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适读人群 :4-8岁 A timeless classic, this easy-to-read story about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with warmth, humor, and simplicity. Now available in a paperback edition with CD. Full color.
内容简介
Caps for Sale, a timeless classic, is now available as a musical narrative on cassette. The memorable melodies and catchy lyrics of the "Caps" songs are simple to learn and easy to sing. Recording artist Ann Marie Mulhearn brings the story to life in a new and mesmerizing way. This easy-to-read and sing-a-long story about a peddler and a band of mischievous monkeys is filled with wonderful background sounds, mischievous monkey music and splendid arrangements. Great for card rides, nap time, bed times or anytime, the musical version of Caps For Sale will have your children listening, reading and singing along again and again.
作者简介
Esphyr Slobodkina (the name is pronounced ess-FEER sloh-BOD-kee-nah) was born in the Siberian town of Chelyabinsk on Sept. 22, 1908.
Esphyr immigrated to the United States on a student visa at the age of 29. She enrolled at the National Academy of Design, NYC, and in the 1930s, she worked painting lamp shades and soon after murals for the WPA. Esphyr was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists, which began amid controversy in 1936.
In 1937 Slobodkina met the children's author Margaret Wise Brown. In an effort to find work as an illustrator, Slobodkina wrote and illustrated a story with collage called Mary And The Poodies to present to Brown. This began a new career for Slobodkina, who illustrated many children's stories for Ms. Brown (including Sleepy ABCs and the Big and Little series) while still continuing her work as an abstract artist.
In her autobiography, (portions available through this web-site) Ms. Slobodkina wrote, "When Margaret died, I was left without a writer, and since she always insisted that she liked the way I told my stories, I took a deep breath and began to send them to my agent." Ms. Slobodkina took her responsibility as a children's book author seriously. In her memoir she wrote: "The verbal patterns and the patterns of behavior we present to children in these lighthearted confections are likely to influence them for the rest of their lives. These aesthetic impressions, just like the moral teachings of early childhood, remain indelible."
Caps for Sale was first published in 1938. Since then it has sold more than two million copies. Today it is considered a children's book classic as generation after generation pass the story along to new readers. In sales it ranks with such classics as Good Night Moon, according to Publisher's Weekly.
Caps for Sale, won a Lewis Carroll Shelf Award in 1958 and is memorialized in a painting by Ms. Slobodkina on permanent exhibition in the West Hartford Library, CT.
Ms. Slobodkina wrote and illustrated numerous other books, including Mary and The Poodies (1937), The Wonderful Feast, (1955), The Clock (1956), The Long Island Ducklings (1961), and Pezzo the Peddler and the Circus Elephant, which was first published in 1967 and was reissued in 2002 as Circus Caps for Sale, to name a few.
At the age of 88, Esphyr's primary focus became overseeing the production of musical storybook cassettes of all twenty of her children's books.
At age 90, Esphyr designed a mini museum in Glen Head, Long Island, NY (through her Slobodkina Foundation) as a place where guests can visit and view more than 200 works of art, her handmade dolls and jewelry, as well as her complete collection of children's storybooks, including some original illustrations.
Famed artist and author Esphyr Slobodkina was a leader of the abstract movement in the United States from the 1930s until her death at age 93 in July 2002.
Slobodkina's works have received high acclaim. Her paintings, sculptures and literary works are part of the collections of The Metropolitan Museum, NY; The National Gallery in Washington, D.C; The Smithsonian; The Hecksher Museum, L.I., NY (where she has a permanent wing); The Whitney Museum, NY; The Wadsworth Museum, Hartford, CT; The Northeast Children's Literature Collection, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT; and more.
前言/序言
绿野仙踪:一个关于勇气、友谊与回家的故事 ISBN: 978-0061121054 装帧: 精装 适合年龄: 6岁以上 --- 章节导览与内容深度剖析 《绿野仙踪》(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)是美国作家莱曼·弗兰克·鲍姆(L. Frank Baum)于1900年创作的奇幻文学经典。这部作品不仅是美国儿童文学的里程碑,更因其后世改编的电影而成为全球家喻户晓的文化符号。本书以其丰富的想象力、深刻的主题探讨和引人入胜的冒险旅程,至今仍吸引着各个年龄段的读者。 第一部分:从堪萨斯到奥兹国的奇异穿越 故事的开端,将我们带到了美国中西部堪萨斯州一片贫瘠的农场。主角多萝西·盖尔(Dorothy Gale)是一个寄居在舅舅和舅妈家的孤儿,她唯一的慰藉是她的小狗托托(Toto)。鲍姆以细腻的笔触描绘了堪萨斯生活的单调与压抑,为接下来的奇幻遭遇做了鲜明的对比。 一天,一场突如其来的、毁灭性的龙卷风席卷了农场。多萝西和托托被卷入风暴之中,在一阵天旋地转后,他们发现自己降落在一个完全陌生、色彩斑斓的国度——奥兹国(Land of Oz)。 奥兹国的初印象: 龙卷风将多萝西的房子准确地砸在东方邪恶女巫(Wicked Witch of the East)的身上,解放了芒奇金人(Munchkins)。芒奇金人的善良首领赠予多萝西那双被压扁女巫的魔力银鞋(在后来的改编中常被描绘为红宝石鞋),并指引她前往翡翠城(Emerald City),寻求伟大的奥兹巫师(The Great and Powerful Oz)的帮助,希望他能送她回家。 第二部分:黄砖路的召唤与旅途的开端 多萝西踏上了通往翡翠城的黄砖路(The Yellow Brick Road)。这条路不仅是物理上的路径,更是象征着希望与追寻自我的旅程。在她的旅途中,她接连遇到了三个急需“奥兹巫师”帮助的伙伴: 1. 稻草人(The Scarecrow): 稻草人渴望得到“脑子”(Brains)。他声称自己虽然会思考,但却感觉不到自己拥有智慧,无法胜任他自认为应有的角色。他的幽默和天真为旅途增添了许多乐趣,而他展现出的策略和临危不乱的特质,却早已证明了他智慧的内在存在。 2. 铁皮人(The Tin Woodman): 铁皮人曾是一个勤劳的樵夫,但被邪恶女巫的诅咒变成了铁皮人。他现在最渴望的是一颗“心”(Heart),因为他认为没有爱与情感,生命便失去了意义。他的故事充满了悲剧色彩,每一次锈住时,都需要多萝西的油壶来润滑,象征着友谊的维护与关怀。 3. 狮子(The Cowardly Lion): 这是一头体型威武、声音洪亮的野兽,但他却是旅途中最胆小的成员,他乞求奥兹巫师赐予他“勇气”(Courage)。他的懦弱常常引出滑稽的场面,但每当同伴遇到危险时,他总能本能地挺身而出,展现出他潜藏的英雄气概。 这四个角色的组合,构成了一个关于“内在潜能”的完美象征:一个寻找智慧、一个寻找情感、一个寻找勇气,而多萝西则在寻找归属感。 第三部分:翡翠城的幻象与试炼 当一行人终于抵达宏伟的翡翠城时,他们被眼前的辉煌所震撼。奥兹巫师同意帮助他们,但前提是他们必须先完成一项艰巨的任务:杀死南方邪恶女巫(Wicked Witch of the West)。 南巫是奥兹国中势力最强、最残暴的女巫,她拥有被魔力保护的“金头盔”(The Golden Cap),能够召唤飞猴(Winged Monkeys)为她服务。 对抗南方女巫的篇章: 这一部分是全书的高潮之一。多萝西一行人必须利用他们已有的“智慧”(稻草人)、“情感驱动”(铁皮人)和“激发出的勇气”(狮子)来对抗无可匹敌的敌人。最终,多萝西并非依靠武力,而是利用一个意外的元素——水,融化了邪恶女巫,完成了任务。 第四部分:真相的揭露与自我发现 完成使命归来后,奥兹巫师试图用各种骗局来搪塞他们,拖延履行承诺。然而,在关键时刻,托托无意中掀开了一块幕布,露出了所谓的“伟大的奥兹巫师”的真实面目——他不过是一个来自内布拉斯加的普通人,一个使用了蒸汽和机械装置来制造神迹的马戏团老魔术师。 核心主题的升华: 这一“真相揭露”是全书的精髓。奥兹巫师并没有施展魔法,而是通过“言语的暗示”和“鼓励”的力量,引导伙伴们认识到他们真正渴望的东西早已在他们自身之中: 稻草人 在处理危机时展现的策略,证明他拥有智慧。 铁皮人 对朋友的深切关怀和在营救多萝西时的坚韧,证明他拥有一颗温柔的心。 狮子 在保护同伴时展现的无畏,证明他天生就是一位勇士。 奥兹巫师用“填充物”(智慧)、“丝绸心脏”(爱心)和“勇气药水”(勇气药水)来象征性地满足了他们的需求,但实际上,这些奖赏的作用是建立在他们已经拥有的能力基础上的。 第五部分:回家之路与奥兹国的未来 至于多萝西,奥兹巫师打算用他那架属于内布拉斯加的旧热气球将她带回家。然而,热气球意外起飞,多萝西再次与家人失散。 在绝望之际,南方的善良女巫——紫丁香女巫(Glinda, the Good Witch of the South) 出现。紫丁香女巫揭示了银鞋(或红宝石鞋)的真正魔力:只要佩戴者知道自己想去哪里,并连续三次点击鞋跟,她就能瞬间到达那个地方。 多萝西终于明白了回家的关键不在于外部的魔法或巫师,而在于她内心的渴望和对银鞋魔力的运用。她与伙伴们依依惜别,带着对奥兹国友谊的珍视,点击鞋跟,回到了堪萨斯熟悉的农场。 总结:永恒的主题 《绿野仙踪》的伟大之处在于,它将一场光怪陆离的冒险,最终导向了对“自我价值”的深刻探索。它告诉孩子们,他们所寻求的一切——智慧、爱与勇气——并非来自外部的权威或魔法,而是深植于他们自身的潜力之中。这是一个关于成长、友谊、以及最终认识到“家”的真正意义的经典故事。