The Carrot Seed Board Book [Import] [ボードブック]

●あらすじ
男の子が、ニンジンの種をまいた。ところがそれを見た家族は「出てきっこないよ」と言う。でも男の子は、毎日、雑草を抜き、水やりを忘れず大切に育てる。そしてとうとう、大きな葉っぱが顔を出し、大きなニンジンがとれたのだった。

●この本について
『Carrot Seed』のまえがきより。
「子どもたちにとって、ただ『知っている』ということがあるだろう。誰かに説明しようと思うととても難しいけれど、そんなに大きな問題ではないから気にしないで。ただ『知っている』それだけでいいのだから」
大人にとっては些細なことでも、子どもにとっては大事件であることがよくある。この物語はこんなふうに終わる。"just as the little boy had known it would"男の子は最初からこうなることを知っていた、ということ。そう信じて、一生懸命育てあげたのだろう。
男の子が種をまき育てる間、周りの人々は「出てきっこないよ」と言う。言う人によって若干ニュアンスが違うあたり、おさらいしてみよう。

●mother

"I'm afraid it won't come up."
●father
"I'm afraid it won't come up."
●big brother
"It won't come up."
●"Everyone kept saying it won't come up.")
Copyright ペイパーウェイト・ブックス All rights reserved. --このテキストは、 ペーパーバック 版に関連付けられています。

Ruth Krauss, author of A Hole Is to Dig, has crafted a story almost Zen-like in its simplicity. A little boy plants a carrot seed and waits patiently, tending to it carefully, while everyone around him insists that "it won't come up." His conviction is steadfast, however, and sure enough, a carrot worthy of first prize at any state fair springs forth from the earth. Krauss's husband, Crockett Johnson (creator of Harold and the Purple Crayon), illustrated The Carrot Seed, and while the little boy is rendered with uncomplicated lines, all of his hope, confidence, and serenity shine through. The image that resonates most strongly in this minimalist tale is the unfaltering faith of the mild-mannered little boy. Young readers learn that standing your ground in the face of opposition and doubt can often result in twice the reward expected (even thrice the reward, if judging by the girth of this carrot). (Ages 4 to 8)

When you are very young,
there are some things that you just know....

This treasured story of childhood faith
rewarded is now avaliable in a board book
edition for the youngest child.

Ruth Krauss, a member of the experimental Writers Laboratory at the Bank Street School in New York City in the 1940s, imaginatively used humor and invented words to create some of the very first books for children that highlighted a childs inner life. She collaborated with some of the greatest illustrators in childrens literature, including Maurice Sendak and her husband, Crockett Johnson.