More than a Hungry Caterpillar (他不只是一直很餓很餓的毛毛蟲)

翻譯/ bookmanta

我不是在美國長大的，所以對我來說，許多經典的英文童書都是些新鮮事。其中我唯一認得的，可能就屬是艾瑞・卡爾所創作的《好餓的毛毛蟲》了。我不記得自己在去年以前是否有讀過這本書，但現在我可以非常肯定地說——我讀它的次數多到數不清。

 

第一次念這本書給我兒子聽時，我其實沒什麼特別的感覺——不太懂為什麼這本書那麼有名。一開始，我只是照本宣科地念書頁上的字，但很快就覺得有點無聊、重複。後來我開始利用水果頁面讓他練習數數。再之後，我嘗試混合一點中文進去，不過對我這種不是在學校學中文的人來說有點挑戰——為什麼水果頁非得把「梨子」和「李子」放在一起？為什麼不能用藍莓或其他聽起來不那麼相似的水果啊？

 

隨著我兒子一天天長大，我們的共讀方式也慢慢改變。他開始會自己指出書上的東西，翻到他最喜歡的頁面，當毛毛蟲吃壞肚子時還會咯咯笑。看完書不再是目標，重點變成滿足他的好奇心，順著他的節奏一起探索。也就在這過程中，我開始明白這本書的魔力——不是它的情節或文字，而是它鼓勵互動、引發發現的方式。我們一起數水果、聊星期幾，還學會就算是一隻小小的毛毛蟲，也能蛻變成新的模樣。

不過我到現在還是不太懂星期六的大吃特吃橋段到底在幹嘛，只覺得毛毛蟲吃到肚子痛的樣子好可愛😂。

 

經過一年多的反覆共讀，我發現這本書早已不只是關於毛毛蟲了。每一次數橘子、草莓和梨子，每一場「毛毛蟲在哪裡？」的遊戲——都是我會記得的時光。它們是我與兒子之間的連結，是我們關係的一部分。我也希望有一天，他會把這些回憶，分享給自己的孩子聽。

 

✍️投稿原文/ Stanley:

I didn’t grow up in the United States, so many of these classic children’s books are new to me. One of the few I recognize is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. I don’t remember ever reading it before last year, but I can now say with confidence that I’ve read it more times than I can count.

 

When I first read it to my son, I wasn’t all that impressed—I didn’t quite understand what all the fuss was about. At the beginning, I stuck to reading the words on the page, but that quickly got boring and repetitive. So I started using the fruit pages as a chance to practice counting. Then I mixed in some Chinese, although that got tricky for someone who didn’t learn Chinese at school - why did it have to be pears and plums back-to-back? Why couldn’t the plums have been blueberries or something else that doesn’t sound so similar to each other.

 

As my son grew, our reading changed. He began pointing at things, flipping to his favorite pages, and giggling when the caterpillar got a stomachache. Finishing the book stopped being the goal; instead, it became about satisfying his curiosity and following his lead. Somewhere along the way, I started to see the magic of the book—not in its plot or language, but in how it invites interaction and discovery. We count fruit together, talk about the days of the week, and learn that even a tiny caterpillar can become something new.

 

I still don’t know what to make of the feast on Saturday, though, other than that the caterpillar looks very cute when it’s in agony after eating too much.

After more than a year of reading this book together, I’ve realized it’s not really about the caterpillar anymore. Every orange, strawberry, and pear we count, every “Where’s the caterpillar?” game we play - these are moments I’ll remember. They’re part of the relationship I’m building with my son, and I hope they become the kind of memories he’ll one day share with his own children.