内容简介
Who says princesses don’t wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black!Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when . . .
Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! A big blue monster is threatening the goats! Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia. But luckily Princess Magnolia has a secret —she’s also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for
her! Can the princess sneak away, transform into her alter ego, and defeat the monster before the nosy duchess discovers her secret? From award-winning writing team of Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham, here is the first in a humorous and action-packed chapter book series for young readers who like their princesses not only prim and perfect, but also dressed in black.
作者简介
Shannon and Dean Hale are the husband-and-wife writing team behind the graphic novels
Rapunzel’s Revenge and
Calamity Jack, both illustrated by Nathan Hale. Shannon Hale is also the author of the Newbery Honor-winning
Princess Academy as well as
The Goose Girl, Enna Burning, and other novels. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah.
LeUyen Pham is the illustrator of many books for children, including
God’s Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams and
Aunt Mary’s Rose by Douglas Wood, as well as the Freckleface Strawberry books by Julianne Moore. LeUyen Pham lives in California.
精彩书评
This charmingly told book has lovely old-fashioned illustrations and a great message: You can’t judge a princess by the color of her gown.
—New York Times Book Review
The rounded, cartoony illustrations featuring chubby characters keep the fight sequence soft and comical. ... The gently ironic text will amuse readers (including adults reading the book aloud). The large print and illustrations expand the book to a longish-yet-manageable length, giving newly independent readers a sense of accomplishment. ... Action, clever humor, delightful illustrations and expectation-defying secret identities—when does the next one come out?
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The authors of "Rapunzel’s Revenge" and "Calamity Jack," writing here for a slightly younger audience, successfully turn the treacly princess genre on its ear, offering beginning readers a clever, adventurous, and self-reliant heroine who is equally at home in black or pink. Pham’s watercolor-and-ink illustrations, rendered in the style of the Disney classics, effectively contrast Magnolia’s identities and emphasize the text’s humor. Clever details (Duff and his goats eat popcorn on the sidelines as they watch the PIB do her thing) and short manageable sentences make for a promising, and sure to be wildly popular, new series debut.
—Booklist (starred review)
The Hales translate the humor and adventure that characterize their Rapunzel’s Revenge into prose form for a younger audience with aplomb and wit, giving amusing nods to both the Disney princess tradition and the superhero genre. Short sentences, a simple vocabulary with the occasional challenge, a manageable length, and a near picture-book level of illustrative density give this chapter book immense accessibility. Pham’s watercolor and ink art has a goofy cartoonishness, with the Princess’s doe-eyed damsel figure contrasting entertainingly with her ninja-like moves, and the monsters themselves are a parade of wacky Muppet-like creatures. Whether they prefer pink sparkles or superhero capes, readers, especially newly independent ones, will find themselves anxiously awaiting the next installment of the PIB’s adventure.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
The colorful illustrations on each page help move readers through the story as the heroic princess saves the day. The action-packed text in this beginner chapter book will enthrall and is ideal for independent reading or reading aloud. The ending leaves readers with just enough of a wink to hint at a future installment. Give this engaging read to fans of "Bink and Gollie".
—School Library Journal
The Hales drop narrative breadcrumbs throughout the story, setting up subsequent titles in the planned series, and they build comic tension by alternating scenes of the masked princess’s monster-fighting with ones starring Duchess Wigtower, who Princess Magnolia has left waiting back at her castle, and who has a fondness for uncovering secrets.... Pham offers little jolts of energy and wit on every page, with full-page and spot illustrations that have the vivaciousness and irreverence of contemporary animation.
—Publishers Weekly
Finally, a book for kids where a princess saves herself. ... Kids will love meeting this new non-traditional princess who bucks the stereotype of princesses past.
—Metro US
This charming begining chapter book will please princess and action fans alike.
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
For readers who love "all things princess," it provides a fabulous vision of how the definition of a role can expand.
—Blade
前言/序言
秘密特工的午后茶会:艾米莉的非凡冒险 书名: 艾米莉的秘密花园与时间沙漏 作者: 维多利亚·斯通 目标读者: 6-9岁,喜爱奇幻、解谜与友谊主题的读者 页数: 288页 出版社: 晨曦之光童书坊 --- 内容简介: 艾米莉·布莱克伍德,一个住在古老、爬满常春藤的宅邸里的十岁小女孩,过着看似普通却又暗藏玄机的双重生活。白天,她是镇上最安静、最喜欢阅读园艺书籍的淑女,热衷于照料祖母留下的那片充满奇异花卉的秘密花园。但当夕阳西下,特定的星象出现时,艾米莉就会成为“夜莺”,一位身手矫健、智勇双全的秘密守护者,负责维护古老城镇“迷雾港湾”的宁静。 这个故事从一个炎热的夏日午后开始。艾米莉正在她的秘密花园里,试图用祖母留下的那本泛黄的《异域植物辨识录》来确定一株新开的、散发着微弱银光的“月影草”的习性。就在她小心翼翼地用小铲子为它松土时,她发现了一个被月影草根系缠绕住的古旧物件——一个被灰尘覆盖的黄铜沙漏。 这个沙漏非同寻常。它不是用来量度时间的,而是用来“收集”时间的。沙漏中的沙子呈现出一种奇异的、不断流动的琥珀色。当艾米莉好奇地拿起它时,沙漏突然发出了微弱的嗡鸣声,周围的光线似乎都慢了下来。 很快,艾米莉发现,这个“时间沙漏”是迷雾港湾历史中一个失落的关键工具,它与镇上古老图书馆地下室里那座传说中的“编织者时钟”息息相关。时钟是维护这个世界基本秩序的装置,而最近,时钟似乎开始“打盹”——有些街区的白天变得过长,而有些夜晚则几乎瞬间消失,导致镇民的生活陷入了一片混乱。老鼠成群结队地在清晨的阳光下觅食,面包师差点在永恒的黄昏中把他的酵母烤焦。 艾米莉意识到,这不仅仅是天气异常,而是有人(或某种力量)正在故意扰乱时间流速。她的“夜莺”身份此刻被激活。她换上那套她自己设计的、便于行动的深蓝色制服,戴上刻有微小机械齿轮的单片眼镜,准备展开调查。 第一个谜团:失踪的记忆碎片 调查的第一步是将沙漏带到她可靠的盟友——老钟表匠格雷格那里。格雷格是一位沉默寡言的老人,他的店铺里堆满了走走停停的钟表,他似乎对艾米莉的秘密了如指掌。格雷格检查了沙漏,脸色变得凝重。他告诉艾米莉,沙漏正在吸收“不应该存在的”时间片段,这些片段是构成现实记忆的关键。 格雷格通过他的放大镜发现,沙漏底部刻着一个模糊的符号——三道交错的波纹,这是“暗影织工”的标志。传说中,“暗影织工”是一群对稳定时间秩序感到厌倦的古代学者,他们相信混乱才能带来真正的创造力。 深入探索:图书馆的秘密通道 艾米莉推断,要修复时钟,她必须找到“暗影织工”留下的线索,而唯一的入口很可能就在镇上最古老、最少人踏足的阿卡姆图书馆。 艾米莉利用她对园艺的热爱伪装成一个“寻找稀有植物插画”的借口进入了图书馆的禁阅区。她发现,图书馆深处的阅览室地板上,有一块铺着古代星图图案的地毯。根据沙漏中流速不均的时间碎片提示,艾米莉需要按照特定的顺序踩踏地毯上的星座才能打开密道。 她最终成功地找到了入口——一个向下延伸的螺旋楼梯,空气中弥漫着尘土和古老墨水的味道。楼梯尽头,是一个巨大的、布满青铜管道和旋转齿轮的地下室,正是“编织者时钟”的内部。 挑战与抉择 时钟的能量核心——一块巨大的、闪烁着微光的蓝宝石——正被一股黑色的、粘稠的“时间淤泥”覆盖着。这淤泥吸收了时钟的节奏。 正当艾米莉准备用她随身携带的“净化水晶”(一种从月影草中提炼的能量晶体)来清理淤泥时,一个身影出现了。这不是一个怪物,而是一个和艾米莉差不多大的男孩,名叫里奥。里奥穿着一套似乎用旧报纸和碎布拼凑而成的衣服,他正是“暗影织工”的最后一位学徒,但他似乎并非真心想搞破坏。 里奥解释说,他的导师希望通过制造局部的“时间混乱”,来“重置”他们认为停滞不前的世界,让他们能有机会进入一个“完全由想象力主导”的维度。里奥其实很害怕这种混乱,他只是被导师的宏大愿景所迷惑。他透露,要清理淤泥,需要一个“绝对稳定的锚点”来平衡沙漏吸收的时间。 艾米莉意识到,她自己对花园的热爱、对秩序的维护,以及她与格雷格之间建立的信任,正是这种“稳定”。 在紧要关头,艾米莉没有选择对抗,而是选择合作。她引导里奥将时间沙漏悬挂在时钟的核心上方,然后,她深吸一口气,将她收集到的关于迷雾港湾日常生活的记忆——邻居的笑声、清晨的鸟鸣、她第一次成功培育出稀有玫瑰的喜悦——注入到沙漏中。 这些“稳定而美好的日常时间”与沙漏中被吸收的混乱时间产生了共振。蓝宝石上的淤泥开始消退,编织者时钟发出了悠长、和谐的“滴答”声,恢复了正常。 尾声 迷雾港湾的时间恢复了正常,镇民们虽然有些许关于“那几天早上好像有点长”的模糊记忆,但并未察觉到真正的危机。 艾米莉将沙漏交还给格雷格保管,并与里奥约定,他们将利用对时间的理解,来保护迷雾港湾,而不是破坏它。 艾米莉回到了她的秘密花园,阳光正好,月影草在阳光下闪烁着微弱的光芒。她知道,作为艾米莉,她可以享受茶会和园艺的宁静;而作为“夜莺”,她时刻准备着,用智慧和勇气守护她所珍爱的一切秩序与美好。她拿起那本《异域植物辨识录》,翻到了新的一页,准备记录下关于“时间沙漏”的发现。这个夏日,远比她想象的要精彩得多。 本书充满了对友谊、责任以及发现日常生活中隐藏的奇迹的赞颂。它鼓励小读者思考秩序与自由之间的平衡,并相信即使是最安静的人,也能拥有最不平凡的秘密。