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In every age there are courageous people who break with tradition to explore new ideas and challenge accepted truths. Galileo Galilei was just such a man--a genius--and the first to turn the telescope to the skies to map the heavens. In doing so, he offered objective evidence that the earth was not the fixed center of the universe but that it and all the other planets revolved around the sun. Galileo kept careful notes and made beautiful drawings of all that he observed. Through his telescope he brought the starts down to earth for everyone to see.

By changing the way people saw the galaxy, Galileo was also changing the way they saw themselves and their place in the universe. This was very exciting, but to some to some it was deeply disturbing. Galileo has upset the harmonious view of heaven and earth that had been accepted since ancient times. He had turned the world upside down.

In this amazing new book, Peter Sís employs the artist's lens to give us an extraordinary view of the life of Galileo Galilei. Sís tells his story in language as simple as a fairy tale, in pictures as rich and tightly woven as a tapestry, and in Galileo's own words, written more than 350 years ago and still resonant with truth.

彼得•西斯，1949出生于捷克斯洛伐克，作家、插画家、设计师、电影导演，在诸多领域皆有较高建树，并集麦克阿瑟荣誉奖章、柏林电影节金熊获、凯迪克奖、纽伯瑞奖、美国插画家协会金奖、《纽约时报》书评周刊年度最佳儿童图书奖等难以计数的荣誉于一身，令人惊叹而又佩服。

童年时，母亲就鼓励彼得•西斯画画，但他却因为不喜欢按照老师的要求作画而受到批评。从伦敦皇家艺术学院毕业后，他进入电影创作领域。1980年，其导演的短片获得柏林电影节金熊奖，1982年被派往美国洛杉矶为1984年夏季奥运会拍摄宣传片。后来由于一些原因而一直留在美国。

与图画书大师莫里斯•桑达克的结识，使彼得•西斯将自己的创作重心转向图画书。他在二十年创作历程中所获的成就远远超过了许多人的一生所得。仅以《纽约时报》书评周刊年度最佳图画书的称号而论，二十年间他竟“霸占”了三分之一的席位，《玛德琳卡》、《玛德琳卡的狗》、《生命之树》更三次为他带来了“年度最佳儿童图书”的好评。

创意，或者说创造力，是彼得•西斯成功的秘决。边框、折页、注解、人物肖像、地图、镂空设计……巧妙安排的细节为他的作品增添了无穷的魅力。曾有人问起他的创意从何而来，彼得•西斯回答，那是从他的孩子和自身的经历中得到的。正是这种亲历性，令他的作品能够迅速地感染读者。

彼得•西斯的作品主要表现个人自由生活的意志。他说自己描写的是那些在极权统治下成长、在别人都妥协退让时仍然坚持自己、跟随自己脚步前进的人。特别值得一提的是，《梦想的追随》、《远方的小高故事》、《遥远的北方》和《三把金钥匙》等，还反映出他对那些探索家和梦想家们经久不衰的兴趣。

深刻的思考，使彼得•西斯的作品在细密如繁锦的图画、丰富的认知元素、巧妙新颖的设计之外，更增加了哲学的深意。这也许就是他的书那么吸引我们——无论成人还是儿童的原因所在。