内容简介
Ma has made a dozen delicious cookies. It should be plenty for her two children. But then the doorbell rings--and rings and rings.Each ring of the doorbell brings more friends to share the delicious cookies Ma has made."Refreshing, enjoyable and unpredictable."--School Library Journal. Also available in a Spanish-language edition, Llaman a la puerta.
作者简介
"I tend to see the funny side of things," says Pat Hutchins. Whether it's the light, subtle humor of her first picture book, Rosie's Walk, or the slapstick comedy of Rats!, her special gift of humor is reflected in both words and pictures.
Pat Hutchins was born in Yorkshire, England, one of seven children, and grew up in the countryside of Yorkshire, which she still loves. At a very early age she knew that she wanted to be an artist.
She was encouraged by an elderly couple, who would give her a chocolate bar for each picture she drew. A local art school gave her a scholarship and she studied there for three years, continuing her training at Leeds College of Art, where she specialized in illustration. Her career in the children's book field began with the highly acclaimed Rosie's Walk, a 1968 ALA Notable Book. Since then she has written five novels and created more than twenty picture books. She was awarded England's prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 1974 for The Wind Blew.
She says she tries "to write about what children say and do," and she believes in very simple picture books for the youngest child. But her simple texts and wonderfully vivid pictures manage to convey the most complex emotions. She also has the rare ability to use such basic concepts as time, growth, and change to create imaginative, satisfying books for children. Her ideas come from a variety of sources: listening to her children and their friends, or sometimes from real situations. The idea for The Very Worst Monster came to her when her niece told her she wanted to give her baby brother away. Ms. Hutchins tempered the theme of sibling rivalry by using soft watercolors to make the monster family more lovable. The result is a delightfully wicked monster family that children will wish lived next door.
Pat Hutchins lives in London with her husband, Laurence, also an artist. They have two sons, Morgan and Sam.
内页插图
精彩书评
Each ring of the doorbell brings more and more friends to share in the delicious cookies Ma has made. Will there be enough to go around? "Refreshing, enjoyable and unpredictable."
——School Library Journal. A 1986 ALA Notable Book
前言/序言
《夜幕下的灯塔守望者》 一卷关于孤独、坚持与自然伟力的史诗 引言:海的呼唤 在世界的边缘,时间的流逝仿佛被海浪的潮汐所掌控。那里,矗立着一座古老的灯塔,孤独地刺破苍穹,成为黑夜中航海者唯一的指引。这不是一个关于欢声笑语或喧嚣市井的故事,而是一首献给坚韧灵魂的赞歌,一幅描绘人与无垠海洋之间永恒对话的油画。 《夜幕下的灯塔守望者》带领读者深入探索一个近乎遗忘的世界——那个由盐雾、坚硬岩石和永不停歇的涛声构筑的领域。故事的主人公,伊莱亚斯·索恩(Elias Thorne),一个沉默寡言、面容被风沙雕刻出深刻纹理的男人,自愿选择了这份世人看来近乎惩罚的职责。他不是因为逃避尘世才来到这里,而是因为他听见了海的召唤,一种比任何城市喧嚣都更为真切的低语。 第一部分:磐石上的生活 灯塔不仅仅是一座建筑,它是伊莱亚斯与外界的唯一中介,也是他精神的避难所。他的生活被精准的钟摆和机械的规律所支配:日复一日地检查灯芯,擦拭巨大的菲涅尔透镜,记录天气日志,并确保燃料充足。每一天都是对职责的庄严宣誓。 环境的刻画: 作者以细腻入微的笔触描绘了灯塔周围的环境。岛屿本身——“无名之尖”(The Unnamed Point)——是一块被海水磨砺得光滑而险峻的巨石,常年被海鸥的尖叫和海豹的低吼所环绕。书中详细描述了那些在暴风雨来临前天空的颜色变化:从平静的靛蓝,到铅灰色的沉重,再到最后被闪电撕裂的瞬间。这些自然现象不再是背景,而是故事中的重要角色,它们考验着伊莱亚斯的意志。 日常的仪式: 故事深入剖析了灯塔守望者维持日常的仪式性。清晨,他必须在海水还未完全退去时,将补给品从摇摇晃晃的小船上搬运上来;午后,他花费数小时维护复杂的机械装置,这些装置是他的生命线;黄昏时分,点燃灯光的过程被赋予了近乎神圣的意味——那一刻,黑暗被驱散,责任得以履行。作者通过详尽的描述,展现了这些重复劳动如何转化为一种冥想,一种与宇宙秩序的和谐共振。 第二部分:时间与记忆的迷宫 在与世隔绝的环境中,时间的概念变得模糊而主观。伊莱亚斯的世界里,过去、现在和未来交织在一起。这本书的核心探索之一,便是人类在极端孤独中如何与自己的记忆共存。 过去的幽灵: 伊莱亚斯并非生来如此沉默。他带着一段无法言说的往事来到灯塔,那段往事像深海中的暗流,不时涌上心头。书中通过穿插的内心独白和泛黄的信件片段,揭示了他与一个名叫莉拉(Lila)的女性之间的复杂关系,以及一场改变他命运的港口事故。这些回忆并非矫揉造作的伤感,而是构成他坚韧性格的基石。他所守护的灯光,也是对逝去之人的承诺——永不熄灭的希望之光。 孤独的形而上学: 故事探讨了孤独的两个层面:作为一种物理状态的隔绝,以及作为一种精神选择的沉思。在无人打扰的漫长冬夜,伊莱亚斯开始与灯塔本身对话,与指南针的磁场对话,甚至与风暴的咆哮对话。他学会了倾听寂静,并在寂静中发现了比人群中更多的真理。这种形而上学的探索,使本书超越了一般的冒险故事,触及了存在主义的核心。 第三部分:与自然的博弈 灯塔守望者的生活,是人类智慧与自然力量之间永无止境的拉锯战。本书的高潮部分集中在对一场史无前例的“铁锈风暴”(The Rust Squall)的描绘上。 风暴的降临: 这场风暴并非普通的飓风,它仿佛拥有自己的意志。海浪不再是简单的水体,而是化为具有破坏性的“水墙”,试图将灯塔连根拔起。书中细致描绘了灯塔内部的反应:玻璃结构的震颤、底层储藏室被海水倒灌的恐慌、以及最致命的——主光源可能熄灭的威胁。 坚守的艺术: 在这场灾难中,伊莱亚斯的经验和直觉发挥了决定性作用。他必须在极度恶劣的条件下,攀爬到布满冰霜的顶端,手动调整旋转机构,用尽最后的储备燃料维持光束的稳定。这段描写充满了张力和精准的机械知识,展现了人类在面对不可抗拒的力量时,所能爆发出的最纯粹的勇气——不是鲁莽的英雄主义,而是对职责的绝对忠诚。 暴风雨后的宁静: 最终,风暴退去。幸存下来的灯塔,在清晨第一缕阳光下,显得比以往任何时候都更加坚固。被冲上岸的残骸——断裂的桅杆、被遗弃的渔网——成为这场战斗的无声证明。伊莱亚斯没有庆祝,他只是默默地开始清理和修复。对于他而言,每一次磨难都是对灯塔使命的再确认。 尾声:永恒的守望 故事的结尾,并不是伊莱亚斯功成身退、回归尘世。相反,它描绘了一种圆满的循环。当一艘远航的货轮在黎明时分,在远方的海平面上发出悠长的汽笛声,向灯塔致敬时,伊莱亚斯只是默默地回望了一眼,然后转过身,准备开始新一天的例行工作。 《夜幕下的灯塔守望者》是一部关于: 人类的韧性: 证明了精神的力量可以在最原始的环境中得以升华。 工作的尊严: 颂扬了那些默默无闻、却对人类安全至关重要的职业。 与自然的共存: 提醒读者,我们并非自然的主宰,而是其谦卑的参与者。 它邀请读者放慢脚步,去感受那些被现代生活遗忘的、缓慢而深刻的节奏。阅读它,就像站在寒冷的海岸边,呼吸着咸湿的空气,凝视着那束永不偏离航向的光芒。这不是一个容易的故事,但它是一个值得被铭记和珍藏的故事。