一個小男孩計畫著如何花掉他的第一筆零用錢,
他站在人來人往的市街,看著琳瑯滿目的商品,
欣賞五顏六色的蔬果,嗅聞撲鼻而來的食物香。
麵包店、鐘錶店、模型店、書店、樂器行、裱框店…...
小男孩思索著,嘴角泛著微笑。
突然,
一個滑著滑板的人撞上了他,撞飛了他的錢,
錢哐啷哐啷滾落下水道,僅剩一枚硬幣。
一枚硬幣?!能買什麼?!
小男孩的心情從天堂降到谷底,帶著沮喪與失望,他來到一家微笑商店前面。
一枚硬幣能買到微笑嗎?
以【生氣的亞瑟】一書受到矚目的創作家喜多村惠,用他鮮明的畫風,帶領我們貼近一個孩子內心的起伏。
翻開扉頁,一個孩子站在市場的入口前,向前望著,似乎有什麼好事要發生的樣子,眼神充滿了期待與好奇。
之後的每一個頁面,孩子周遭的市街顯得明亮而色彩豐富,讀者跟著孩子走著,似乎也感染了他逛街的好心情。
突然一個轉折,孩子的世界就變了。那跨頁的灰色調與先前的興高采烈形成強烈對比,
周遭雖仍人潮不斷,但卻像是無聲的默劇般,隔絕在孩子的世界之外。
喜多村惠是站在孩子那一邊的,他讓孩子的角色受到衝擊,但給了孩子另一個出口來平衡。
孩子遇到一個好大人,他說:
「A smile is something you can only exchange and share!」
當微笑回來,世界又開始轉動。
In this picture book, nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2021, award-winning artist Satoshi Kitamura delivers the powerful message that kindness is more important than money.
“This wonderful picture book is packed with beautifully observed illustrations, full of gentle humour and intricate detail, which reflect a multicultural, multi-ethnic town.” – BookTrust
Celebrate the power of a smile through this deceptively simple story set in a multi-ethnic market. A small boy is planning how to spend his first ever pocket money when disaster strikes and he's left with only one coin. His day seems to be ruined until he sees a Smile Shop. In a surprise ending, the world is put to rights and suddenly the whole world is smiling again!