これは娘が読んだ本。タイトルは「The Accident」。寝る前に、私の読み聞かせとともに、娘が自分で本を読む時間をつくっています。１週間に一度、市の図書館に行って、その週に読む本を仕入れてきますが、この本はその中の一冊。アクシデントというからには、きっと何かの事故が起こるんだろうな、表紙に犬がついているからこの犬が事故に遭うのかな、、と思いつつ、娘が読んでいるのを見守っていました。「ママ、悲しいお話だったよ。」と読み終えた娘。「どういう話なの？」 「この犬が事故で死んじゃうの。」 「それで？」と私。 「埋めてあげるの」と娘。 「それで？」と私。 「それだけ。」と娘。 「それだけ？」と繰り返す私。This is a book my daughter read. It is titled "The Accident." When she goes to bed every night, I read some to her and she reads some herself. I go to the city library once a week or so to get books for her to read in coming week. This is one of the books I got from the library. I guessed from the title and the cover which shows a boy and a dog, that at least one of them, probably the dog, would be involved in some kind of accident. I watched her as she quietly read in her bed. As soon as she finished, she said, "Mom, it was a sad sad story." "What happened?", I asked. "This dog dies in an accident," she replied. "And then?" I asked. "That's it," she answered. "That's it?" I repeated.
もう少し何かあるでしょうと、一抹の疑いを持ちつつ私も読んでみた。そしたら本当にそれだけだった。図書館からきたこの本、1976年に発行されたものでした。34年前のもの。この34年の間に、子どもたちの生きる世界がいかに変化してきたかを思わされました。あらすじは、こう。。。クリストファー（8歳くらいの男の子）の両親が近くの湖に出かけることになり、クリストファーは犬のボジャーと一緒にお留守番することにした。 しばらくしてから、クリストファーとボジャーは両親が行った湖まで歩いていくことにする。 道を歩いていたら、向こうからやってきた車にボジャーがはねられて死んでしまう。ショックを受けるクリストファー。最後にはショックから立ち直り、ボジャーのお墓をつくっておしまい。
That cannot be it. There should be a little more twist. Maybe she missed something. So I read the story myself to find that was it. This book was published in 1976. 34 years ago. I discovered that during the past 34 years, the world which children live in has changed dramatically. The story is like this;
Christopher, who looks like an eight year old, decided to stay home alone with his dog Bodger, when his parents decided to go to the lake for canoeing, since he wanted to watch this particular his parents there. When he was walking on the road, Bodger was accidentally hit by a pickup truck. Christopher was devastated. In the end, he build a nice grave with his daddy's support for Bodger.
現代ではありえない絵本だと思った。そもそも、8歳の子はひとりで留守番しない。カリフォルニアの場合、14歳未満の子どもを置き去りにすることは（たとえ家でも）違法。子どもが車の通る道をひとりで歩くなんて危険すぎる。知らない人に誘拐されたらどうするの？だいたい、最近の子は歩きたがらない。加えて、大切なペットの即死なんて、小さな子どもの本にするには残酷すぎると批判する人もいそう。最近の本ならこうダイレクトには書かない。絵本にも、ハリウッド映画やディズニー映画のオルウェイス・ハッピー・エンディング的でかつ表面的なストーリー展開が普通になっている。この本は、愛犬の死というただそれだけのことを書いた本だけど、クリストファーの感情の変遷を描き出すところに著者の思いが込められている。犬の死を受け入れることができず、轢いた車の運転手に激しい怒りを感じていた彼が、両親のやさしさによってその死を理解し、最後にはボジャーのお墓のための特別な石を見つけお墓をつくり、そこで初めて号泣する。そうやって、「彼は気持ちが安らいだ」という表現で終わっている。現代は、子どもの安全を思うばかり、ありとあらゆる危険や困難、否定的な感情から彼らを守りすぎるように思う。つまり、あらゆる意味で「アクシデント」を回避しようとする。私たち大人が作り出している世界は、子どもにとって安全ではあるかもしれないが、一方で、恐怖や悲しみ、どうしようもない出来事に出会ったとき、それとどう折り合いをつけ乗り越えていくかという経験を犠牲にしている。だからといって、子どもの安全に妥協してもいいかというとそれも難しいけど。。。トーランス市の図書館が、34年間この本を大切に扱ってきてくれたことがうれしかった。This storyline is simply impossible these days. To begin with, you never leave an eight-year old home alone. In California, it is illegal to leave children under 14 unsupervised. It is also just so dangerous to let children walk on roads with traffic on their own. Good parents do not let them, right? What if hit by a car or abducted? Probably you don't even have to make that decision, because kids simply ask for a ride, not wanting to consume precious energy in walking. In addition, an instant death of a child's beloved pet is simply too cruel for young children. I am sure there will be some critics who are greatly concerned about traumatizing children by such cruelty. We rarely see stories that are this direct these days. Happy ending syndrome from Hollywood and Disney movies has surely spread to children's books. While this book has a very simple storyline on the accidental death of the pet dog, however, it is very successful illustrating how Christopher's feeling has evolved over time. First, he was nothing but angry at the driver of the pick-up truck and even at his father who tried to explain the situation, simply refusing to accept Bodger's death. Over time, along with his parents warm support, he came to understand the accident and the death, and then found this special stone, with his father, build the grave with the stone, and finally was able to cry before it. The book ends with a line, "He didn't feel angry with his father any more, and that felt good, too." In today's world, we might be acting too protective of children so that they do not fall victim to any type of danger, hardship, or even negative feelings. We are working so hard to avoid "accidents." The world we adults are trying to present might be a safe one, but at the same time it might be the one where children are being deprived of life's trainings on how to deal with fear, sorrow, or whatever the situation they are not in control. Well, but do I want to sacrifice the safety for more of such training opportunities? That's a tough decision. One thing I know is that I am so glad that the city library of Torrance took a very good care of this book for 34 years so that it is still ready to be checked out.
