多伦多《今日父母》(Today's Parents)杂志评选了最受欢迎的100本儿童书籍，真是雪中送炭啊！很多朋友要我推荐英文儿童读物，我也是一筹莫展。宝宝们的幼儿园每个月都会发订书单给我们，折扣还不错；而且我们每买一本书，幼儿园都可以从书商那里拿到回扣来丰富幼儿园的藏书，算是双赢吧。可是怎么选书，也是我们很头疼的一个问题。

    我把评选结果的第一部分，也即2-4岁读物的书评/简介大致翻译了一下，附上原文，供大家参考。因为我本人未曾看过原书，所以翻译不准确的地方，还望谅解。我打算挑选几本到本月的订书单上。如果宝宝们喜欢，我会来通报一声！

1）Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
作者 Bill Martin, Jr. 绘图 Eric Carle, 1967 年首次出版.

评论/简介：引人入胜的绘本可以激发小读者对下一页内容的强烈好奇心，比如蓝色马、紫色猫及其它。

A page-turner that ignites in readers the desire to glimpse a blue horse, a purple cat and the next brilliant thing that follows.

 

2）Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?
作者 Martin Waddell 绘图 Barbara Firth, 1992 年首次出版.

 书评/简介：暖色调的水彩画准确地抓住了大熊试图驱逐黑暗、让小熊得以安全入睡的努力。

Warm watercolours capture Big Bear’s tender attempts to banish all dark from the cave so Little Bear feels safe enough to sleep.

 

3) The Carrot Seed
作者 Ruth Krauss 绘图 Crockett Johnson, 1945年首次出版.

书评/简介：尽管事先被告知种植的种子不会结果，但是小男孩的耐心和信心使得他收获了一个巨大的胡萝卜。

Despite warnings that the seed he planted will not grow, a little boy’s patience and self-confidence are rewarded with a carrot as big as himself.

 

4）Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
作者 Bill Martin, Jr., John Archambault, 绘图 Lois Ehlert, 1989年首次出版.

书评/简介：本书用极富感染力、戏谑的旋律赋予字母拟人化，并爬上一棵椰子树直至树倒塌。

Infectious, playful rhyme sends the alphabet on a romp up a coconut tree.

 

5）Goodnight Moon
作者 Margaret Wise Brown 绘图 Clement Hurd, 1947年首次出版.

书评/简介：Wise Brown 儿歌的安静旋律代代相传，吸引了成千上万的家庭。

Wise Brown’s quiet poetry has lulled generations of children to sleep and enticed millions of families to hunt for the mouse on every page.

6）Grumpy Bird
作者 Jeremy Tankard, 2007年首次出版.

书评/简介：当小鸟醒来的时候，他烦躁得不想吃饭、不想玩耍，甚至不想飞行。他开始跺步穿越森林。他那健忘的乐天派朋友一直粘着他，无意中把小鸟的步行旅程变成了一个模仿游戏，这使得小鸟更加烦躁不安。

When Bird wakes up, he’s too grumpy to eat, play or even fly, and instead starts stomping through the forest on foot. But his oblivious, happy-go-lucky friends stick to him like glue, turning Bird’s walk into an inadvertent game of follow-the-leader that makes Bird even grumpier.

7）Guess How Much I Love You （有看过的朋友隆重推荐）
作者 Sam McBratney 绘图Anita Jeram, 1995年首次出版.

书评/简介：绘本描述的是小兔子和大兔子互相量化描述对对方爱的甜蜜游戏——猜猜我有多爱你。

 It is impossible not to sigh and aw-w-w over the sweet illustrations of Little Nutbrown Hare in various stages of sleep and play as he and Big Nutbrown Hare describe their love for each other.

8）Maisy the Mouse series
作者 Lucy Cousins, 1990首次出版.

书评/简介：梅西鼠系列是儿童书籍中最深入人心的形象之一。

According to Cousins, Maisy “drew herself” one day when Cousins was doodling, and has since become one of the best-loved characters in children’s books.

9）Max and Ruby series
作者 Rosemary Wells, 1979首次出版.

书评/简介：好奇的三岁麦克斯和爱指手画脚的7岁露比的绘本形象跟本书的文字一样生动有趣。

The illustrations of curious three-year-old Max and bossy seven-year-old Ruby incite as much fun as the words.

10）More More More, Said the Baby
作者 Vera B. Williams, 1990首次出版.

书评/简介：三个表达父子之爱的小故事，始于爸爸追逐小宝宝，抓住他高高抛起，吻他的小肚脐眼。“还要”小宝宝笑了：“再来一次，再来一次。”

Three stories of crazy-for-you affection, starting with Little Guy being chased by his daddy, who catches Little Guy and throws him high, swings him all around and gives him a kiss right in the middle of his belly button. “More,” laughs Little Guy. “More. More. More.” The book explodes with colour, each word an assortment of hues, each baby uniquely adored.

11）Night Cars
作者 Teddy Jam (Matt Cohen) 绘图 Eric Beddows, 1988首次出版.

书评/简介：抒情的文字加上丰富的绘图描述了一位疲乏的父亲形象地描绘夜晚窗外的声音。本书被称为加拿大版的《晚安，月亮》。

Lyrical prose and rich illustrations portray a tired father’s imaginative explanations of the nighttime noises outside the window. Billed as the Canadian Goodnight Moon.

12）The Real Mother Goose
绘图 Blanche Fisher Wright, 1916首次出版.

书评/简介：尽管有很多个版本的童谣来配绘本，但是这个版本，加上经常的绘图诠释，保持了近一个世纪的优势。

Despite the plentiful variety of nursery rhyme editions that surface regularly, it is this version, with its beloved illustrations, that is still going strong after nearly a century.

13）Sam Who Never Forgets
作者 Eve Rice, 1977年首次出版.

书评/简介：尽管动物管理员山姆慈爱地伺候着所有的动物，但是他好像忘记了大象。大象最终能吃到干草吗？

While he has lovingly tended to all the other animals, it appears that Sam the zookeeper has forgotten to feed Elephant. Will Elephant have his hay?

14）The Tale of Peter Rabbit
作者 Beatrix Potter, 1902年首次出版.

书评/简介：这个经典的警示故事用简易的会话型语气，幽默地警示小读者不良行为的危害。

This quintessential cautionary tale, with its intimate, conversational tone, humorously warns young readers about the perils of misbehaving.

15）The Very Hungry Caterpillar
作者 Eric Carle, 1969年首次出版.

书评/简介：关于数数、每星期的天数的学习，以及关于神奇的蝶变的知识。

Layered under the imaginative die-cut pages are lessons about counting, the days of the week and the magic of metamorphosis.

16）Where’s Spot?
作者 Eric Hill, 1980年首次出版.

书评/简介：关于淘气小狗斯波特和他的妈妈萨利的故事。

The first lift-the-flap children’s book has toddlers readily identifying with the rascal puppy Spot, who is hiding from his mother, Sally.