This is a really quirky story infused with witty dialogues about the encounters of the mouse and a duck inside a wolf’s belly after both had been eaten up by the wolf sequentially. The duck had apparently built a home in the wolf’s belly after he had been eaten. After some initial annoyance of being woken up by the mouse, he welcomed his new friend – mouse with food, drinks and partying from looting (and even dictating) what the wolf’s consumed. The party then made the wolf sick and even sicker when he took the duck’s advice. He ended up not being able to move much, thus being spotted by a hunter who tried to shoot him. The plot then unfolds dramatically and ended hilariously with the choices made by the animals.
The idea of this story is a tinge similar to those folktales that seek to explain certain natural instinct or characteristics of animals through making up believable explanations for what has been observed for ages. The differences that exist are how its plot was so extraordinary, how Barnett’s writing style was so drily humorous and how Klassen’s sepia-toned illustration was so charming and rightly emotive. My children and I enjoyed reading it over and over again.
A visual and entertaining read that intrigues the reader with a simple yet clever plot. Parents may wish to lead their children to imagine living in unimaginable places, exercising the creative thought process that would aid writing and problem solving skills . Other sub-themes of friendship and fear (for younger kids) and even of freedom versus security (for older kids and adults) can be discussed too.
Like the book? For your convenience, you may wish to click on The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen to purchase the English copy of the book right here.
这本书的故事内容是关于一只鸭子和老鼠先后被狼吞了的邂逅。鸭子住在狼的肚子里许久，早已把那儿当作自己的家。虽然，他起先从睡梦中被老鼠的喃喃自语吵醒，有点不爽，但后来他还是热情的用狼吞食的种种食物和物品来招待他这偶然相识的朋友。在他们友谊萌芽着的阶段，老鼠了解了鸭子长期住在狼的肚子里的原因，以至他也决定定居在狼的肚子里。这让鸭子欣喜若狂，开心的手舞足蹈。这害得狼的肚子痛得叫苦连天。此时，鸭子“劝告”他的解药，也似乎并非是真心想要狼的肚子好起来，而是想盗用“解药”来继续老鼠和他的狂欢作乐。狼因为痛得动弹不得，结果被猎人瞄到，企图射死他。就在这时，故事情节紧张万分。狼最终有没有被射死呢？如果狼死了，鸭子和老鼠算不算是死而复活，重获自由了呢？想知道
这书的概念类似一个民间故事 。作者在故事里给读者编了一个可信的理由来解释自古以来世间上生物中所观察的常态。但它的故事情节与众不同， 再加上巴内特的写作风格非常风趣和克拉森棕褐色调，表情丰富的绘画结合，深深的吸引了我。我也给孩子读了无数次。
家长可利用这故事里的一些主题来和孩子们讨论一些有趣的幻想。比如：生活在一个不可思议的环境中，或到一些难以想象的地方居住，从中启发他们发挥他们的想象力，操练他们写作和解决问题的思维。故事里也牵连着一些其它可供讨论的主题，例如： 友谊，惧怕 （适于年幼的小孩），甚至自由与安逸生活之间的取舍 （适于大孩子）。
喜欢这本书吗？你可以点击这里 狼，鸭子和老鼠 文/[美]麦克·巴内特 图/[加]乔恩·克拉森 购买华文版的。
Please click on the following image to purchase the Chinese version of the book.
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绘本好介绍 (双语）Bilingual reviews for picture books 