Does a Kangaroo Have a Mother, Too?

翻开这本书，你会先被 Eric Carle 标志性的浓烈色块吸引：袋鼠、狮子、企鹅、海豚依次登场。但真正让低幼孩子反复要求的，是那句反复出现的「just like me and you」——它把动物的宝宝和孩子的妈妈轻轻系在一起，让孩子在重复句型里确认：无论外表多么不同，每个宝宝都被爱着。这或许是它最朴素也最动人的设计。不过对熟悉 Carle 的读者，它的画风确实粗犷、情节简单，远不如《好饿的毛毛虫》那样惊艳。它更像一件为英文启蒙量身定制的工具：句型重复、色彩鲜明，适合1岁半到3岁的孩子磨耳朵、认动物。若期待故事层次与艺术惊喜，可能会失望；但若把它当作亲子共读的第一块砖，它足够稳。

Eric Carle is acclaimed and beloved as the creator of brilliantly illustrated and innovatively designed picture books for young children. Eric was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1929, and moved with his parents to Germany when he was six years old. After graduating from art school, he returned to America, the land of his happiest childhood memories, and found work as a graphic designer. After seeing an advertisement designed by Eric, respected educator and author, Bill Martin Jr, called to ask him to illustrate a story he had written. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, with its distinctive collage style, was the result of their collaboration. This favorite was the beginning of Eric Carle's true career. Soon Eric was writing his own stories, developing a close bond with Ann Beneduce, the founder of Philomel Books, who would be his editor for nearly 40 years. In 1969 they published the celebrated classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has eaten its way into the hearts of literally millions of children all over the world and has been translated into more than 30 languages. Since this beginning, Eric Carle has illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote. The secret of Eric Carle's books' appeal lies in his intuitive understanding of and respect for children, who sense in him instinctively someone who shares their most cherished thoughts and emotions. He says "I believe the passage from home to school is the second biggest trauma of childhood; the first is, of course, being born. Indeed, in both cases we leave a place of warmth and protection for one that is unknown. The unknown often brings fear with it. In my books I try to counteract this fear, to replace it with a positive message. I believe that children are naturally creative and eager to learn. I want to show them that learning is really both fascinating and fun." Eric Carle has two grown-up children, a son and a daughter. He and his wife Barbara divide their time between Massachusetts and Florida.