地善良的獨眼巨象——“卡拉姆”展開敘述。卡拉姆因為齣生時的一場意外而失去瞭一隻眼睛,這使他在象群中感到自卑和格格不入。其他強壯的公象總是嘲笑他的視綫盲區,認為他無法勝任保衛象群的重任。 然而,旱季來臨,水源枯竭,象群陷入絕境。經驗豐富的族長也束手無策。卡拉姆憑藉著他敏銳的聽覺和對氣味的獨特感知力,他開始留意那些被視力健全的同伴們忽略的細微綫索——泥土深處微妙的濕潤波動,以及遠方地鼠挖掘時發齣的極輕微的摩擦聲。 故事詳細描繪瞭卡拉姆如何鼓起勇氣,帶領一小部分持懷疑態度的年輕母象,深入一片危機四伏的峽榖。他必須依靠側耳傾聽,去判斷哪些石頭是鬆動的,哪些灌木叢後潛伏著危險。當他們最終發現一個隱藏在巨石下的古老地下泉眼時,整個象群的生命得以延續。 這個故事的核心,在於展示瞭“缺陷”往往伴隨著“超常天賦”的真理。它探討瞭包容的意義,以及真正的領導力並非源於完美無瑕的外錶,而是源於對群體福祉的無私奉獻。插畫師用深沉的藍色和赭石色,描繪瞭乾裂的土地和卡拉姆眼中閃爍的堅定光芒。 第二章:會織夢的蜘蛛與月亮的契約 在恩德爾的夜空中,月亮是夜晚的主宰。但有一個流傳甚廣的說法:月亮之所以能保持圓滿和寜靜,是因為它與一位名叫“阿娜西”的金色小蜘蛛簽訂瞭古老的契約。 阿娜西並非普通的蜘蛛,她織齣的網不是用來捕食,而是用來“收集”和“編織”人類和動物在白日裏遺失的、細碎的情感碎片——那些未說齣口的安慰、一閃而過的靈感、被壓抑的喜悅。 故事講述瞭年輕的獵人“奇姆巴”因為一次魯莽的決定,無意中破壞瞭阿娜西編織瞭一整夜的“希望之網”,導緻第二天清晨,整個村莊的人都陷入瞭一種空洞的、缺乏動力的狀態。 奇姆巴必須在太陽落山前,重新贏得阿娜西的信任。他沒有帶任何食物或祭品,而是帶上瞭他最珍貴的記憶:一串他親手打磨的、象徵著耐心與專注的琥珀珠。他學會瞭如何安靜地觀察,如何用細小的動作錶達敬意。最終,阿娜西接受瞭他的道歉,並嚮他展示瞭如何用清晨的露水作為“綫材”,重新修復那張維係著世界情緒平衡的絲網。 這個章節探討瞭“無形之物”的價值,提醒讀者,尊重那些看不見、摸不著卻支撐著我們日常精神世界的微小努力。 第三章:河流的脾氣與三個問路人的智慧 恩德爾的生命綫——“賽法河”,以其變幻莫測的脾氣而聞名。它有時溫順如羊羔,滋養兩岸;有時又暴躁如雄獅,吞噬一切。 故事聚焦於三位前往鄰村求醫的旅人。他們必須渡過賽法河,但河水正處於不穩定的半泛濫狀態。 第一位旅人, 是位力大無窮的健壯男子,他試圖用蠻力推開河中的漂浮木,結果被湍急的水流衝倒,險些喪命。 第二位旅人, 是位聰慧的商人,他試圖用昂貴的鹽和皮革賄賂河邊的守護神靈,但神靈並不垂青物質。 第三位旅人, 是一位沉默寡言的草藥師,他沒有試圖徵服或賄賂河流。他隻是蹲在岸邊,用樹枝輕輕觸碰水流,聆聽水聲,感受水流的節奏。他發現,河流並非隨意流動,而是遵循著一種特定的“呼吸法”——先聚力,後釋放。草藥師模仿這種節奏,找到瞭一段水流相對平穩的淺灘,安然渡過。 草藥師的成功揭示瞭一個深刻的道理:麵對自然界強大的力量時,最有效的方法不是對抗,而是理解、適應,並順應其內在的規律。這部分充滿瞭對非洲地理和水文現象的細膩觀察。 第四章:失落的色彩與調色師的旅程 在恩德爾的傳說中,所有動物和植物的色彩並非生來如此,而是由一位名叫“姆布拉”的古老調色師調配齣來的。姆布拉居住在瀑布後的洞穴裏,他的顔料來源於罕見的礦石和清晨的第一滴露水。 故事講述瞭森林裏所有的“紅色”突然消失瞭。沒有瞭紅色的漿果、紅色的喙、甚至連日落都變得灰濛濛一片。動物們因為失去瞭警示色和求偶色而陷入恐慌。 姆布拉解釋說,紅色顔料的“源泉之石”因為過度開采,已經失去瞭它的“熱情”。為瞭恢復紅色,姆布拉必須踏上一段漫長而艱辛的旅程,去尋找一種“可以燃燒的果實”來重新激活源泉之石。 這段旅程是一場關於“付齣”的教育。姆布拉需要每一種動物犧牲一點點它最寶貴的東西來換取前行的路標:猴子們貢獻瞭它們最甜的蜂蜜來軟化荊棘,長頸鹿們貢獻瞭它們最高的視野來指示方嚮。當最終紅色重新噴湧而齣時,整個森林煥發齣瞭比以往更加絢爛的光彩,因為這些色彩是集體的犧牲換來的。 尾聲:篝火旁的承諾 當夜幕降臨,恩德爾之境的居民們聚集在巨大的猴麵包樹下,圍著篝火。他們分享著卡拉姆的勇敢、阿娜西的魔法、草藥師的智慧,以及姆布拉的奉獻。 這些故事提醒著每一個聽眾: 恩德爾的和諧不是偶然,而是智慧和相互尊重的纍積。 這本書的插畫風格融閤瞭傳統的西非幾何圖案與細膩的自然主義描繪,色彩飽和度高,筆觸充滿力量感,旨在激發孩子們對未知世界的探索欲望,並培養他們對環境中微小生命和自然規律的敬畏之心。它是一份獻給所有嚮往自然深處、珍視古老教誨的讀者的禮物。