馴獸師湯姆

by Tjibbe Veldkamp, Philip Hopman, 謝靜雯 (Translator)

荷蘭知名作家與畫家繼《22個孤兒》、《我的學校》後最新力作！

用想像力征服恐懼！
有許多事並沒有你想像的那麼可怕

◎以父親害怕動物、孩子協助克服恐懼的角色顛覆手法來敘述故事，一本適合與孩子討論恐懼的繪本。
◎荷蘭銀畫筆獎畫家菲利浦‧赫普曼，以優雅的水彩展現故事的溫馨趣味，書末還有精彩大拉頁。

湯姆有一個神奇的能力，他可以馴服動物，像是教蝸牛跳彈跳床、松鼠盪鞦韆……
可是，湯姆的爸爸卻很害怕動物，不論湯姆怎麼邀請爸爸出門，爸爸都足不出戶，因為外面有動物，他好害怕。
於是湯姆決定要為爸爸籌畫一場新節目！
他到鎮上「無所不有」寵物店，
「我是馴獸師湯姆。」湯姆對老闆說：「你有需要馴服的動物嗎？」
「你打算找哪一類的動物？」老闆問：「倉鼠？還是小狗？」
「我想找北極熊。」湯姆說。
「北極的動物在後頭。」老闆說：「往這邊走，你可以選一隻。」
湯姆在公園裡訓練那頭北極熊，然後跟牠提起新節目的計畫，北極熊很樂意參加。
那天晚上，屋裡擺著一張舒服的白色大椅子。湯姆的爸爸從各種角度觀察這張椅子，小心翼翼的坐進椅子裡。
「啊。」爸爸嘆了口氣說：「真是太美妙了。」
椅子對著湯姆眨眨眼，湯姆也眨眼回應。
湯姆陸續又去店裡挑選了好幾種動物，馴服牠們之後，牠們也都想共襄盛舉。
北極熊、河馬、老虎、章魚、紅鶴等，一一化身成椅子、沙發、地毯、吊燈、窗簾……

終於，表演要開始了……
湯姆真的可以幫爸爸克服害怕動物的恐懼，讓他邁出家門嗎？

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a little strange, but fun picture book about a zoophobic father and his son who is set on curing him. I don't think kids will see the strangeness, but they will enjoy the crazy antics of the son, Tom.

[Cherith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give picture books 5 stars, so that's saying something.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover

Naar de dependance

[Nikha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een verhaal over bang zijn en elkaar helpen

[Danielle Mootz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The kids had a good time looking for the tamed animals.

[Renee Hand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom is a talented boy who has a truly amazing gift--he can tame any kind of animal he wants to do tricks. He creates a trampoline for the snails in the garden, who love to jump on it. The squirrels in the trees are having fun on the trapezes Tom made for them as they swing by as if they were apart of a circus act flipping about.

The problem is that no matter how creative Tom is in the development of activities for his animal friends, his father refuses to come outside and look at any of his new inventions. Tom's father is afraid of animals, even butterflies, so he stays indoors where it's safe. But wanting to spend time with his father, Tom comes up with another idea. He brings the animals indoors to him in the lieu of furniture. But will his masterful plan help conquer his father's fear of animals, or only add to it? Good intentions sometimes don't work out as planned, or do they?

Tom the Tamer is a fun and imaginative adventure that will delight readers ages 4 and up, with it's interesting 32 page tale on how to conquer a father's fear of animals. The author, Tjibbe Veldkamp, uses many different types of animals to accomplish Tom's goal from various climates and habitats, which young animal lovers will notice right away. This lends to the hilarity of the story, yet reinforces the fact that the story swims with fiction. The illustrator, Philip Hopman, has created charming illustrations that balance the text and fills it with life. Children of all ages will be able to live in Tom's imagination during the reading of the story and will relish in the outcome.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom may be able to train snails to jump on a trampoline and squirrels to swing from trapezes in the trees, but he can’t convince his father to go outdoors. His dad is too frightened of all of the animals out there. So Tom sets out with a plan to bring the animals in to his father. He starts by heading to the local pet store and buying a polar bear. He trains the polar bear in the park and by that evening, the polar bear is pretending to be their new furry white chair in the house. Tom’s father loves the new chair and never notices that it is actually a polar bear. The next day, Tom heads out and gets even more animals from the pet store, training them all to act like different pieces of furniture. Soon the entire living room is filled with animals, and Tom’s father loves all of the new “furniture” too. But what will happen when he finds out that Tom got all of these new things at the pet store?

Read the rest of my review on my blog, Waking Brain Cells.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute book about a boy (Tom) whose father is too scared of animals and nature to play with him outside. Tom is a master at taming animals, so he tricks his father by taming animals so well that they seem like furniture and his father sits on them. When the truth is revealed, Tom's father runs outside and realizes what he's been missing.

There were some pretty big assumptions that I found annoying but kids probably wouldn't notice. For instance, where was Tom getting the money to buy the animals? Where was his other caregiver? How was he able to tame a polar bear? I know picture books don't have to address every question the reader might come up with, but these unreality's seemed inconstant within the world to me and so I felt a little jolted out of the "dream" of the story.

Overall definitely worth a read and I LOVED the illustrations!

[Bord uit, boek aan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vandaag heb ik in de groep voorgelezen uit Temmer Tom! Wat een waanzinnig leuk verhaal!! Dubbel zo leuk, omdat een leerling het boek mee had genomen om voor te lezen. De ogen van het jochie straalden tijdens het voorlezen, hij wist wat er zou gaan gebeuren en hij zag hoe iedereen genoot van dit verhaal. Hopelijk steken de kinderen elkaar aan en nemen ze hun leuke boeken mee!

Het verhaal gaat over Tom en zijn vader. Tom is avontuurlijk en beleeft de meest geweldige avonturen in de tuin, hij traint slakken en eekhoorns en wil graag dat zijn vader naar buiten komt om te kijken. Maar zijn vader durft niet, hij is bang voor wat er buiten is. Zelfs vlinders vindt hij eng en slakken zijn gevaarlijk! Dan bedenkt Tom een plan om zijn vader te laten ervaren dat dieren helemaal niet zo eng zijn.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting this story to turn out as it did. Tom's father is afraid of animals...all animals...even the tiniest little butterfly. Tom sets out to change his father's view in an inventive and funny way. By the time the polar bear agrees to become the father's new armchair, I was hooked. The illustrations are also a delight. I think children will have a great time seeing the inventive ways Tom had "tamed" his many animal friends. A nice little lesson in giving something a chance...

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silly crazy story of a young boy who wants his father to venture outside to see some of the small circus fun he has created for the neighborhood creatures. His hypochondriac dad is not having it though and Tom will have to get creative and bring the circus to him. For a man that is terrified of butterflies... this can prove be a bit much.

[Rayn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Een dierencircus is onderhand niet meer van deze tijd, maar ik vind het buiten dat wel een waarheid dat je zelfs binnen niet ontkomt aan wat er buiten is en dat dingen enger lijken dan ze zijn. De tekeningen van Philip Hopman zijn als altijd supernice en passen wel bij het absurdistische karakter van het boek.

[Lisa]

Read about this one on NYTimes. Looks cute.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are out of this world. What a cute story about a son teaching his Dad to overcome a fear instead of the reverse. This is definitely going to a friend with children!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story - my kids and I loved the illustrations best of all.