The Cat Man of Aleppo

★榮獲美國凱迪克銀牌獎、美國兒童圖書中心期刊「藍絲帶」獎非虛構類選書、MEOC中東圖書獎
★將敘利亞戰爭中集愛與勇氣的真實故事精采重現
★透過艾拉的故事，學習成為更有同理心的人，一起讓世界更美好！

　　用精采圖像帶領讀者深入感受敘利亞的風土民情，用柔和療育的故事讓我們看到人性的光輝與溫暖，這本書讓我們在難民之外，也關注同樣無家可歸的動物。這是一個在苦難中仍見愛與希望的故事，是一本最適合陪伴孩子關懷世界、培養同理心的新公民繪本！

　　阿勒坡是個歷史悠久、文化底蘊深厚的美麗城市。
　　古老狹窄的街巷、熱鬧的室內市集、溫和有禮的人們，這裡是穆罕默德．艾拉．阿查里的家鄉。
　　但有一天，戰火席捲了這個城市，阿勒坡遭到嚴重破壞。
　　多數人逃離了此地，但艾拉留了下來，救治受傷的人們，以及......那些沒被帶走的貓。
　　自己的力量不夠，於是他向世界求救，世界......會怎麼回應他呢？

得獎紀錄
★ 2021年美國凱迪克銀牌獎
★ 2020年MEOC中東圖書獎得主
★ 2020年美國兒童圖書中心期刊「藍絲帶」獎非虛構類選書

國外星級評論

　　根據真實故事改編的繪本，故事引人入勝，插圖完美無瑕。一個文字和插圖都精采的故事，為戰爭和人性提供了獨特的視角。——美國《柯克斯書評》（Kirkus Reviews）

　　清水裕子精心繪製了被毀壞的建築物、空蕩蕩的街道和逃離敘利亞的人留下的棄貓。蕾登和商慈-巴舍選出了構成艾拉故事的微光，而清水描繪了它們的美麗。——美國《出版人週刊》（Publishers Weekly）

　　阿勒坡的養貓人的故事很精采……清水栩栩如生的插圖捕捉到了戰前的歡樂和美麗，將它與隨之而來的恐懼和悲傷對比……一個對敘利亞災難的安全、發人省醒和充滿希望的介紹。——美國《書單》雜誌（Booklist）

　　根據穆罕默德．艾拉．阿查里的真實故事，這個故事描繪了一個因暴力而動盪的美麗而充滿愛心的社區……清水的數位彩色繪畫與江戶時代的日本藝術相呼應，充滿了情感……觀眾將在最糟糕的時候中，在對人性的提醒中找到慰藉。——美國《兒童圖書中心期刊》（The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books）

　　艾拉的故事展現了對人性的信仰、同情的力量和利他主義的好處。——美國《書櫃意識》電子報（Shelf Awareness）

＊ 中文書介摘錄自《阿勒坡的養貓人：一個關於棄貓、戰爭和愛的故事》，小魯文化 出版

The Caldecott Honor-winning true story of Mohammad Alaa Aljaleel, who in the midst of the Syrian Civil War courageously offered safe haven to Aleppo’s abandoned cats.

Aleppo’s city center no longer echoes with the rich, exciting sounds of copper-pot pounding and traditional sword sharpening. His neighborhood is empty--except for the many cats left behind.

Alaa loves Aleppo, but when war comes his neighbors flee to safety, leaving their many pets behind. Alaa decides to stay--he can make a difference by driving an ambulance, carrying the sick and wounded to safety. One day he hears hungry cats calling out to him on his way home. They are lonely and scared, just like him. He feeds and pets them to let them know they are loved. The next day more cats come, and then even more! There are too many for Alaa to take care of on his own. Alaa has a big heart, but he will need help from others if he wants to keep all of his new friends safe.

Irene Latham is the author of hundreds of poems and nearly twenty current and forthcoming poetry, fiction, and picture books. Winner of the 2016 ILA Lee Bennett Hopkins Promising Poet Award, she lives on a lake in rural Alabama, where the queen of the house is a cat named Maggie.

Karim Shamsi-Basha immigrated to the United States from Damascus in 1984. While in Syria, he spent a year at the University of Aleppo and got to know the people of that ancient city. All of Karim’s work embodies love as a universal truth. His desire for people to love one another is where his personal and professional goals intersect.

Yuko Shimizu has been drawing and painting ever since she can remember, and has loved animals just as long. Though she has been illustrating for magazines, newspapers, and books longer than you have lived, this is only her second picture book (Barbed Wire Baseball, 2013). Yuko lives and works with a rescued senior Chihuahua named Bear, who is probably smaller than the cats in Alaa’s sanctuary.