ヴンダーカンマー（読みもの）
Cabinet of Curiosities
カテゴリー: Japanese Children's Books、おすすめ！日本の子どもの本、読みもの／chapter books and novels
『ヴンダーカンマー――ここは 魅惑の 博物館』（Bundakanma）
5 人の中学2 年生の職場体験の一日を描いた物語。体験先は急きょ追加の受け入れ先に決まった博物館だ。どんな仕事をするのか見当がつかず、5 人はどうも乗り気になれない。当日はくじびきで担当が決められた。得意なことがなくて自分に自信が持てない多嶋育実（いくみ）は魚類、母親がべったりの過保護で甘えん坊な橋本恋歌（れんか）は古脊椎、バスケ部で声が大きい飯田円佳（まどか）は鳥類、だれに対しても遠慮がちで引っ込み思案の肥後知恵は哺乳類、優等生タイプだが「博士」と呼ばれることに負担を感じる瀬川学（まなぶ）は無生物だ。早速5 人は別々の場所で仕事を手伝い始める。
ひとり一章ずつ自分の言葉で語るというスタイルで、各部署で出会った先生、学芸員、ボランティアなどとのやりとり、博物館のさまざまな仕事の内容がていねいに描かれる。5 人それぞれが仕事に取り組むなかで今までにない体験や発見をし、小さな成長を見せる。5 人の異なる視点から一日を描くが、「名前」を鍵に物語全体の流れを作り、昼休みのやり取りなど共有して過ごす場面を重ねる手法が巧みだ。「ヴンダーカンマー」は「奇跡の部屋」「魅惑の部屋」という意味のドイツ語で、もとはヨーロッパ各地で15 ～ 18 世紀に実在し、珍しいものを集めて飾っていた部屋を指す言葉として使われた。これらの部屋は博物館の前身になったという。その博物館の魅力と役割、働く人の姿が説得力豊かに伝わる一冊でもある。（汐﨑）
| 出版社 | 理論社 |
|---|---|
| 初版年 | 2018年 |
| ISBN | 9784652202845 |
| ページ数 | 240頁 |
| サイズ | 19×14 |
| 対象年齢 | 13歳から |
| キーワード | 職場体験 博物館 成長 友情 発見 |
Cabinet of Curiosities
ーA Fascinating Museum
This story is about a day’s work experience at a museum undertaken by five children (two boys and three girls) in year two of middle school. The placing was decided at the last minute and, not having any idea of what work they will be doing, the children are not very enthusiastic. On the day, they draw lots to decide who will do what: Ikumi, who isn’t good at anything and lacks confidence in himself, gets fish; Renka, a spoiled girl with an overprotective mother, gets vertebrate paleontology; Madoka, a loudmouth from the girls’ basketball club, gets birds; Chie, an introverted girl who is shy with everyone, gets mammals; and Manabu, a straight A-seeming student who finds it hard to live up to his nickname of “Prof,” gets inanimate objects. Once their jobs have been decided, they split up to go to their relevant departments.
Each recounts their experience in a chapter of their own, describing their job and their exchanges with the experts, curators, and volunteers they meet in the course of their work. They all have new experiences and make discoveries, and grow a little as a result. While the day is described from the different perspectives of the five children, the author has skillfully created an overall flow by using names as a key to the story, and by including similar scenes in all the chapters, such as discussions during the lunch break.
The term Cabinet of Curiosities comes from the German word Wunderkammer, which refers to a room in which rare articles from all over the world are displayed, and was the forerunner of museums. This book conveys the charm and role of the museum, and the people who work there are extremely convincing. (Shiozaki)
- Kashizaki, Akane
- Rironsha
- 2018
- 240 pages
- 19×14
- ISBN 9784652202845
- Ages 13 +
Work experience, Museums, Friendship, Discovery