Nancy and Plum
Autor Betty Macdonalden Limba Engleză Paperback – 11 oct 2011
Considerăm că orice copil care a simțit vreodată nevoia de a se refugia în brațele unui frate sau ale unei surori se va identifica imediat cu Nancy și Plum. Cele două protagoniste, deși captive într-un mediu ostil sub supravegherea doamnei Monday, nu își pierd niciodată spiritul combativ. Remarcăm o forță narativă deosebită în felul în care Nancy and Plum transformă o situație deznădăjduită — singurătatea sărbătorilor într-un internat rece — într-o aventură a speranței și a determinării de a-și schimba destinul. Stilul este unul cald, specific literaturii clasice, dar ritmul rămâne alert datorită planurilor ingenioase ale celor două surori. Credem că farmecul acestei ediții este sporit de ilustrațiile semnate de Mary GrandPré, care aduc o notă de magie vizuală unei povești despre reziliență. În familia The All-I'll-Ever-Want Christmas Doll de Patricia C. McKissack, regăsim aceeași importanță a legăturii dintre surori, dar cu o temă actuală: curajul de a evada dintr-un sistem opresiv pentru a găsi bunătatea autentică. Față de umorul domestic și soluțiile magice din seria Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Betty Macdonald explorează aici o latură mai emoționantă și mai realistă a copilăriei, păstrând totodată acel optimism incurabil care i-a consacrat întreaga operă, inclusiv în scrierile sale pentru adulți precum The Egg and I.
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 0375859861
Pagini: 240
Dimensiuni: 132 x 194 x 14 mm
Greutate: 0.26 kg
Editura: RH Childrens Books
De ce să citești această carte
Recomandăm această carte părinților care doresc să le ofere copiilor (8-12 ani) o poveste clasică despre loialitate și curaj. Cititorul va câștiga o perspectivă prețioasă asupra recunoștinței și a puterii legăturilor de familie. Este un roman care demonstrează că, în fața nedreptății, spiritul de inițiativă și solidaritatea sunt cele mai bune unelte pentru a găsi un loc căruia să îi spui cu adevărat „acasă”.
Despre autor
Betty Macdonald (1907–1958) a fost o scriitoare americană de un succes răsunător, cunoscută pentru capacitatea sa de a transforma experiențele de viață în literatură plină de umor și căldură. După ce a captivat publicul adult cu The Egg and I, o relatare amuzantă despre viața la o fermă de pui, s-a dedicat literaturii pentru copii. Este creatoarea legendarei Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, un personaj care rezolvă problemele de comportament ale celor mici prin metode fantastice. În Nancy and Plum, MacDonald îmbină talentul său pentru detalii domestice cu o sensibilitate aparte pentru universul emoțional al orfanilor, creând personaje memorabile care au rezistat probei timpului.
Descriere scurtă
and made all of Heavenly Valley smooth and white and quiet and beautiful.
So begins the story of two orphaned sisters at Mrs. Monday’s Boarding School. But nothing is heavenly for Nancy and Pamela (aka Plum): their parents died in a tragic accident years ago, they’re constantly punished by the cruel Mrs. Monday, and they’re all alone for the holidays.
Luckily, Nancy and Plum have each other, and though their prospects may be bleak, they’re determined to change their lot for the better. If their plan works, the spirited sisters will never spend Christmas at the cold, dark boarding school again. But what will they find on the other side of Mrs. Monday’s gate?
Adventure, warmth, unforgettable characters, and unexpected kindness abound in this classic story by Betty MacDonald, which was originally published in 1952. With illustrations by the acclaimed Mary GrandPré and an introduction by Jeanne Birdsall, National Book Awardߝwinning author of The Penderwicks, this edition introduces the spunky, beloved heroines to a new generation of fans.
From the Hardcover edition.
Notă biografică
Among her books for children are Nancy and Plum, originally published in 1952, and the beloved classics Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Magic, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s Farm, and Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
Mary GrandPré is perhaps best known for creating the jackets and illustrations for the Harry Potter books. She has also illustrated The Blue Shoe, a novel for young readers by Robert Townley, as well as many fine picture books, including Chin Yu Min and the Ginger Cat by Jennifer Armstrong and Lucia and the Light by Phyllis Root. You can read more about Mary GrandPré and her work at www.marygrandpre.com.
From the Hardcover edition.
Extras
It was Christmas Eve. Big snowflakes fluttered slowly through the air like white feathers and made all of Heavenly Valley smooth and white and quiet and beautiful. Tall fir trees stood up to their knees in the snow and their outstretched hands were heaped with it. Trees that were bare of leaves wore soft white fur on their scrawny, reaching arms and all the stumps and low bushes had been turned into fat white cupcakes. Mrs. Monday's big, brick Boarding Home for Children wore drifts on its window sills, thick frosting on its steep slate roofs, big white tam o'shanters on its cold chimneys and by the light of the lanterns on either side of the big iron gates you could see that each of the gateposts wore a round snow hat. Even the sharp spikes of the high iron fencehad been blunted by the snow. However, in spite of its snowy decorations, in spite of the beauty of its setting, and even in spite of its being Christmas Eve, Mrs. Monday's was a forbidding-looking establishment. The fences were high and strong, the house was like a brick fortress and the windows, with the exception of one small one high up and almost hidden by the bare branches of a large maple tree, were like dark staring eyes. No holly wreath graced the heavy front door, no Christmas-tree lights twinkled through the windows and beckoned in the passer-by, no fragrant boughs nor pine cones were heaped on the mantel of the large cold fireplace, for Mrs. Monday, her niece Marybelle Whistle and all but two of her eighteen boarders had gone to the city to spend Christmas. Nancy and Plum Remson (Plum's real name was Pamela but she had named herself Plum when she was too little to say Pamela), the two boarders who remained, were left behind because they had no mother and father. No other place to go on Christmas Eve.
You see, six years before, when Nancy and Plum were four and two years old, their mother and father had been killed in a train wreck and the children turned over to their only living relative, one Uncle John, an old bachelor who lived in a club in the city, didn't know anything about children, didn't want to know anything about children and did not like children. When the telegram from the Remsons' lawyer came notifying Uncle John of the tragic accident and the fact that he had just inherited two little girls, he was frantic.
"Dreadful!" he said, fanning himself with his newspaper. "Gallivanting around the country getting killed. Dreadful and careless! Two little children! Heavens! What will I do with them? I'll have to move from this nice leather chair in this nice comfortable club and will probably wind up washing dishes and making doll clothes. Dreadful! Heavens!" Beads of sweat sprang out on his forehead like dew and he fanned himself some more. It was while he was folding his newspaper to make a bigger and better fan that he noticed the advertisement. It read:
CHILDREN BOARDED--Beautiful country home with spacious grounds, murmuring brooks, own cows, chickens, pigs, and horses. Large orchard. Delicious home-cooked food. A mother's tender loving care. Year round boarders welcome. Rates upon request. Address Mrs. Marybelle Monday, Box 23, Heavenly Valley.
With trembling hands, Uncle John tore out the advertisement and wrote a letter to Mrs. Monday. He received an immediate answer and three days later he was on his way to inspect this delightful boarding home so chock-full of good food and tender loving care for little children.
It was springtime in Heavenly Valley and the fields were golden with dandelions, the slopes were foaming with cherry blossoms, the sky was lazily rolling big white clouds around and meadow larks trilled in the thickets. Uncle John was entranced. "Had forgotten the country was so beautiful!" he said to his chauffeur. "Certainly the place for children. Beautiful, beautiful!"
When they drew up to the imposing entrance of Mrs. Monday's Boarding Home for Children, Uncle John was most impressed. "Nice, solid, respectable place," he said, noting the very large, sturdily built brick house surrounded by the high spiked iron fence."Well built," he said to his chauffeur, who had jumped out to open the heavy iron gates for him.
"It certainly is," the chauffeur said, wondering to himself why a boarding home for little children should have such a wicked-looking fence. Surely not just to keep the rolling lawns from oozing out into the road!
From the Hardcover edition.