Advice to Little Girls

　　馬克吐溫獻給女孩們的幽默建議

　　本書源自馬克吐溫在1865年寫給女孩兒們的短篇故事《Advice to Little Girls》。美國童書作家Vladimir Radunsky將本文改編為繪本，將原來的文字佐以歡樂明亮的圖畫，讓更多人得以親炙大師風采。

　　不難發現，當年才三十歲的的馬克吐溫並不希望跟孩子們長篇大論地講道理，而是希望她們能從他的文句中理解、學習。他認為女孩們應該在成長過程中盡情地舒展自我、培養獨立思考的習慣，而非一味地遵照世俗的教條行事。

　　舉例來說，馬克吐溫建議女孩們最好別當面拒絕母親交辦的事項，應該先表現出會依照母親指示辦理的樣子，再低調地用自己的判斷力去執行任務。況且，請病假在家休息時都是靠父母無微不至的照顧，做子女的最起碼應該尊重兩老的各種小怪癖才是。這些建議真是寫給小女孩們看的嗎？幽默大師馬克吐溫，似乎又開了讀者一個玩笑。（文／博客來編譯）

Brilliantly illustrated, this witty, charming story is perfect for clever girls, adults and the mischievous boys in their midst.

You should ever bear in mind that it is to your kind parents that you are indebted for your food, and for the privilege of staying home from school when you let on that you are sick. Therefore you ought to respect their little prejudices, and humor their little whims, and put up with their little foibles until they get to crowding you too much.

When Mark Twain wrote the sparky short story ＂Advice to Little Girls＂ in 1865, he probably didn’t mean for it to be shown to them. Or maybe he did, since we all know Twain was a rascal. Now, author and illustrator Vladimir Radunsky has created a picture book based on Twain’s text that adds all the right outlandish touches.

Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel L. Clemens wrote under the pen name Mark Twain. He wrote two major classics of American literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur, and inventor. Whether or not it was Mark Twain’s actual intention for little girls to read this humorous short story, it’s clear that he did not talk down to children, but rather expected them to stretch themselves in order to grasp sophisticated, adult meaning.

Vladimir Radunsky has illustrated many books to great acclaim. Recently, Radunsky has been moving farther and farther away from the traditional picture book and into other more innovative forms. The most recent example is a work published by HarperCollins of hip-hop poetry for children, where the graffiti art has migrated from the walls into a printed book. Radunsky has published more than thirty books for children, mostly in the United States. Many of them were translated and published in France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan.

Vladimir Radunsky has illustrated many wonderful books, including The Maestro Plays by Bill Martin Jr and Woody Guthrie’s Howdi Do. He is also the author-illustrator of 10 (ten), The Mighty Asparagus, and (with Chris Raschka) of Table Manners.

Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel L. Clemens wrote under the pen name Mark Twain and went on to pen several novels, including two major classics of American literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. It is unknown whether it was Mark Twain’s actual intention for little girls to read this humorous short story published in 1867. What is clear is that he did not talk down to children, but rather expected them to stretch themselves in order to grasp sophisticated and perhaps even adult meanings.