Life and I: A Story About Death

這是一個有著淡淡悲傷的故事，
對所有年齡層的讀者說明了生命和死亡的一體兩面

　　那天是個晴朗的好天氣，你甚至能看到繁花盛開在枝頭和停留在其上的小鳥。故事開頭，映入眼簾的是一台暗粉色的自行車，車上的女孩有著碧綠色的眼眸，而玫瑰色的臉頰則讓她的眼睛越加顯得清澈，她頭上的花則鮮艷的有點喧賓奪主。她將自己小小的身體，包裹在深藍色的大衣裡，那大衣讓她似乎又再縮小了一點。我想你一定會驚訝，因為那女孩的名字為死亡。綠眼睛的她，曾經拜訪有著柔軟毛皮的森林小動物、有著鋒利尖牙的猛獸。她也曾在慈祥的婆婆身邊徘徊，陪她將織好的毛圍巾打上最後一個繩結。她選擇在平凡卻簡單幸福的氛圍中，告訴我們，她是誰。

　　對於面臨失去至親，朋友或寵物的讀者來說，他們會發現，這本書成功的為她們心中難以言喻的感覺做如實的發聲。那是一種一開始先和悲傷面對面，最後在得到安慰後，將悲傷慢慢放下的釋放療程。任何年齡的讀者在翻到最後一頁時，眼中雖含著淚但卻一定會帶著微笑。作者伊麗莎白埃蘭•拉森，用詩意且觸及人心的動人故事和插畫家瑪琳•施耐德，用充滿手繪溫度的圖像，共同攜手編織出一幅動人的情感和絕對誠實的聲音。

　　This sensitively-told story for readers of all ages illustrates the inseparability of life and death. Rosy-cheeked and wrapped in blue, with a flower in her hair, Death rides a pink bike. Death, a green-eyed little girl in this pastel world, visits small animals with soft fur and big animals with sharp teeth. She lingers with a kindly grandmother as they knit one last scarf together. She wanders through surroundings of gentle beauty and she tells us who she is. For parents of children facing the loss of a family member, a friend, or a pet, this book finds words to express what is often so difficult to explain. It ends with such a feeling of uplift and acceptance that readers of any age will turn the last page with a smile and a tear. Author Elisabeth Helland Larsen and illustrator Marine Schneider weave a tapestry out of direct, poetic words and hand-drawn pictures to give voice to emotions that are moving, real, and most of all, honest.

 

作者簡介

　　A native of Norway, Elisabeth Helland Larsen studied theater in Paris at the École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq and children s literature in Oslo at the Norsk Barnebokinstitutt. She has worked as a clown for more than 20 years in hospitals and hospices, as well as refugee camps, circuses, and theaters. Her experiences with children there are reflected in her sensitive stories. Marine Schneider has drawn since she could hold a pencil. The young Belgian illustrator just received her degree from the LUCA School of Arts. Life and I is her children s book debut.