1990年英国凯特·格林纳威大奖作品,为你展现大自然的神奇与美丽。
一则人与鲸鱼的传说,一次亦真亦幻的审美体验。
大自然的美无处不在,如果相信,就可能与它们相遇。
静观聆听,享受与万物相处的片刻,与大自然对话就这么简单。
愿我们永葆纯真,陪孩子享受做梦的时光,收获一些“无用”的美好。
全书用细腻逼真的油画绘就,一幅幅画面如同一帧帧相片,震撼动人。
本书讲述了小女孩莉莉与鲸鱼之间发生的一段动人故事。莉莉经常听奶奶讲起鲸鱼的传说。奶奶说,如果鲸鱼喜欢某一个人,就会唱歌给他听。听完鲸鱼的故事后,莉莉一直期待着大海能够赐予她这份特殊的礼物,她坚信如果她告诉鲸鱼如何找到她,它们就会来到她的身边。于是她在海边日复一日地等待着,直到有一天,奇迹发生了,她真的听到了鲸鱼的歌声!
这本书让读者感受到大海的神奇与美丽,感动于孩子那一颗玻璃一般透明纯真的心,呼吁读者保护动物、与大自然和谐相处。
绘者:加里·布莱斯(GaryBlythe)
英国插画家。居住在英国的威勒尔半岛。《听,鲸鱼在唱歌》是他作为绘者创作的第一本图画书,荣获1990年凯特·格林纳威大奖。加里·布莱斯的插图“对人物脸部的特写和海景的描绘都是极为成功的”。这是英国报纸《观察家》对《听,鲸鱼在唱歌》中的插画做出的评价。他曾在伦敦举办过多次画展,他的作品充满情感和张力,常常以细节展现大自然的雄伟壮阔。
孙莉莉/南师大教科院儿童图画书研究中心研究人员
同一本图画书,也许,你会读出一个充满幻想的童年故事;也许,你会读出一段回不去的金色时光;也许,你能读出关于自然的启示;也许,你能读出人类对自身的批判……无论你读到什么,相信那就是这本书想要对你诉说的。它仿佛来自远方的鲸鱼,静静游到你的面前,你把你的目光当作最好的礼物送给它,它把一个传奇故事留给你。
当我阅读《听那鲸鱼在唱歌》这本画面细腻而唯美、内容浪漫又深刻的图画书时,我听到的绝不是一首轻柔的小夜曲,而是一首内涵深厚、层次丰满的交响乐。
莉莉是一个小女孩,她对世界充满了好奇。在她的眼中,生命并没有高低贵贱之分,人类和鲸鱼,都同样有灵性、有情感,能够彼此交流。听到奶奶说年少时总能在海边见到鲸鱼,她的问题是:“它们怎么知道你在那儿?它们怎么找到你的?”鲸鱼是莉莉和奶奶对话中的主角,是主动与人类进行互动的主体,是和人类一样有意识的存在。
奶奶顺势而为,用更加浪漫的方式回应了莉莉的想象:只要送给鲸鱼一些美好但无用的礼物,就能获得鲸鱼的回馈;而鲸鱼的回馈是同样美好而无用的歌声。
——出版人周刊
谢尔登的这篇短篇小说似乎是一场关于幻想的欢乐庆典,以及对神奇事物的信仰的颂扬。布莱斯奇妙的绘画,从温暖、现实的特写肖像到戏剧性的月色海景,无一不丰富了这个故事。
——美国学校图书馆杂志
在谢尔登冗长、富有诗意的叙述中,在布莱斯的慷慨宽广的油画中,我们捕捉到了一个孩子对宏伟生物的好奇与敬畏。布莱斯的鲸鱼——从近乎不寻常的有利位置看——是英勇的,而从黎明到月光,他的海洋和天空都被美丽地观察到;书中*可爱的、*动人的肖像是这位老妇人睿智、有皱纹的脸,还有莉莉蓬乱的卷发和富于表情的眼睛。
Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this haunting, evocative picture book, Lilly's grandmother tells her that, when she was young, she used to leave gifts for the whales--"a perfect shell. Or a beautiful stone. And if they liked you, the whales would take your gift and give you something in return." Lilly's great-uncle Frederick claims that the story is "nothing but a silly old tale," that she shouldn't "be dreaming her life away." But one morning, Lilly, believing her grandmother's claim that "they were the most wondrous creatures you could ever imagine," drops a yellow flower into the water. " 'This is for you,' she called into the air," and later that night she sits waiting, like a mermaid on a rock, finally receiving a gift in return. Filling the night with their song, the whales call Lilly's name. Infused with the cadences of real speech, Sheldon's poetic text manages to overlay a homespun practicality with an ethereal, fairy-tale magic. The unique grandeur and beauty of these creatures, "as peaceful as the moon," are compellingly interwoven throughout the narrative. Newcomer Blythe's paintings are extraordinary. The play of light and shadow in his cozy interiors is delicately balanced against stunningly realistic faces--Lilly's purity and innocence, her elders' splendidly craggy countenances. Rendered in unusual perspectives, these vibrant panoramas of the sea and of the whales leaping from the moonlit water possess a rare luminosity and beauty that should not be missed. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-- Lilly's grandmother tells tales of singing whales who came from miles away in answer to a child's desire to see them dance across the waves. One night, Lilly hears the whales and watches breathlessly as they "leaped and jumped and spun across the moon." Then, waking from what she thinks is a dream, she hears them call her name. Sheldon's brief story seems to be a celebration of the joys of fantasy and the belief in magical happenings. It is enriched by Blythe's wonderfully evocative paintings, which range from warm, realistic close-up portraits to dramatically moonlit seascapes. But beyond the pleasures of the dreamlike mood, the book has little substance. There is no deeper level of meaning, no foundation is offered for the idea that whales are magical, and certainly in the dolphinlike behavior of the whales there is no information on the actual habits and habitats of these wondrous creatures of the deep. --Shirley Wilton, Ocean County College, Toms River, NJ
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the author
Dyan Sheldon is the author of many books for young people, including Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and a number of stories for younger readers. She also writes books for adults. American by birth, she lives in north London.
Gary Blythe (Illustrator)
Gary Blythe is an award-winning illustrator. His first childrenâe(tm)s picture book, The Whalesâe(tm) Song, written by Dyan Sheldon, won the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1990. Gary lives in the Wirral, near Liverpool.