内容简介
Don Freeman's classic character, Corduroy, is even more popular today then he was when he first came on the scene over thirty years ago. These favorite titles are ready for another generation of children to love.
作者简介
Don Freeman was born in San Diego, California, in 1908. At an early age, he received a trumpet as a gift from his father. He practiced obsessively and eventually joined a California danceband. After graduating from high school, he ventured to New York City to study art under the tutelage of Joan Sloan and Harry Wickey at the Art Students' League. He managed to support himself throughout his schooling by playing his trumpet evenings, in nightclubs and at weddings. Gradually, he eased into making a living sketching impressions of Broadway shows for The New York Times and The Herald Tribune. This shift was helped along, in no small part, by a rather heartbreaking incident; he lost his trumpet. One evening, he was so engrossed in sketching people on the subway, he simply forgot it was sitting on the seat beside him. This new career turned out to be a near-perfect fit for Don, though, as he had always loved the theater. He was introduced to the world of Childrens' Literature, when William Saroyan asked him to illustrate several books. Soon after, he began to write and illustrate his own books, a career he settled into comfortably and happily. Through his writing, he was able to create his own theater: "I love the flow of turning the pages, the suspense of what's next. Ideas just come at me and after me. It's all so natural. I work all the time, long into the night, and it's such a pleasure. I don't know when the time ends. I've never been happier in my life!" Don died in 1978, after a long and successful career. He created many beloved characters in his lifetime, perhaps the most beloved among them a stuffed, overall-wearing bear, named Corduroy. Don Freeman was the author and illustrator of many popular books for children, including Corduroy, A Pocket for Corduroy, and the Caldecott Honor Book Fly High, Fly Low. For more information about Don Freeman, please visit: www.donfreeman.info
精彩书评
Have you ever dreamed of being locked in a department store at night? The endearing story of Corduroy paints a picture of the adventures that might unfold (for a teddy bear at least) in such a situation. When all the shoppers have gone home for the night, Corduroy climbs down from the shelf to look for his missing button. It's a brave new world! He accidentally gets on an elevator that he thinks must be a mountain and sees the furniture section that he thinks must be a palace. He tries to pull a button off the mattress, but he ends up falling off the bed and knocking over a lamp. The night watchman hears the crash, finds Corduroy, and puts him back on the shelf downstairs. The next morning, he finds that it's his lucky day! A little girl buys him with money she saved in her piggy bank and takes him home to her room. Corduroy decides that this must be home and that Lisa must be his friend. Youngsters will never get tired of this toy-comes-alive tale with a happy ending, so you may also want to seek out Dan Freeman's next creation, A Pocket for Corduroy. (Ages 3 to 8) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. A winning, completely childlike picture book in which a stuffed bear waiting hopefully in a toy department finds a home with a little black girl. Endearing, brightly colored pictures. -- Booklist --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
前言/序言
《失落的星图:艾德温的奇幻航行》 内容简介: 这是一个关于勇气、友谊和寻找失落之物的故事,背景设定在一个由蒸汽驱动的机械城市和一片浩瀚无垠的神秘海洋交织而成的世界。 故事的主角是艾德温·菲茨威廉,一个生活在“齿轮之城”——一座被巨型发条和黄铜管道构筑的、永不停歇的都市中的孤儿。艾德温并非一个寻常的机械师学徒。他拥有异于常人的空间感和对古老天文学的痴迷。他的梦想,是重建那张传说中失落的“奥瑞恩星图”——一张据信能揭示通往“无尽之海”彼岸的秘密航线的古老星图。 齿轮之城由严苛的“时间议会”统治,议会严格控制着所有关于外界的知识和技术,他们坚信秩序和既定的机械运转才是世界的唯一真理。而星图,被视为动摇现有秩序的危险异端。 第一部分:锈蚀的线索与意外的伙伴 艾德温在清理一座废弃天文台的地下密室时,发现了一枚刻有奇异符号的青铜罗盘,它不再指向南北,而是指向一种难以捉摸的“引力异常点”。这枚罗盘是解读星图的第一个关键碎片。 很快,一个不速之客闯入了艾德温平静的生活。她叫莉拉·“火花”·文图斯,一个来自城市底层飞翔者群体的年轻女飞行员。莉拉驾驶着一架她自己用回收零件拼装的、喷射着蓝色蒸汽的单翼机。她性格张扬,技术高超,但急需一笔钱来拯救她年迈的导师,导师的“生命发条”即将耗尽。 莉拉一开始接近艾德温,是为了盗取他可能拥有的任何稀有金属材料。但当她看到那枚指向虚空的罗盘,并听闻艾德温关于星图的宏大构想时,她的兴趣被彻底点燃了。她认出罗盘上的部分符号与飞翔者们口口相传的“天空之歌”中的某些乐谱片段吻合。 两人达成了一个暂时的、充满火药味的合作协议:艾德温提供对星图和天文学的理解,莉拉提供逃离城市的载具和对高空飞行的经验。 第二部分:蒸汽时代的追逐与地下世界的阴影 艾德温和莉拉的行动很快引起了“时间议会”的注意,尤其是首席执行官图灵·霍洛威。霍洛威是一个冷酷无情的逻辑学家,他相信所有未知的领域都应该被封锁,以维持城市的绝对稳定。他派出了一队装备着强力磁轨炮的“秩序维护者”追捕他们。 在逃亡的过程中,艾德温和莉拉穿梭于齿轮之城的巨大机械结构之中。他们体验了城市上层光鲜亮丽的黄铜大道,也潜入了下层弥漫着煤烟和机油味的“深渊管道”。 在“深渊管道”的边缘,他们遇到了一个神秘的、被称为“档案保管者”的组织。这个组织是由一些被议会排斥的历史学家和科学家组成的。档案保管者向艾德温揭示了星图的真正意义:它不仅仅是一张航线图,它记录了古代文明如何利用天体的引力波进行超远距离通讯,以及如何“锚定”漂浮在无尽之海上的失落殖民地。 为了修复星图的第二块碎片,艾德温需要进入议会博物馆的核心——一座被强力电磁场保护的“恒星投影仪”。莉拉设计了一场惊险的空中渗透行动。在行动中,他们发现议会不仅销毁了星图,还销毁了所有关于“无尽之海”的早期探险记录,似乎在刻意掩盖一个重大的历史真相。 第三部分:跨越边界的航行 在成功获取第二块碎片并激活罗盘后,罗盘不再指向城市中的某一点,而是指向遥远的南方——一片被称为“迷雾之环”的海域。 艾德温和莉拉意识到,他们必须离开齿轮之城的保护,进入未知的领域。他们借用档案保管者提供的一艘经过改装、拥有强大气压平衡系统的老式潜水艇——“海燕号”——开始了航行。 无尽之海并非普通的水域。它充满了奇异的现象:磁力风暴、会发光的深海生物群,以及周期性出现的“时间滞后区”,这些区域会使船上的时间流速发生不可预测的变化。 在航行中,两人的关系也逐渐从互相利用转变为深厚的信任。艾德温的理性思维平衡了莉拉的冲动,而莉拉的冒险精神则不断推动艾德温走出理论的象牙塔。 他们在迷雾之环中遭遇了巨大的挑战。他们被一群以声波为武器的海洋游牧民族俘虏。起初,游牧民族对“陆地人”抱有深深的敌意,但艾德温用罗盘上的符号与他们交流,发现这些符号正是他们古老歌谣中的一部分——这证明了星图与海洋文明之间的联系。 第四部分:星图的最终拼图与真相的揭露 在游牧民族的帮助下,他们找到了星图的最后一块碎片,它被安放在一处深海热泉口的古代灯塔遗址中。当四块碎片完美结合时,星图没有投射出航线,而是投射出了一个三维的全息影像:一座漂浮在海面上的、由纯净水晶构成的巨大城市——“阿卡迪亚”。 阿卡迪亚正是古代文明的失落之地,也是“时间议会”的真正起源地。 然而,霍洛威和秩序维护者们通过追踪“海燕号”留下的微弱蒸汽痕迹,也追踪到了这里。一场在水晶城市废墟上的对峙爆发了。 霍洛威坦白了一切:他的祖先并非为了稳定而关闭了世界,而是因为阿卡迪亚的“自由探险精神”最终导致了一场灾难性的能量失控,摧毁了旧世界。他坚信,知识只有被严格控制和规范化,才能避免人类重蹈覆辙。 艾德温反驳道:恐惧和控制只会扼杀进步。真正的稳定,来源于对世界的全面理解,而不是对未知事物的掩盖。 在最终的对决中,艾德温利用星图投射出的引力波,暂时干扰了维护者的机械系统,赢得了时间。他没有选择毁灭霍洛威,而是将阿卡迪亚的完整历史影像——包括灾难发生的原因以及修复它的方法——通过天空向全世界的信号塔发送了出去。 尾声:新的地平线 真相被揭示,齿轮之城的统治开始瓦解。艾德温和莉拉没有选择留在城市中掌权,而是决定驾驶“海燕号”,前往阿卡迪亚的残骸。 他们深知,重建文明的路途遥远而充满艰辛,但他们手中握着正确的地图,身边有信任的伙伴。他们的故事,成为了一个关于打破桎梏、拥抱未知,以及相信即使在最庞大、最僵硬的体系中,一颗探索的心灵也能找到通往自由的星光之路的传奇。 《失落的星图:艾德温的奇幻航行》是一部融合了蒸汽朋克美学、古典探险精神与对知识自由深刻探讨的宏大叙事。它赞美了那些敢于仰望星空、不满足于被既定轨道束缚的梦想家。