《和甘伯伯去游河》是约翰·伯宁罕的作品,他构思的是一个非常单纯的故事,单纯的感觉像一个幼儿:甘伯伯有一条木船,他的家就在河边。有一天,甘伯伯撑船去游河。两个小孩子、兔子、猫、狗、猪、绵羊、鸡、牛和山羊,一一要求上船。起初情形还好,后来这些乘客都忘了遵守秩序,忘了坐船的规矩。结果,船翻了,大家都掉进水里。甘伯伯带领大家游泳到岸边,让太阳把他们的衣服和身子晒干。和气的甘伯伯还邀请这批乘客到他家去喝茶,并且提议过几天大家再来坐一次船。
One fine morning Mr. Gumpy decides it's a perfect day for an outing in his little boat. Apparently, plenty of others think so, too. First some children ask to join him, then a rabbit, a cat, a dog, a pig, a sheep ... Soon, Mr. Gumpy's boat is precariously full, and there's nowhere for anyone else to go--but overboard! This mild mariner takes everything in stride, though, and his guests are soon bellying up to a nice tea.
John Burningham earned the Kate Greenaway Medal, an ALA Notable Children's Book award, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Mr. Gumpy's Outing, and it's no wonder. This gifted and highly original author-illustrator creates a vision of glorious summer with deeply textured, sometimes only suggested, drawings. His tentatively questioning animals are ready to step right out of the pages and quietly join the delighted reader. And the simple, repetitive dialogue will lull the listener as long as it takes to reach the boat's maximum capacity. Even then, there's no big splash--just an understated, Burningham-esque "and into the water they fell." Young readers will never tire of this gentle, comforting storybook.