书名：Missing May想念五月
难度：Lexile蓝思阅读指数980
作者：Cynthia Rylant
出版社名称：Scholastic
出版时间：2003
语种：英文
ISBN：9780439613835
商品尺寸：13.4 x 1.1x 19.2 cm
包装：平装
页数：90

辛西亚·赖蓝特的故事几乎都环绕着她的生活经验，不论是童年生活、现阶段的生活或是她所喜爱的小动物，至真至善的说故事技巧在作品中展露无遗，广受儿童及青少年读者们的喜爱。
推荐理由：
1.Missing May《想念五月》获1993年美国纽伯瑞儿童文学奖金奖、美国波士顿环球报号角书奖；
2.此版本为Scholastic版本，附加AFTER WORDS（后记板块），内含作者简介、采访内容、纽伯瑞获奖感言等；
3.书中的英语原汁原味、句式较为简单，比较容易理解，适合青少年阅读；
4.轻型环保纸印刷，小巧轻便，方便随身携带阅读。
Missing Mayis a children’s book, the recipient of the 1993 Newbery Medal. It was written by Cynthia Rylant, who has written over 60 children’s books such as The Islander. Many of Rylant’s books are about her childhood in Appalachia, her pets, the joys and hardships of family life, and the feelings of loners. Many of her books are written in series.

五月死了，对她先生及她收养的女孩而言犹如五雷轰顶。他们顿失生活的目标，一直耽溺在丧亲的痛苦中。她的先生欧柏甚至错觉她就在身边，希望能透过各种管道来与她取得联系。欧柏对一个邻居孩子克里特别好，因为克里曾因溺水“死过一次”，他相信克理可以与死去的人沟通。藉由对克里的倾诉，他的悲伤得以舒解，就在他寻找通灵的蝙蝠夫人不可得，自以为万念俱灰时，也因顾及到克里和收养那个女孩的感受而重新振作。他终于能面对亲人已死的现实，并打起精神为在世的亲人而活下去。
When May dies suddenly while gardening, Summer assumes she’ll never see her beloved aunt again. But then Summer’s Uncle Ob claims that May is on her way back—she has sent a sign from the spirit world. Summer isn’t sure she believes in the spirit world, but her quirky classmate Cletus Underwood—who befriends Ob during his time of mourning—does. So at Cletus’ suggestion, Ob and Summer (with Cletus in tow) set off in search of Miriam B. Young, Small Medium at Large, whom they hope will explain May’s departure and confirm her possible return.

辛西亚·赖蓝特（Cynthia Rylant），美国杰出的儿童文学家。她为儿童及青少年写了超过六十本以上的书，荣获了多项美国图画书和小说的重要文学奖。一九八二年出版的首部作品《山中旧事》（When I Was Young in the Mountains），叙述她和外公外婆共同生活的日子，之后她又将儿时记趣改写成作品《亲朋自远方来》（The Relatives Came），这两本书皆获得凯迪克银牌奖的肯定。她也亲自参与许多著作中的插画工作，例如：《狗狗天堂》（Dog Heaven）、《喵喵天堂》（Cat Heaven）。
Cynthia Rylant (born 6 June 1954) is an American author and librarian. She has written more than 100 children’s books, including works of fiction (picture books, short stories and novels), nonfiction, and poetry. Several of her books have won awards, including her novel Missing May, which won the 1993 Newbery Medal, and A Fine White Dust which was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Two of her books are Caldecott Honor Books.

When May died, Ob came back to the trailer, got out of his good suit and into his regular clothes, then went and sat in the Chevy for the rest of the night. That old car had been parked out by the doghouse for as long as I could remember, and the weeds had grown up all around it so you didn’t even notice it unless you looked, and for years I couldn’t understand why Ob didn’t just get rid of the awful thing. Until I saw him sitting in it after the funeral. Then I knew that even though nobody in the world figured that old car had any good purpose, Ob knew there was some real reason to let it sit. And when May died, he figures out what it was.
I never saw two people love each other so much. Sometimes the tears would just come over me, looking at the two of them, even six years back when I first got here and was too young to be thinking about love. But I guess I must have had a deep part of me thinking about it, hoping to see it all along, because the first time I saw Ob help May braid her long yellow hair, sitting in the kitchen one night, it was all I could do not to go to the woods and cry forever from happiness.