INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN
Book ID/图书代码： 06580110B38385
English Summary/英文概要： Hà, a 10-year-old girl in a family of boys, living through the final days of the Vietnam War, requires the same ingenuity as dealing with older brothers. She manages them. But at war’s end, she and her family become refugees in the American South. Hà must learn English, and even more difficult, must renegotiate her identity. In the past she counted on her smarts. Now she can barely say the ABCs in front of fourth graders. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN, written in prose poems, chronicles how this feisty yet vulnerable girl creates a new sense of self.
Author Note
Dear Reader:
Much of what happened to Hà, the main character in Inside Out and Back Again, also happened to me.
At age ten, I, too, witnessed the end of the Vietnam War and fled to Alabama with my family. I, too, had a father who was missing in action. I also had to learn English and even had my arm hair pulled the first day of school. The fourth graders wanted to make sure I was real, not an image they had seen on TV. So many details in this story were inspired by my own memories.
Aside from remembering facts, I worked hard to capture Hà’s emotional life. What was it like to live where bombs exploded every night yet where sweet snacks popped up at every corner? What was it like to sit on a ship heading toward hope? What was it like to go from knowing you’re smart to feeling dumb all the time?
The emotional aspect is important because of something I noticed in my nieces and nephews. They may know in general where their parents came from, but they can’t really imagine the noises and smells of Vietnam, the daily challenges of starting over in a strange land. I extend this idea to all: How much do we know about those around us?
I hope you enjoy reading about Hà as much as I have enjoyed remembering the pivotal year in my life. I also hope after you finish this book that you sit close to someone you love and implore that person to tell and tell and tell their story.
Thanhha Lai
TiTi Waves Good-bye TiTi 再見
My best friend TiTi
is crying hard,
snotting the hem
of her pink fluffy blouse.
Her two brothers
also are sniffling
inside their car
packed to the roof
with suitcases.
TiTi shoves into my hand
a tin of flower seeds
we gathered last fall.
We hoped to plant them
together.
She waves from the back window
of their rabbit-shaped car.
Her tears mix with long strands of hair,
long hair I wish I had.
I would still be standing there
crying and waving to nothing
if Brother Khôi hadn’t come
to take my hand.
They’re heading to Vũng Tầu,
he says,
where the rich go
to flee Vietnam
on cruise ships.
I’m glad we’ve become poor
so we can stay.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 看ㄧ個聰明堅強的小女孩如何面對越戰與新環境帶來的挑戰 Hà，是家裡面唯一的女孩，只有10歲大的她經歷了越戰走入尾聲的最後階段。對這場戰事帶來的變化，聰明早慧的Hà，如同她在面對哥哥們嘲笑時，總是能夠運用機智應對。
但當戰爭結束，Hà和家人逃往美國南方成為難民後，新的處境與難題帶給Hà的挑戰更勝以往。她必須學英文，面對一堆刁難她的新同學，以及最困難的：重新界定自己的身分。
以前Hà可以依賴自己的聰明應付難題，但現在她在這群四年級生面前，連ABC也不會說…
全書用詩句陳述，透過Hà這個小女生的自述表達出：ㄧ個聰明堅強的小女孩如何重新找到新的自我。
作者序：
“10歲的時候，我和Hàㄧ樣親眼目睹越戰結束，接著和家人逃離至美國阿拉巴馬州。我也和Hàㄧ樣，父親在路途中失去蹤影。我和Hàㄧ樣得學英文，到校的第一天，同學甚至拔掉我手上的毛來確認我是真的，而不是他們在電視上看到的人物。Hà的故事中有很多細節是汲取自我自己的回憶。”
“除了我記得的真實外，我希望能夠盡力捕捉Hà的情感面。當你住在一個每晚有炸彈爆炸，而且每個角落會忽然跑出甜蛇的地方，那是什麼樣的感覺？當你搭上一艘船，相信自己正前往一塊希望之土的時候，又是什麼樣的感覺？當你知道你其實是個聰明的小孩，但忽然之間卻置身總是讓你感覺自己是個笨蛋的地方，又是什麼樣的感覺？”
“Hà在情感上的變化是本書的重心。我在我姪子女的身上發現，這些孩子大概知道自己的父母來自哪哩，但卻無法真正想像越南這塊土地上存在的喧鬧與氣味，以及在一塊完全陌生的土地上重新開始，每天得要面臨的挑戰。”
“我希望你們能夠喜歡Hà的故事，如同我很享受回想我人生中的重要階段。我也希望在你們讀完此書後，能坐在所愛之人身邊，告訴那個人你的故事和聽他們述說自己的故事。” (Kate Cheng)
Awards/获奖情况：INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN has won the Young Adult category in the US National Book Award!
http://www.nationalbook.org/-周芸2011-11-18INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN has been awarded the Newbery Honor Medal!
http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal
About the Author/作者介绍： Thanhha Lai (born 1965 in Vietnam) is an American writer of children’s literature. She won the 2011 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and a Newbery Honor for her debut novel, Inside Out and Back Again, published by HarperCollins. It is a verse novel based on her first year in the United States, a ten-year-old child who spoke no English when she arrived.
Format:HARDCOVER
Rights Status/版权销售情况：Simplified Chinese/简体中文：SOLD
Complex/Traditional Chinese/繁体中文：AVAILABLE(到期可授)
Sales in other countries/其他国家销售情况：
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