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适读人群 :5岁及以上 Winner of the Caldecott Award.
内容简介
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.
作者简介
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
丛林深处的秘密:关于智慧、友谊与自然的回响 《丛林深处的秘密:关于智慧、友谊与自然的回响》 作者: 阿玛拉·迪奥普 插画: 塞巴斯蒂安·科瓦奇 适合年龄: 5岁及以上 装帧: 精装 --- 序章:阳光下的低语 在广袤无垠的非洲大地上,有一片被古老榕树和参天猴面包树覆盖的森林,我们称之为“恩德尔之境”。恩德尔不仅是野生动物的家园,更是时间静止、故事流淌的地方。在这里,每一片叶子的颤动都可能是一个未解的谜团,每一条河流的蜿蜒都可能蕴含着先祖的智慧。 这本故事集,收录了来自恩德尔之境深处,流传已久的七则独立而又相互关联的民间传说。它们并非仅仅是讲给孩子们听的睡前故事,更是对生命、秩序、以及人与自然和谐共存哲学的一种温柔提醒。 第一章:独眼巨象的困境与象群的团结 故事的开端,我们跟随体型庞大却心地善良的独眼巨象——“卡拉姆”展开叙述。卡拉姆因为出生时的一场意外而失去了一只眼睛,这使他在象群中感到自卑和格格不入。其他强壮的公象总是嘲笑他的视线盲区,认为他无法胜任保卫象群的重任。 然而,旱季来临,水源枯竭,象群陷入绝境。经验丰富的族长也束手无策。卡拉姆凭借着他敏锐的听觉和对气味的独特感知力,他开始留意那些被视力健全的同伴们忽略的细微线索——泥土深处微妙的湿润波动,以及远方地鼠挖掘时发出的极轻微的摩擦声。 故事详细描绘了卡拉姆如何鼓起勇气,带领一小部分持怀疑态度的年轻母象,深入一片危机四伏的峡谷。他必须依靠侧耳倾听,去判断哪些石头是松动的,哪些灌木丛后潜伏着危险。当他们最终发现一个隐藏在巨石下的古老地下泉眼时,整个象群的生命得以延续。 这个故事的核心,在于展示了“缺陷”往往伴随着“超常天赋”的真理。它探讨了包容的意义,以及真正的领导力并非源于完美无瑕的外表,而是源于对群体福祉的无私奉献。插画师用深沉的蓝色和赭石色,描绘了干裂的土地和卡拉姆眼中闪烁的坚定光芒。 第二章:会织梦的蜘蛛与月亮的契约 在恩德尔的夜空中,月亮是夜晚的主宰。但有一个流传甚广的说法:月亮之所以能保持圆满和宁静,是因为它与一位名叫“阿娜西”的金色小蜘蛛签订了古老的契约。 阿娜西并非普通的蜘蛛,她织出的网不是用来捕食,而是用来“收集”和“编织”人类和动物在白日里遗失的、细碎的情感碎片——那些未说出口的安慰、一闪而过的灵感、被压抑的喜悦。 故事讲述了年轻的猎人“奇姆巴”因为一次鲁莽的决定,无意中破坏了阿娜西编织了一整夜的“希望之网”,导致第二天清晨,整个村庄的人都陷入了一种空洞的、缺乏动力的状态。 奇姆巴必须在太阳落山前,重新赢得阿娜西的信任。他没有带任何食物或祭品,而是带上了他最珍贵的记忆:一串他亲手打磨的、象征着耐心与专注的琥珀珠。他学会了如何安静地观察,如何用细小的动作表达敬意。最终,阿娜西接受了他的道歉,并向他展示了如何用清晨的露水作为“线材”,重新修复那张维系着世界情绪平衡的丝网。 这个章节探讨了“无形之物”的价值,提醒读者,尊重那些看不见、摸不着却支撑着我们日常精神世界的微小努力。 第三章:河流的脾气与三个问路人的智慧 恩德尔的生命线——“赛法河”,以其变幻莫测的脾气而闻名。它有时温顺如羊羔,滋养两岸;有时又暴躁如雄狮,吞噬一切。 故事聚焦于三位前往邻村求医的旅人。他们必须渡过赛法河,但河水正处于不稳定的半泛滥状态。 第一位旅人, 是位力大无穷的健壮男子,他试图用蛮力推开河中的漂浮木,结果被湍急的水流冲倒,险些丧命。 第二位旅人, 是位聪慧的商人,他试图用昂贵的盐和皮革贿赂河边的守护神灵,但神灵并不垂青物质。 第三位旅人, 是一位沉默寡言的草药师,他没有试图征服或贿赂河流。他只是蹲在岸边,用树枝轻轻触碰水流,聆听水声,感受水流的节奏。他发现,河流并非随意流动,而是遵循着一种特定的“呼吸法”——先聚力,后释放。草药师模仿这种节奏,找到了一段水流相对平稳的浅滩,安然渡过。 草药师的成功揭示了一个深刻的道理:面对自然界强大的力量时,最有效的方法不是对抗,而是理解、适应,并顺应其内在的规律。这部分充满了对非洲地理和水文现象的细腻观察。 第四章:失落的色彩与调色师的旅程 在恩德尔的传说中,所有动物和植物的色彩并非生来如此,而是由一位名叫“姆布拉”的古老调色师调配出来的。姆布拉居住在瀑布后的洞穴里,他的颜料来源于罕见的矿石和清晨的第一滴露水。 故事讲述了森林里所有的“红色”突然消失了。没有了红色的浆果、红色的喙、甚至连日落都变得灰蒙蒙一片。动物们因为失去了警示色和求偶色而陷入恐慌。 姆布拉解释说,红色颜料的“源泉之石”因为过度开采,已经失去了它的“热情”。为了恢复红色,姆布拉必须踏上一段漫长而艰辛的旅程,去寻找一种“可以燃烧的果实”来重新激活源泉之石。 这段旅程是一场关于“付出”的教育。姆布拉需要每一种动物牺牲一点点它最宝贵的东西来换取前行的路标:猴子们贡献了它们最甜的蜂蜜来软化荆棘,长颈鹿们贡献了它们最高的视野来指示方向。当最终红色重新喷涌而出时,整个森林焕发出了比以往更加绚烂的光彩,因为这些色彩是集体的牺牲换来的。 尾声:篝火旁的承诺 当夜幕降临,恩德尔之境的居民们聚集在巨大的猴面包树下,围着篝火。他们分享着卡拉姆的勇敢、阿娜西的魔法、草药师的智慧,以及姆布拉的奉献。 这些故事提醒着每一个听众: 恩德尔的和谐不是偶然,而是智慧和相互尊重的累积。 这本书的插画风格融合了传统的西非几何图案与细腻的自然主义描绘,色彩饱和度高,笔触充满力量感,旨在激发孩子们对未知世界的探索欲望,并培养他们对环境中微小生命和自然规律的敬畏之心。它是一份献给所有向往自然深处、珍视古老教诲的读者的礼物。