Where does the wind go when it stops?
When a little boy asks this question at the end of a happy day, his mother explains that the wind does not stop-it blows away to make the trees dance somewhere else.
Reassuringly, she tells him that nothing ever ends, it simply begins in another place or in another way. Rain goes back into the clouds to create new storms, waves fold back upon the sea to become new waves, and the day moves on to make way for the night, bringing the darkness and stars for the little boy to dream in.
Charlotte Zolotow's lyrical prose and Stefano Vitale's rich illustrations make this a beautiful celebration of the cycle of life.
小男孩问:“为什么白天会结束?”妈妈回答:“白天并不会结束,它会在别的地方重新开始。”
然后,小男孩想知道风停了以后,或是云到了天边,又去了哪里?
就这样,透过和妈妈之间的一问一答,小男孩学到自然界永无休止的循环,并了解所有的事物只是换了地方,再以不同的方式出现罢了。这是一本引领儿童进入自然科学的绘本佳作。
Charlotte Zolotow is a revered name in children's literature. She is a prolific, much-honored author with over seventy titles published, including the classic Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present,illustrated by Maurice Sendak, and the groundbreaking William's Doll, illustrated by William Péne du Bois.
In addition, she has been a distinguished editor and publisher (she is now a HarperCollins Publisher Emerita), and by extension, an innovative educator. Her editorial career began under the brilliant Ursula Nordstrom, publisher of Harper Children's Books. The two shared a passionate belief: that children's books should be honest and faithful to the sometimes difficult but always intensely felt experiences of childhood. They were certain that children were capable of understanding the best work gifted artists and writers could give them.
Charlotte Zolotow was born in 1915 in Norfolk, Virginia, but grew up in several cities, including Detroit, New York, and Boston. She attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and shortly afterward returned to New York, where in 1938 she began working at HarperCollins, then Harper & Brothers.
She started as a secretary, but moved into an editorial career, working with Ursula Nordstrom. Their shared beliefs and the excitement of working with fine writers and artists brought to Harper generations of extraordinary authors and illustrators and gave Harper Children's Books their fresh, innovative quality. Talent was nurtured; books of lasting value were created, many still loved and read decades after they were first published. As Jean Mercier wrote in Publishers Weekly, Charlotte Zolotow would be among the Who's Who of any age, not only as the author of books of her own, but as a force majeure behind many children's books on the distinctive list of Harper.
Charlotte Zolotow has received numerous awards and honors, including the Regina Medal (2002) presented by the Catholic Library Association, the University of Minnesota's Irwin Kerlan Award (1986), the University of Southern Mississippi's Silver Medallion (1990), the Christopher Award (1974), and the Harper Gold Medal for Outstanding Editorial Achievement (1974). Of ongoing significance is the award established in 1998 in her name by the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The Charlotte Zolotow Award, presented annually by the University's Cooperative Center for Children's Books, is given annually to the author of the best picture book text published in the United States in the preceding year.
The 1991 resolution of gratitude given to Charlotte Zolotow by the American Library Association calls her contribution to children's literature far reaching. That reach extends far indeed. It begins with the many books she has written carry her vision into the hearts of children past, present, and future.
She has written more than seventy books for young children, many of which -- have become picture-book classics.