2007年VOA标准英语-Children's Author Highlights Interracial Family

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
09 May 2007

Lisa Dunn-Dern, author

The books of children's author Lisa Dunn-Dern portray¹ an interracial family like her own. Her second book has just been released, and as Mike O'Sullivan reports, the author is expanding her reach through a television project in Ethiopia.

Her second publication is called Dr. Duncan Dog on Duty.  Lisa Dunn-Dern says the animal character is inspired in part by her own dog.

"Our dog is named Contessa, but I picked the name Duncan because I knew the dog was going to be a doctor in the story, so I wanted something that sounded catchy², with Dr. Duncan Dog on Duty," she said.

In the story, the family rescues a dog, a large Labrador Retriever, from an animal shelter. The dog becomes a volunteer at a children's hospital, helping³ cheer up the young patients.

The writer is African-American. Her husband is Caucasian, and their 14-year-old daughter, Chelsea, is mixed race. The author says the book mirrors her own interracial family.

"It is my family, and one of the reasons is when my daughter was very little, I went into bookstores hoping to find books that reflected her family," said Lisa Dunn-Dern. "I mean, she has a shelf full of books that reflect a lot of other people's stories, and I thought, well, let me find one that reflects hers. And I didn't find that many. So I thought, well, I really need to write one. I think I need to be proactive in this and write a children's book"

She says the characters in the new book all have a purpose.

"Our dog has a purpose, he visits the sick children at Children's hospital once a week. And in the story, we have a bird. She cleans her own birdcage in the story. And the father goes off to his office," she said. "And the mother writes children's books. And the little girl's purpose is to go to school every day, try her best, have a good time, and just be thankful for what she has."

Dunn-Dern worked in Hollywood as a writer on a hit show called Roc on Fox television, and she has produced children's theater. Through her writing, the author became involved in a children's literacy⁴ project that helps Ethiopian children. The effort started with book donations, and led to a television production introduced by Dunn-Dern. The show, which features cartoon segments⁵, is shown on Ethiopian television.

"Hello Mimi and Moshi, Boys and Girls. Welcome to another episode⁶ of Bobby's World," the show starts.

The program teaches English-language skills.

"And we talk about everything from the alphabet to learning your numbers, to the solar system,"

The author says her writing and television project help children learn language skills and impart⁷ positive values, and they do it in an entertaining way. She is busy working on her third book.

1 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？

2 catchy   

adj.易记住的，诡诈的，易使人上当的

参考例句：

• We need a new slogan.The old one's not catchy enough.我们需要新的口号，旧的不够吸引人。
• The chorus is very catchy to say the least.副歌部分很容易上口。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 literacy   

n.识字，有文化，读写能力

参考例句：

• I can't believe that he failed the literacy test.我无法相信他识字测试不及格。
• The literacy rate there is the highest in Central America.那里的识字率居中美洲之首。

5 segments   

部分( segment的名词复数 )； 瓣； [计算机]（字符等的）分段； [动物学]节片

参考例句：

• He is eating oranges in segments. 他正在一瓣瓣地吃橘子。
• Gene cloning provides a means of purifying and propagating specific DNA segments. 基因克隆化提供了一种纯化和扩增特定DNA片段的方法。

6 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。

7 impart   

vt.告知，透露；赋予，给予

参考例句：

• A teacher's aim is to impart knowledge.教师的宗旨就是传授知识。
• Your presence will impart an air of elegance to the party.您的光临将会为宴会增添优雅的气氛。