凱迪克獎——繪本界的盛宴

by Lynn Neary

凱迪克獎是美國最具權(quán)威的繪本獎，今年1月迎來了75周年紀(jì)念。凱迪克獎是為了紀(jì)念十九世紀(jì)英國繪本畫家倫道夫·凱迪克（Randolph Caldecott）而設(shè)立的。該獎之所以能夠獲得一致推崇，主要在于其評選標(biāo)準(zhǔn)著重作品的藝術(shù)價值和特殊創(chuàng)意，尤其每一部得獎作品都必須有“寓教于樂”的功能，讓孩子在閱讀的過程中開發(fā)另一個思考空間。

今年的獲獎作品是喬恩·克拉森（Jon Klassen）的《這不是我的帽子》（This Is Not My Hat）。有興趣的讀者還可以到凱迪克獎的官方網(wǎng)站查看各年的獲獎作品。

Picture books are a brilliant way to connect with children， even before theyre able to speak. They continue to feed the imagination as a child grows older. And for those who are on the cusp[尖端] of reading…

Rita Auerbach： They give children a sense of pictorial[用圖畫表示的] possibility， a way to imagine words that they might not imagine on their own.

Rita Auerbach is a retired childrens librarian[圖書管理員] who was chair[主席] of the 2010 Caldecott Award committee[委員會]. Over its 75 years， the Caldecott Medal has been given to a long list of childrens books， from Make Way for the Ducklings and Madelines Rescue， to Where the Wild Things Are and The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Auerbach says winning the Caldecott is a very big deal for the creators of these books.

圖畫書是與兒童溝通的一種極佳方式，甚至早在孩子們能張口說話之前便是如此。在孩子們的成長道路上，圖畫書不斷培養(yǎng)他們的想象力。對于那些剛開始閱讀的人來說……

麗塔·奧爾巴赫：它們讓孩子們體會用圖畫進(jìn)行想象，為他們帶來一種自己想不到的想象詞語的方式。

麗塔·奧爾巴赫是一位已經(jīng)退休的兒童圖書管理員，2010年曾任凱迪克獎委員會主席。在凱迪克獎75年的歷史中，有許多兒童讀物獲得過該獎，包括《讓路給小鴨子》、《馬德琳的救援》、《野獸家園》和《雨果·卡布里特的發(fā)明》等。奧爾巴赫說，獲得凱迪克獎對這些書的作者來說可是一件了不起的大事。

Auerbach： Its a little like winning the Nobel Prize， in that forever afterward you are the Caldecott-winning illustrator[插畫家]. That phrase accompanies[陪伴] your name wherever your name appears， and thats a quite wonderful thing.

As important as the honorific[表示敬意的] may be， the Caldecott has another advantage. It has a big impact[影響] on sales， more so than most literary[文學(xué)的] awards. Chris Van Allsburg remembers the first time he really thought he had a chance at winning， with Jumanji.

Chris Van Allsburg： I always believe that you can curse[詛咒] your possible good fortune by anticipating[期望] it. So a much better mindset[精神狀態(tài)] is to tell yourself you couldnt possibly get it， but on some level believe that it might still happen. So thats a hard place to get to mentally[精神上]， but Im capable of doing it.

Van Allsburg won a second Caldecott for The Polar Express， which has become a beloved childrens classic， especially popular around Christmas.

Van Allsburg： Years ago， I signed it for parents giving it to their children， and their children have subsequently[后來] become parents themselves. So now I am signing it for， you know， for that generation. So thats a…thats a terrific[很棒的] feeling.

Kevin Henkes has created a series of books

about whimsical[古怪的] little kids who just happen to be mice： Chrysanthemum， Sheila Rae the Brave and perhaps most famously， Lily， of Lilys Purple Plastic Purse. So it was somewhat ironic[諷刺的] that he won his Caldecott for Kittens First Full Moon， a book about the natural enemy of mice.

Kevin Henkes： It is funny. I think， you know， the bulk[主要部分] of my work， the thing I am most well-known for are the mouse books. But Ill take it.

Like Van Allsburg， Henkes writes as well as illustrates[圖解] his books. He says he loves the way words and pictures can play against one another.

Henkes： When its done right， it can be so beautiful. And I think when its done right and you see those words and those pictures together， those particular words and those particular pictures， once you see them， you cant separate them anymore because they really become one.

Both Henkes and Van Allsburg say theyre happy their books have helped young children learn to read. Van Allsburg， who started as a sculptor[雕刻家]， says he never expected to get fan mail from teachers.

Van Allsburg： They say， you know， Mr. Van Allsburg， your books have a kind of like a challenge and a puzzle and a mystery to them that seem to stimulate[刺激] the desire for the kids to read， and theyve been enormously[巨大地] helpful in getting kids who are reluctant[不情愿的] readers to become enthusiastic[熱心的] readers. I think thats just naturally what will happen if youve got a great story and its got some great pictures along with it.

And theres a good chance that kids will be learning to read with those Caldecott Award-winning books for many years to come.

奧爾巴赫：這就有點像獲得諾貝爾獎，因為從此以后，你就永遠(yuǎn)是頂著“凱迪克獲獎?wù)摺狈Q號的插畫家了。今后無論你的名字出現(xiàn)在哪里，這個頭銜都將如影隨形，那是非常美妙的事情。

獲得凱迪克獎還能帶來另一個與榮譽同樣重要的優(yōu)勢——它對圖書的銷量有很大影響，比其他很多文學(xué)獎的影響更大?？死锼埂し丁W爾斯伯格回憶起他第一次認(rèn)為自己有機會憑借《勇敢者的游戲》獲獎時的情形。

克里斯·范·奧爾斯伯格：我一直相信，如果你期盼好運降臨，可能反而會毀了這份好運。所以，更好的心態(tài)是告訴自己你不太可能得到它，但同時又在一定程度上相信它仍然可能發(fā)生。這是一種很難達(dá)到的心理境界，不過我能做到。

后來，范·奧爾斯伯格又憑借《極地特快》一書再次獲得凱迪克獎。這本書現(xiàn)在已成為孩子們心愛的經(jīng)典之作，在圣誕節(jié)前后特別受歡迎。

范·奧爾斯伯格：很多年前，我為一些想把這本書送給孩子的父母簽名，這些父母的孩子后來也為人父母，所以現(xiàn)在我又為，你知道，那一代人在同一本書上簽名。那種感覺……真是奇妙。

凱文·漢克斯創(chuàng)作了一系列關(guān)于脾氣古怪的小孩的圖書，這些“小孩”剛好都是老鼠，比如“菊花”、“勇敢的莎莎”，最有名的也許是《莉莉的紫色小皮包》里的“莉莉”。不過有點諷刺的是，讓他贏得凱迪克獎的卻是一本關(guān)于老鼠天敵的書——《小貓咪追月亮》。

凱文·漢克斯：我覺得很有意思，我的大部分作品和最負(fù)盛名的書，都是以老鼠為主角。不過我還是會接受這個事實。

和范·奧爾斯伯格一樣，漢克斯也是自己寫書，自己畫插圖。他說他喜歡看到文字和圖畫相映成趣的樣子。

漢克斯：當(dāng)文字和圖畫匹配得當(dāng)時，一本書竟可以如此美麗。當(dāng)這兩者搭配得恰到好處，你看到具體的文字和圖畫，就會覺得它們不可分割，因為它們已經(jīng)渾然一體。

漢克斯和范·奧爾斯伯格都表示，他們很高興自己的書能幫助兒童學(xué)習(xí)閱讀。最初身為雕刻師的范·奧爾斯伯格說，他從未想過會收到老師們的來信。

范·奧爾斯伯格：他們說，范·奧爾斯伯格先生，你的書有一種解謎似的神秘感和挑戰(zhàn)感，能激發(fā)孩子們的讀書欲望，很大地幫助了那些本來對讀書提不起興趣的孩子喜歡上讀書。我想，當(dāng)你遇到一個很好的故事，又配有很棒的圖畫，這樣的事就會自然而然地發(fā)生。

在未來的很多年，孩子們很可能仍將借助凱迪克獎獲獎圖書來學(xué)習(xí)閱讀。