靈．感

Art class is over, but Vashti is sitting glued to her chair in front of a blank piece of paper. The words of her teacher are a gentle invitation to express herself.

But Vashti can’t draw - she’s no artist. To prove her point, Vashti jabs at a blank sheet of paper to make an unremarkable and angry mark. "There!" she says.

That one little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery. That special moment is the core of Peter H. Reynolds’ delicate fable about the creative spirit in all of us.

讀大學的時候，一位教授曾說，一年級的課程大多由經驗最豐富的老師所教，因為唯有他們懂得如何深入淺出地傳遞學問。我不知道這說法有多真實，不過那位教授卻是位「星級」老師。我想寫童書也是這麼一回事吧－－把最艱深的人生哲理以最簡單的文字和圖畫給孩子闡明。

抵加不足一週，表妹的書櫃已成了我其中一個「旅遊景點」。這位剛畢業的老師把教材都堆滿了整個房間。作為她書櫃的「遊客」，我除了對那本Narnia彩圖畫冊和Silverstein（註一）的box set虎視眈眈之外，更愛上了她推介的童書作者Peter H. Reynolds。簡單的圖畫，幾行文字，道出了愛和勵志的故事。原來童書也可以不色彩斑斕、不濫情、不說教（我起初以為本土的麥嘜可算代表作，但有時候做得太刻意，到後來已成了另一種給香港人「去擁有」的商品；就算是早期俠侣北北蟬的故事，對孩子來說其實並不inspiring（容許我不中不英地用這詞彙，有些字經過翻譯後便失去神韻），反而是成人的玩意；是美麗、可愛的創作，卻還不是扣人心絃的創作。但當我讀Reynolds的The Dot－－一本少於二十頁的童書－－我還是忍不住紅了眼睛。這個原是故事主人翁因賭氣而畫的「點」，訴說著一個因為被老師肯定而開始自我肯定，到最後甚至反過來給別人肯定的成長故事。然後在Reynolds的網頁，我漸漸明白合適的土壤跟創意是如何「野蠻」地不能被分割：

When I was in 7th grade, something remarkable happened that changed my life in a wonderful way. An amazing teacher, Jim Matson, pulled me aside for drawing in class, instead of paying attention. Rather than scolding me, Mr. Matson asked me to try a project, tapping into art and storytelling to help other students understand a math concept...



My journey has been dedicated to helping kids, especially the "off the path" kids. I was one of them myself. Not every student is lucky enough to have a teacher, or adult, see his or her potential.

一直相信自己不會是一位好老師，但每當遇上出色的老師，總會由衷地深感敬佩。香港的孩子們，實在需要更多像Mr. Matson般的老師，也需要能孕育這等老師的創作空間。The Dot告訴我，創作就是－－

"Make your mark, and see where it takes you."

（我竟然因這本不足二十頁的童書而大造文章起來！）^^

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註一：有讀過〈The Missing Piece〉和〈The Giving Tree〉的人對此名字應該不會陌生。我尤其喜歡他的詩，可讀又可愛。有興趣應自己google一下Shel Silverstein。