あっという間に4月が終わりました。皆さん、元気ですか？「３遅」なんて、あり得ないですよね？！　皆さんの貴重な時間の中に、絵本を読むことを提案してきました。少しでも役に立てたのならばうれしいです。

　最後の提案です。今回は『たいせつなこと』マーガレット・W・ブラウン作です（絵はR.ワイズガード）。原題もThe Important Book で、「大切なことの本」と原題に近いです。この題のように、絵本の中にはそのままの生活を描く・表す写実主義（英語ではrealism）作品があります。わりと多くて、日本でもヨシタケシンスケさんの『ふまんがあります』『それしかないわけないでしょう』『おしっこちょっぴりもれたろう』なんておすすめです。

　では、味わってください。皆さんが皆さんでいられますように。そうでなければ連絡を！

THE IMPORTANT BOOK (1949年)

The important thing about a spoon is   that you eat with it.

It’s like a little shovel,   You hold it in your hand,   You can put it in your mouth,   It isn’t flat,   It’s hollow,   And it spoons things up.

But the important thing   about a spoon is   that you eat with it.

The important thing   about a daisy is   that it is white.

It is yellow in the middle,   it has long white petals,   and bees sit on it,

it has a ticklish smell,   it grows in green fields,   and there are always lots of daisies.

But the important thing   about a daisy is   that it is white.

The important thing about rain is   that it is wet.

It falls out of the sky,   and it sounds like rain,   and makes things shiny, 

and it does not taste like anything, and it the color of air.

But the important thing about rain   is that it is wet.

The important thing   about grass is that it is green.

It grows, and is tender,   with a sweet grassy smell. 

But the important thing about grass   is that it is green.

The important thing about   snow is that it is white. It is  

cold, and light, it falls softly   out of the sky, it is bright,   and the shape of tiny stars,

and crystals.   It is always cold.   And it melts.

But   the important thing   about the snow is   that it is white.

The important thing about an apple   is that it is round.

It is red.   You bite it,   and it is white inside,   and the juice splashes in your face,

and it tastes like an apple,   and it falls off a tree. 

But the important   thing about   an apple is   that it is   round.

The important   thing about the   wind is that it   blows. You can’t  

see it, but you   can feel it on   your cheek,   and see it bend   trees, and blow hats

away, and sail boats.

But   THE IMPORTANT THING   ABOUT THE WIND IS   THAT IT BLOWS.

The important thing   about the sky is that it is always   there. It is true that it is blue,

and high, and full of clouds,   and made of air.  

But the important thing about   the sky is that it is always there.

The important thing about a shoe   is that you put your foot in it.  

You walk in it,   and you take it off at night,   and it’s warm when you take it off.

But the important thing about a shoe   is that you put your foot in it.

The important thing about you is   that you are you.

It is true that you were a baby,   and you grew,   and now you are a child,  

and you will grow,   into a man,   or into a woman.

But the important thing about you   is that   you are you.