Half-starved and overworked by her stepmother, Yeh-Shen's only friend is a fish with golden eyes.  When the stepmother kills the fish for dinner, poor Yeh-Shen is left with only the bones.  But the bones are filled with a powerful MAGICAL spirit.  When Yeh-Shen is forbidden to attend the annual spring Festival, the spirit gives her a gown of azure blue and delicate golden slippers.  That night, everyone marvels at the beautiful, mysterious young woman at the ball and the King falls in love with her...

Yeh-Shen also has the original story in Traditional Chinese Characters. This Chinese Cinderella story dates from the T'ang Dynasty of 618-907 AD, and a version can be traced back to 9 BC.  The oldest European version of Cinderella in an Italian tale dates from 1634.  Very well done. Wonderful illustrations that capture the mood beautifully.

Ed Young has illustrated a number of Chinese Children Stories including Voices of the Heart and Lon Po.  He was born in Tientsin, China and learned to read and write Chinese as a child.  He has illustrated 70 children books and written 15 of them.  Ed Young teaches Tai Chi Chuan in Westchester, New York, where he lives with his wife and daughter.

 

"Misty, jewel-like illustrations evoke the mythic past in this Chinese Cinderella story."  - Publishers Weekly