內容簡介
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.
作者簡介
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.
精彩書評
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
秘密特工的午後茶會:艾米莉的非凡冒險 書名: 艾米莉的秘密花園與時間沙漏 作者: 維多利亞·斯通 目標讀者: 6-9歲,喜愛奇幻、解謎與友誼主題的讀者 頁數: 288頁 齣版社: 晨曦之光童書坊 --- 內容簡介: 艾米莉·布萊剋伍德,一個住在古老、爬滿常春藤的宅邸裏的十歲小女孩,過著看似普通卻又暗藏玄機的雙重生活。白天,她是鎮上最安靜、最喜歡閱讀園藝書籍的淑女,熱衷於照料祖母留下的那片充滿奇異花卉的秘密花園。但當夕陽西下,特定的星象齣現時,艾米莉就會成為“夜鶯”,一位身手矯健、智勇雙全的秘密守護者,負責維護古老城鎮“迷霧港灣”的寜靜。 這個故事從一個炎熱的夏日午後開始。艾米莉正在她的秘密花園裏,試圖用祖母留下的那本泛黃的《異域植物辨識錄》來確定一株新開的、散發著微弱銀光的“月影草”的習性。就在她小心翼翼地用小鏟子為它鬆土時,她發現瞭一個被月影草根係纏繞住的古舊物件——一個被灰塵覆蓋的黃銅沙漏。 這個沙漏非同尋常。它不是用來量度時間的,而是用來“收集”時間的。沙漏中的沙子呈現齣一種奇異的、不斷流動的琥珀色。當艾米莉好奇地拿起它時,沙漏突然發齣瞭微弱的嗡鳴聲,周圍的光綫似乎都慢瞭下來。 很快,艾米莉發現,這個“時間沙漏”是迷霧港灣曆史中一個失落的關鍵工具,它與鎮上古老圖書館地下室裏那座傳說中的“編織者時鍾”息息相關。時鍾是維護這個世界基本秩序的裝置,而最近,時鍾似乎開始“打盹”——有些街區的白天變得過長,而有些夜晚則幾乎瞬間消失,導緻鎮民的生活陷入瞭一片混亂。老鼠成群結隊地在清晨的陽光下覓食,麵包師差點在永恒的黃昏中把他的酵母烤焦。 艾米莉意識到,這不僅僅是天氣異常,而是有人(或某種力量)正在故意擾亂時間流速。她的“夜鶯”身份此刻被激活。她換上那套她自己設計的、便於行動的深藍色製服,戴上刻有微小機械齒輪的單片眼鏡,準備展開調查。 第一個謎團:失蹤的記憶碎片 調查的第一步是將沙漏帶到她可靠的盟友——老鍾錶匠格雷格那裏。格雷格是一位沉默寡言的老人,他的店鋪裏堆滿瞭走走停停的鍾錶,他似乎對艾米莉的秘密瞭如指掌。格雷格檢查瞭沙漏,臉色變得凝重。他告訴艾米莉,沙漏正在吸收“不應該存在的”時間片段,這些片段是構成現實記憶的關鍵。 格雷格通過他的放大鏡發現,沙漏底部刻著一個模糊的符號——三道交錯的波紋,這是“暗影織工”的標誌。傳說中,“暗影織工”是一群對穩定時間秩序感到厭倦的古代學者,他們相信混亂纔能帶來真正的創造力。 深入探索:圖書館的秘密通道 艾米莉推斷,要修復時鍾,她必須找到“暗影織工”留下的綫索,而唯一的入口很可能就在鎮上最古老、最少人踏足的阿卡姆圖書館。 艾米莉利用她對園藝的熱愛僞裝成一個“尋找稀有植物插畫”的藉口進入瞭圖書館的禁閱區。她發現,圖書館深處的閱覽室地闆上,有一塊鋪著古代星圖圖案的地毯。根據沙漏中流速不均的時間碎片提示,艾米莉需要按照特定的順序踩踏地毯上的星座纔能打開密道。 她最終成功地找到瞭入口——一個嚮下延伸的螺鏇樓梯,空氣中彌漫著塵土和古老墨水的味道。樓梯盡頭,是一個巨大的、布滿青銅管道和鏇轉齒輪的地下室,正是“編織者時鍾”的內部。 挑戰與抉擇 時鍾的能量核心——一塊巨大的、閃爍著微光的藍寶石——正被一股黑色的、粘稠的“時間淤泥”覆蓋著。這淤泥吸收瞭時鍾的節奏。 正當艾米莉準備用她隨身攜帶的“淨化水晶”(一種從月影草中提煉的能量晶體)來清理淤泥時,一個身影齣現瞭。這不是一個怪物,而是一個和艾米莉差不多大的男孩,名叫裏奧。裏奧穿著一套似乎用舊報紙和碎布拼湊而成的衣服,他正是“暗影織工”的最後一位學徒,但他似乎並非真心想搞破壞。 裏奧解釋說,他的導師希望通過製造局部的“時間混亂”,來“重置”他們認為停滯不前的世界,讓他們能有機會進入一個“完全由想象力主導”的維度。裏奧其實很害怕這種混亂,他隻是被導師的宏大願景所迷惑。他透露,要清理淤泥,需要一個“絕對穩定的錨點”來平衡沙漏吸收的時間。 艾米莉意識到,她自己對花園的熱愛、對秩序的維護,以及她與格雷格之間建立的信任,正是這種“穩定”。 在緊要關頭,艾米莉沒有選擇對抗,而是選擇閤作。她引導裏奧將時間沙漏懸掛在時鍾的核心上方,然後,她深吸一口氣,將她收集到的關於迷霧港灣日常生活的記憶——鄰居的笑聲、清晨的鳥鳴、她第一次成功培育齣稀有玫瑰的喜悅——注入到沙漏中。 這些“穩定而美好的日常時間”與沙漏中被吸收的混亂時間産生瞭共振。藍寶石上的淤泥開始消退,編織者時鍾發齣瞭悠長、和諧的“滴答”聲,恢復瞭正常。 尾聲 迷霧港灣的時間恢復瞭正常,鎮民們雖然有些許關於“那幾天早上好像有點長”的模糊記憶,但並未察覺到真正的危機。 艾米莉將沙漏交還給格雷格保管,並與裏奧約定,他們將利用對時間的理解,來保護迷霧港灣,而不是破壞它。 艾米莉迴到瞭她的秘密花園,陽光正好,月影草在陽光下閃爍著微弱的光芒。她知道,作為艾米莉,她可以享受茶會和園藝的寜靜;而作為“夜鶯”,她時刻準備著,用智慧和勇氣守護她所珍愛的一切秩序與美好。她拿起那本《異域植物辨識錄》,翻到瞭新的一頁,準備記錄下關於“時間沙漏”的發現。這個夏日,遠比她想象的要精彩得多。 本書充滿瞭對友誼、責任以及發現日常生活中隱藏的奇跡的贊頌。它鼓勵小讀者思考秩序與自由之間的平衡,並相信即使是最安靜的人,也能擁有最不平凡的秘密。