Yeh-Shen

Author: Ai-Ling Louie
Illutrator: Ed Young
Publisher and date of publication: Philomel Books, 1982
Genre: Picture Book, Fairy Tale (Multicultural)
Grade: K-5

Yeh- Shen was the daughter of a cave chief in Southern China. He had two wives and both had a daughter. Yeh-Shen's mother and father both died when she was young, leaving her in the care of her stepmother. The stepmother was jealous of her beauty for her daughter was not as beautiful. So, her stepmother treated her like a servant. Yeh-Shen had only one friend and it was fish. One day the stepmother wanted to see the fish but it was smart and would not show itself unless it knew it was Yeh-Shen. The stepmother devised a plan to trick the fish by wearing Yeh-Shen's coat. When the stepmother approached the pond in Yeh-Shen's coat the fish appeared. The stepmother then stabbed the fish and took it home to cook. Yeh-Shen was very sad but then the spirit of a sage came to her. The old man told her that the bones of the fish were very powerful and that whenever she needed anything she could tell the fish bones and they would help her. So, Yeh-Shen grabbed the fish bones out of the garbage. She loved talking to them, she would often tell them that he was hungry and they would provide her with food. A festival was approaching and Yeh-Shen longed to go and possibly meet a husband. However she had lots of cleaning, cooking and sewing to do. Once the Stepmom and daughter left for the festival Yeh-Shen asked the bones to help her with her clothes so that she go attend the festival. She was soon standing in a beautiful gown and shoes made of gold. The spirit bones told her to make sure that she did not loose a golden slipper. Yeh-Shen went to the festival and everyone was taken by her beauty. When she thought her stepmother had noticed her she ran back toward her home. Her clothes turned back to rags and on the way she lost a golden shoe. She cried because when she returned the bones were silent. A villager found the shoe, sold it to a merchant who presented it to the king as a gift. The king became some taken by the shoe that he longed to know who it belonged to. The King put out a search far and wide. There was a pavilion set up near Yeh-Shen’s house were people could come and try to claim the shoe. One night Yeh-Shen went to the pavilion and took the shoe. The king and his men followed her home especially after he was struck by her beauty. The king appeared at the door and told her to try on the tiny shoe. It was a perfect fit. The king had found his true love.

Yeh-Shen was a wonderful Cinderella story. I enjoyed it from start to finish. My favorite thing about the story was her friend the fish. I just love how many Cinderella have an animal friend that they can talk and relate to. With Disney it was the mouse and other woodland creatures. In Yeh-Shen it was this beautiful Chinese fish. I think it is important for our students to see the relationships that they have with animals. I can tell you how many times I have been sad and the only thing that made me feel better was when my dog "Princess" jumped up into my lap and showed me that unconditional love. Many time young people feel alone and I think it is great to encourage a friendship with animals. Another thing that I really liked about Yeh-Shen was the Chinese culture that was present throughout the entire book. There was everything from Chinese fish, spirits, dress and most importantly the emphasis on tiny feet. Throughout China tiny feet has always been considered extremely beautiful. Women used to bind their feet in order to make them smaller and more appealing to men. It was a process that hurt very much but it is with out a doubt and very strong aspect of their culture. The king did not just love the golden shoe he also love the extremely small size of the tiny shoe so, I was glad to see that. I loved how Yeh-Shen remained humble and quite throughout the entire story. The pictures were panel picture much like the ones that we have seen in Lon Po Po. I love the panel pictures that bring so much drama. They really help to put emphasis on what is being portrayed in the story at that point in time. Each panel tells a separate story but when you look at it as a whole it also tells a story. So, that is really neat. I look forward to reading more Cinderella stories. This assignment has gotten me so interested in learning about the cultures and the history of this magnificent tale.

In the classroom you could do a number of things depending on the grade. You could use this book as an intro to fairy tales. You could use it as an opener to China and its culture. Like I said before there is a lot covered so this book would be great for students to read and get a sense of what China was like all those years ago. Another thing that I would love to do with older children is to have them write their own Cinderella story. Lay out the platform but then have them create own that would go around the culture they were raised or that is in their home. There are many many more things to do. This is just a few that I would do for sure in my classroom.