Mouse on the River: A Journey Through Nature

 
      2011年英國圖書信託基金會的最佳新人插畫家獎（Booktrust Best New Illustrators Award）得主艾莉絲．梅爾文（Alice Melvin），延續得獎作《老鼠的林間四季》（Mouse’s Wood A Year in Nature）精巧優美的寫生風格，推出最新繪本《老鼠的河道之旅》（Mouse on the River）。
 
      這一回，老鼠在第一道曙光乍現時，踏上旅程。他計畫利用一天的時間，悠閒地划船順流而下，前往海邊拜訪好朋友。優美的插畫藏了諸多細節，讀者可以跟隨故事情節，細緻觀察白天到夜晚、晴雨之間的變化，領略大自然之美。河岸的生態、老鼠的服裝等，處處充滿巧思，讓讀者每次翻開這本書，都能發現不同的驚喜。
 
      更讓人驚喜的是附加了遊戲書的功能，輕輕掀開書上設置的翻翻頁，就能探訪動物的商店和住家，為這趟生態之旅添加更多樂趣，或是搭配「河岸地圖」，找出各種動物朋友的家。還不只這樣呢，附錄集結了好多老鼠的配件及工具，讓小朋友忙著玩找一找遊戲。層層巧思，值得一讀再讀！

This gorgeous book follows Mouse on a new adventure--from the woods, down a gently flowing river, to the open sea--to visit an old friend. Detailed illustrations feature many plants and animals to identify, and the atmospheric, rhyming text winds down to a peaceful conclusion perfect for bedtime.

Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours, this gently rhyming story tracks the changing environment of the river’s banks, the shift from day to night, pleasant weather to rain and back again, and introduces a whole new cast of friendly characters who wave to Mouse on the way, including beavers, water voles, and waterfowl aplenty.

Mouse travels by a willow grove, a riverside town with a lock, a river island, a reed bed, the estuary, and the river mouth before finishing the journey on the shore of the open sea.

Illustrated by Alice Melvin, who has spent hours drawing directly from nature to make the book, Mouse on the River is sure to win over readers with its charming characters and intensely detailed scenes.