《小家伙们》

陈佳

Caldecott1 Honor-winning author and illustrator Vera Brosgols new picture book， The Little Guys， charms with a story of a band of acorn-hatted creatures， a gang of inscrutable2 little guys who live on a small island. Tiny but strong， they are clever and fearless. Using their numbers and their tight teamwork， they ford deep streams， cross dark forests， climb tall trees， lift heavy logs， dig deep burrows and even jump on the belly of a big brown bear. They do this all to find food for the little guys. But one day， while hunting for their breakfast， they get carried away with their success and leave chaos in their wake.

Soon they have bullied3 all the residents of the forest and collected a tower of food. All the food is for them. There is nothing for anyone else. The little guys quite literally have everything—everything except one grape in the beak of a small red bird. When the little guys create a tower to grab it， the tower sways and they all fall into the water. The little guys float along and finally climb out， but only with the help of the forest creatures whose food theyve taken.

This incident wakes the little guys to the realization that they already have all they need. Together they are strong， they say， as they deliver the grape back to the small red bird. Brosgols story filled with bright， cartoonish illustrations will delight young readers and spur discussion about teamwork， greed and even the politics of power.

凱迪克大奖获奖作家、插画家维拉·布罗斯哥的新书《小家伙们》，讲述了一群戴橡子帽、生活在小岛上的神秘小家伙们的故事。它们小而强壮，聪明且无畏。利用人数和紧密的团队合作，他们跋山涉水，穿过黑暗的森林，爬上高大的树木，举起沉重的原木，挖深洞穴，甚至在一只大棕熊的肚子上蹦跳。他们这么做是为了给他们的小家伙们找点吃的。但有一天，他们在寻找早餐时，因成功而忘乎所以，在身后留下一片混乱。

很快，他们就威吓到了森林里的所有居民，并收集到了一堆食物。所有的食物都是他们的，其他动物们什么都没有。从字面意义来看，这些小家伙们什么都有——除了小红鸟嘴里的一颗葡萄以外。当小家伙们建造一座塔去抓它时，塔左右摇晃，他们都掉到了水里。小家伙们漂在水面，最后在被他们抢走食物的森林动物们的帮助下，他们才爬了出来。

这件事使小家伙们意识到他们已经拥有了所需要的一切。当他们把葡萄送回给小红鸟的时候，他们说，他们在一起才会变得强大。布罗斯哥的故事满是鲜艳的卡通插图，这会让小读者们感到高兴，并激发他们关于团队合作、贪婪，甚至权力政治的讨论。