Pepper and Me

　　撲倒在地、膝蓋受傷的小女孩，
　　幫膝蓋上傷口取了小名，叫胡椒（Pepper），
　　女孩和結痂間一連串詼諧逗趣、異想天開的對話……
　　從封面到故事結局，都讓人深深著迷。
 
　　國際知名插畫大師、《無所事事的美好一天》（On a Magical Do-Nothing Day）作繪者碧翠絲．阿雷馬娜，推出讓人愛不釋手的顛峰之作。
 
      小女孩向前飛撲，扎扎實實地跌了一大跤，血從膝蓋汩汩流出，讓她害怕地大哭了起來。爸爸安慰她，再不久膝蓋上會多了一個美麗的結痂。不，女孩覺得它一點也不美麗……　
 
      小女孩不管走到哪，都會看看傷口上的結痂消失了沒，一天竟自顧自地和結痂聊起天來，還幫它了取了個小名叫Pepper（胡椒）。
 
      無聊的時候，女孩就和Pepper聊她自己的故事，比如說在森林裡迷路的經驗、蜘蛛有多恐怖、如果可以去日本旅行有多棒……女孩一直期盼能養一隻寵物，如果她有一隻狗，就會幫牠取名叫Pepper，引來結痂大聲抗議！詼諧逗趣、異想天開的插圖和故事情節，深深讓人著迷。小女孩和結痂獨特的情誼，會如何發展下去？　
 
　　柯克斯書評（Kirkus Reviews）讚譽：「阿雷馬娜巧妙捕捉到失去某樣事物的真實感受。儘管在成年人眼中，或許只是一件微不足道的小事；但對孩子而言，卻具有重大意義……獨特且動人。」

From the New York Times Book Review:
＂The unnamed narrator scrapes her knee. ’I cried like a baby, ’ she confesses. ＂It was like a scary movie with you-know-what dripping down my leg. I had never seen so much before. Blood. I said the word that really scares us kids.’ How could you not immediately adore and trust this voice?＂

From three-time NYT Best Illustrated creator of On a Magical Do-Nothing Day comes a stunning picture book about a little girl, the scab on her knee, and the healing they do together.

In this utterly enchanting and unexpected tale from international picture book star Beatrice Alemagna, a childhood mishap is the occasion for growth and self-reflection. When a little girl falls on the street, scraping her knee, her father tells her not to worry, that ＂a beautiful scab will form.＂ But she does worry! The scab is not beautiful and it’s keeping her from bending her knee! When will it ever go away? By the time the scab--who she has named Pepper--falls off, something astonishing has happened: the girl has come to feel affection for the scab and has a hard time letting go. With an unerring understanding of a child’s emotional life and a dash of absurdist wit, this picture book will stand with classics from creators like Tomi Ungerer and William Steig, who explore the weird, funny essence of childhood.

碧翠絲．阿雷馬娜（Beatrice Alemagna）

      出生於義大利波隆那的國際知名插畫大師碧翠絲．阿雷馬娜（Beatrice Alemagna）著作多達四十幾本，廣為人知的作品包含《巴黎的獅子》（A Lion in Paris）、《神奇的胖胖蓬蓬小小》（The Wonderful Fluffy Little Squishy）、《無所事事的美好一天》（On a Magical Do-Nothing Day）等。非學院派自學創作的她，著作裡不見大道理，只有美國書評雜誌 Kirkus Reviews 評為「精巧、異想天開的愉悅」的細節。曾在受訪時表示自己不喜歡「重複一樣的創作」，所以總以不同素材創作不同作品，曾三度榮獲紐約時報（New York Times）∕紐約公共圖書館 （New York Public Library）最佳兒童繪本獎，並橫掃義大利波隆那等國際書展童書大獎。

Beatrice Alemagna was born in Italy in 1973. At the age of eight, she decided that whatever the cost she would become a ＂painter and writer of novels＂ when she grew up. Alemagna is the author-illustrator of more than 40 books that have been translated and published in 25 countries, and she has received numerous awards for her books, including three New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book Awards, and a special prize at the Bologna Book Fair this past year. She has been nominated numerous times for the Astrid Lindgren Prize.