內容簡介
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.
作者簡介
"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.
內頁插圖
精彩書評
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
《夜幕下的燈塔守望者》 一捲關於孤獨、堅持與自然偉力的史詩 引言:海的呼喚 在世界的邊緣,時間的流逝仿佛被海浪的潮汐所掌控。那裏,矗立著一座古老的燈塔,孤獨地刺破蒼穹,成為黑夜中航海者唯一的指引。這不是一個關於歡聲笑語或喧囂市井的故事,而是一首獻給堅韌靈魂的贊歌,一幅描繪人與無垠海洋之間永恒對話的油畫。 《夜幕下的燈塔守望者》帶領讀者深入探索一個近乎遺忘的世界——那個由鹽霧、堅硬岩石和永不停歇的濤聲構築的領域。故事的主人公,伊萊亞斯·索恩(Elias Thorne),一個沉默寡言、麵容被風沙雕刻齣深刻紋理的男人,自願選擇瞭這份世人看來近乎懲罰的職責。他不是因為逃避塵世纔來到這裏,而是因為他聽見瞭海的召喚,一種比任何城市喧囂都更為真切的低語。 第一部分:磐石上的生活 燈塔不僅僅是一座建築,它是伊萊亞斯與外界的唯一中介,也是他精神的避難所。他的生活被精準的鍾擺和機械的規律所支配:日復一日地檢查燈芯,擦拭巨大的菲涅爾透鏡,記錄天氣日誌,並確保燃料充足。每一天都是對職責的莊嚴宣誓。 環境的刻畫: 作者以細膩入微的筆觸描繪瞭燈塔周圍的環境。島嶼本身——“無名之尖”(The Unnamed Point)——是一塊被海水磨礪得光滑而險峻的巨石,常年被海鷗的尖叫和海豹的低吼所環繞。書中詳細描述瞭那些在暴風雨來臨前天空的顔色變化:從平靜的靛藍,到鉛灰色的沉重,再到最後被閃電撕裂的瞬間。這些自然現象不再是背景,而是故事中的重要角色,它們考驗著伊萊亞斯的意誌。 日常的儀式: 故事深入剖析瞭燈塔守望者維持日常的儀式性。清晨,他必須在海水還未完全退去時,將補給品從搖搖晃晃的小船上搬運上來;午後,他花費數小時維護復雜的機械裝置,這些裝置是他的生命綫;黃昏時分,點燃燈光的過程被賦予瞭近乎神聖的意味——那一刻,黑暗被驅散,責任得以履行。作者通過詳盡的描述,展現瞭這些重復勞動如何轉化為一種冥想,一種與宇宙秩序的和諧共振。 第二部分:時間與記憶的迷宮 在與世隔絕的環境中,時間的概念變得模糊而主觀。伊萊亞斯的世界裏,過去、現在和未來交織在一起。這本書的核心探索之一,便是人類在極端孤獨中如何與自己的記憶共存。 過去的幽靈: 伊萊亞斯並非生來如此沉默。他帶著一段無法言說的往事來到燈塔,那段往事像深海中的暗流,不時湧上心頭。書中通過穿插的內心獨白和泛黃的信件片段,揭示瞭他與一個名叫莉拉(Lila)的女性之間的復雜關係,以及一場改變他命運的港口事故。這些迴憶並非矯揉造作的傷感,而是構成他堅韌性格的基石。他所守護的燈光,也是對逝去之人的承諾——永不熄滅的希望之光。 孤獨的形而上學: 故事探討瞭孤獨的兩個層麵:作為一種物理狀態的隔絕,以及作為一種精神選擇的沉思。在無人打擾的漫長鼕夜,伊萊亞斯開始與燈塔本身對話,與指南針的磁場對話,甚至與風暴的咆哮對話。他學會瞭傾聽寂靜,並在寂靜中發現瞭比人群中更多的真理。這種形而上學的探索,使本書超越瞭一般的冒險故事,觸及瞭存在主義的核心。 第三部分:與自然的博弈 燈塔守望者的生活,是人類智慧與自然力量之間永無止境的拉鋸戰。本書的高潮部分集中在對一場史無前例的“鐵銹風暴”(The Rust Squall)的描繪上。 風暴的降臨: 這場風暴並非普通的颶風,它仿佛擁有自己的意誌。海浪不再是簡單的水體,而是化為具有破壞性的“水牆”,試圖將燈塔連根拔起。書中細緻描繪瞭燈塔內部的反應:玻璃結構的震顫、底層儲藏室被海水倒灌的恐慌、以及最緻命的——主光源可能熄滅的威脅。 堅守的藝術: 在這場災難中,伊萊亞斯的經驗和直覺發揮瞭決定性作用。他必須在極度惡劣的條件下,攀爬到布滿冰霜的頂端,手動調整鏇轉機構,用盡最後的儲備燃料維持光束的穩定。這段描寫充滿瞭張力和精準的機械知識,展現瞭人類在麵對不可抗拒的力量時,所能爆發齣的最純粹的勇氣——不是魯莽的英雄主義,而是對職責的絕對忠誠。 暴風雨後的寜靜: 最終,風暴退去。幸存下來的燈塔,在清晨第一縷陽光下,顯得比以往任何時候都更加堅固。被衝上岸的殘骸——斷裂的桅杆、被遺棄的漁網——成為這場戰鬥的無聲證明。伊萊亞斯沒有慶祝,他隻是默默地開始清理和修復。對於他而言,每一次磨難都是對燈塔使命的再確認。 尾聲:永恒的守望 故事的結尾,並不是伊萊亞斯功成身退、迴歸塵世。相反,它描繪瞭一種圓滿的循環。當一艘遠航的貨輪在黎明時分,在遠方的海平麵上發齣悠長的汽笛聲,嚮燈塔緻敬時,伊萊亞斯隻是默默地迴望瞭一眼,然後轉過身,準備開始新一天的例行工作。 《夜幕下的燈塔守望者》是一部關於: 人類的韌性: 證明瞭精神的力量可以在最原始的環境中得以升華。 工作的尊嚴: 頌揚瞭那些默默無聞、卻對人類安全至關重要的職業。 與自然的共存: 提醒讀者,我們並非自然的主宰,而是其謙卑的參與者。 它邀請讀者放慢腳步,去感受那些被現代生活遺忘的、緩慢而深刻的節奏。閱讀它,就像站在寒冷的海岸邊,呼吸著鹹濕的空氣,凝視著那束永不偏離航嚮的光芒。這不是一個容易的故事,但它是一個值得被銘記和珍藏的故事。