Seedfolks

　　貧窮破落的社區，街頭暴力頻傳，居民彼此冷漠以待。一個東方小女孩在社區的空地埋下六顆賴馬豆，希望天上的父親會望見她種的豆子蹦出地面，讓他知道她是他的女兒。

　　這小小單純的舉動，觸發了其他人內心深處的想望。不分年齡、種族和境遇，居民紛紛在這塊堆滿垃圾的空地種下希望的花果樹。

　　人與人的關係，就在這荒蕪廢棄空地的植豆、種花、拾葉、摘果動作中牽連、蔓延和活絡起來。他們跨越人與人之間的藩籬，超越了種族的隔閡與刻板的偏見，在情感的交流中體會了生命的歡喜。

　　A vacant lot, rat-infested and filled with garbage, looked like no place for a garden. Especially to a neighborhood of strangers where no one seems to care. Until one day, a young girl clears a small space and digs into the hard-packed soil to plant her precious bean seeds. Suddenly, the soil holds promise: To Curtis, who believes he can win back Lateesha's heart with a harvest of tomatoes; to Virgil's dad, who sees a fortune to be made from growing lettuce; and even to Maricela, sixteen and pregnant, wishing she were dead.

　　Thirteen very different voices -- old, young, Haitian, Hispanic, tough, haunted, and hopeful -- tell one amazing story about a garden that transforms a neighborhood.

　　本書中譯版《撒種人》由晨星出版。

作者簡介

保羅．佛萊希曼 (Paul Fleischman)

　　1952年生於美國加州蒙特雷，在濱海的聖塔莫尼加長大，曾就讀於柏克萊加州大學和新墨西哥大學，熱愛歷史、音樂、自然科學，著有許多備受矚目的青少年讀物，包括Graven Images（獲紐伯瑞銀牌獎）、Path of The Pale Horse、Coming-and-Going Man、Bull Run（獲史考特歐迪獎）、I am Phoenix、Joyful Noise（獲紐伯瑞金牌獎）等。

　　Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California in a house with a printing press, a grand piano, a shortwave radio, and his father—children’s author Sid Fleischman. Playing recorder in early music consorts led to his books of verbal duets—I Am Phoenix, Joyful Noise (winner of the 1989 Newbery Medal), and Big Talk. His novels built from monologues include Bull Run, a 16-character account of the Civil War's first battle, and Seedfolks—the chronicle of the first year of a Cleveland community garden. His interest in theater inspired his young adult novels Mind's Eye, Seek, and Breakout, all of which revolve around the spoken word. His historical fiction includes Saturnalia and The Borning Room. He's written nonfiction and picture books as well, including Time Train, Weslandia, and Sidewalk Circus.

　　Alongside the Newbery Medal, he's won a Newbery Honor Book, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, the PEN West Literary Award, the California Young Reader Medal, and most recently was a finalist for the 2003 National Book Award. He makes his home in the village of Aromas, California.