作品情報

星座たちが農場を見守る、静かで不思議な児童幻想譚。

『The Heavenly Tenants』は、家族が留守にするあいだ星座たちが農場を引き受けるという奇想を軸に、日常の風景と神話的な気配を重ねた児童文学。自然の秩序をやわらかく見直すような、穏やかな幻想味が残る。

書籍情報

出版社

Dover Publications

発売日

2017-09-13

ページ数

64ページ

言語

英語

サイズ

18.42 x 1.27 x 25.4 cm

ISBN-13

9780486815299

ISBN-10

0486815293

カテゴリ

洋書/Children's Books/Animals/Farm Animals

"This is a lovely introduction to the constellations of the zodiac for children, and readers of all ages will be enthralled by the evocative scratchboard illustrations. The Dover production is a high-quality hardcover on heavy, slightly glossy paper, a beautiful book to treasure for many years." — The Emerald City Book Review The Marvell family is on the move, driving from their Wisconsin farm to visit the children's grandmother in Virginia. The night before their departure, Mr. Marvell talks to Roger, Heather, and the twins about the wonders of the night sky and explains the zodiac — a beautiful trail traveled by the sun in the daytime and by the moon and planets at night. The pathway's 12 sections, called the "signs" of the zodiac, contain clusters of stars. Long ago shepherds and sailors identified the clusters with characters from mythology, and so the heavens became filled with gods and heroes, hunters, ploughmen, and archers as well as birds, bears, farm animals, and monsters. Upon the family's arrival in Virginia, Mr. Marvell sets up his telescope but he can't find the Crab —it has disappeared from the sky! Meanwhile, back in Wisconsin, a strange light emanates from the Marvells' house, illuminating every board, windowpane, shingle, brick, and stone. What could be causing it? A Newbery Honor book of 1947, this extraordinary tale by a noted American author is gloriously illustrated with woodcut-style scratchboard graphics.

Best known for his roles as an editor at The New Yorker and as a friend and mentor to many prominent authors of his era, William Maxwell (1908–2000) was also a novelist, short story writer, essayist, and author of children's books. Budapest-born Ilonka Karasz (1896–1981) emigrated to the United States in 1913. Inspired by both folk and modern art, she was an innovator in textile design and production, and in the course of six decades she created 186 covers for The New Yorker.

関連する文学賞

• ジョン・ニューベリー・メダル（ニューベリー賞） 第26回（1947年） ・Honor