美国国家公共电台 NPR Book 'Without Borders' By 80+ Artists Lets Kids Color Outside The Lines

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

The new book "Coloring Without Borders" is not a typical coloring book. Yes, there are pictures of two bears looking for breakfast and some birds looking for friends and a fantasy city and a treehouse. But the captions² are in both English and Spanish, and there are no lines to color in. Instead, the drawings are left unfinished, so kids can fill them in.

Jennifer Sofio Hall curated the book. She wanted to help immigrant³ families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, and the proceeds⁴ from the book go to Families Belong Together. Hall convinced⁵ more than 80 artists to take part, including the illustrator and author, Christian⁶ Robinson.

CHRISTIAN ROBINSON: I was feeling troubled by the headlines and the images that I was seeing of families being separated and children being detained⁷. Yeah. And I was feeling like our country could be doing better, but I wasn't really sure of what I could be doing. And when Jennifer emailed me, I saw her invitation to be a part of "Coloring Without Borders" as a way for me to get involved and help.

KING: My guess would be that, as an artist, you've thought a lot about how art and politics intersect. And I wonder, you know, given the times we're living in, do you think that artists have a responsibility to respond to political events that disturb them, like the separation of migrant children from their families at the border?

ROBINSON: I don't know if artists have a responsibility. But I know, for me, personally, that it's important to reflect the times that we live in - to put a mirror to it. And it's almost like I couldn't create without - yeah - taking into account all the things that are happening around me.

KING: Describe your drawing in the book. And tell me, what were you trying to communicate with it?

ROBINSON: Yeah. So my illustration⁸ for the book is basically⁹ a bird flying out of a cage that's been opened. And the caption¹ is, draw all the birds flying out of the cage. And it's in English and in Spanish. And basically, yeah, I just wanted to create an image where kids could just draw all these birds just flying and being free from the thing that was holding them.

KING: I know that part of the idea behind this book is that it will help kids and their parents talk - right? - about some of the serious issues that we face in society today. If someone says to you, skeptically, you know, this is a coloring book. What do you say?

ROBINSON: Yeah. So actually, what sold me on this project was the fact that these books were actually going to get into the hands of children who are being detained. I personally know, firsthand, the power of creativity and being able to express yourself, especially in circumstances where you might feel powerless.

As a child, I grew up, and my mother - she struggled with drug addiction¹⁰ and was in and out of prison for most of my childhood. And so drawing and creating was a way for me to escape, but it was also a way for me to have some control over my circumstances. I couldn't control the world around me, but I could at least control what the world looked like on a piece of paper.

And, yeah, that's really a positive impact¹¹ I think this book can have on the lives of these children and children all over the country, on both sides of the border.

KING: Christian Robinson is a contributing artist to the book "Coloring Without Borders." Christian, thanks so much.

ROBINSON: All right, thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF RIVAL CONSOLES' "SONNE")

1 caption   

n.说明，字幕，标题；v.加上标题，加上说明

参考例句：

• I didn't understand the drawing until I read the caption.直到我看到这幅画的说明才弄懂其意思。
• There is a caption under the picture.图片下边附有说明。

2 captions   

n.标题，说明文字，字幕( caption的名词复数 )v.给（图片、照片等）加说明文字( caption的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• I stared, trying to grasp the point of the picture and the captions. 我目不转睛地看着漫画，想弄清楚漫画和解说词的意思。 来自辞典例句
• Indicates whether the user or the system paints the captions. 指示是由用户还是由系统来绘制标题。 来自互联网

3 immigrant   

adj.(从国外)移来的，移民的；n.移民，侨民

参考例句：

• Life in the USA was very hard for almost every new immigrant.美国的生活几乎对每一个新移民都很艰难。
• I'd like to obtain some information about applying for an immigrant visa.我想取一些申请移民签证的资料。

4 proceeds   

n.（pl）收益

参考例句：

• She sold her car and bought a piano with the proceeds. 她卖掉了汽车，然后用这笔收入买了一架钢琴。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction. 他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

5 convinced   

adj.确信的；深信的；有坚定信仰的v.使确信(convince的过去分词)；说服

参考例句：

• I am convinced of her innocence. 我坚信她是清白无辜的。
• I'm convinced there's a jinx on this car. 我看这辆汽车是灾星。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 detained   

留住( detain的过去式和过去分词 )； 耽搁； 拘留； 扣留

参考例句：

• One man has been detained for questioning. 一个男人被拘留审问。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 illustration   

n.说明，例证；图解，插图

参考例句：

• Illustration by example is better than explanation in words.用实例说明比用词语解释清楚。
• He used photographs as illustration for his talk.他用照片为他的演讲作图片说明。

9 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

10 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

11 impact   

n.冲击，碰撞；影响；vt.装紧，压紧

参考例句：

• The computer had made a great impact on modern life.计算机对现代生活产生了巨大的影响.
• How will the war impact on such a poet?战争对这样一个诗人会产生什么影响？