One of the differences, as highlighted in our text, concerns the source of magical intervention that lets Cinderella “go to the ball.” Instead of a fairy godmother, Yeh-Shen is aided by the bones of her beloved pet fish.Īnd the meeting between Yeh-Shen and her prince is different from the meeting described in the 1697 European version that was written by Charles Perrault. 'Every library will be enriched by it.Intrigued by the statement in our text for Children’s Literature, that a story from China “predates the earliest European version of Cinderella by 1,000 years” (Johnson 131), I chose the 1982 retelling of Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie, illustrated by Ed Young, as one of two different visual or literary interpretations of Cinderella. has been executed with chromatic splendor-a unique combination of brilliance and restraint.' - The Horn Book A worthwhile addition to picture-book collections.' - Booklist

'Misty, jewel-like illustrations evoke the mythic past in this Chinese Cinderella story.' - Publishers Weekly Young made two trips to China to do his careful research into the traditional costumes and customs of the people in the area in which this tale is set.Ī School Library Journal Best Book of the Year The artwork for Yeh-Shen was more than two years in the making, and Mr. A graduate of the University of Illinois and the Los Angeles Art Center, he has illustrated many beautiful books for young people, among them The Emperor and the Kite, a Coldecott Honor Book (written by Jane Yolen) Chinese Mother Goose Rhymes (translated by Robert Wyndham) The Terrible Mung Gwama: A Chinese Folktale Bo Rabbit Smart for True: Folktales from the Gullah (by Priscilla Jaquith) and High on a Hill: A Book of Chinese Riddles. Further research confirmed that the story had been told in China since the days of the T'ang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), whereas the earliest known European version is an Italian tale dating from 1634.ĮD YOUNG was born in Tientsin, China, grew up in Shanghai, and came to the United States when he was in his late teens. Louie to the Cinderella of her grandmother's story as recorded in an ancient Chinese manuscript, which is reproduced in this book. The tale of Yeh-Shen had been told in her family for three generations when, to her surprise, a research trail led Ms. After teaching school near Boston, she returned to the New York area, moving to New Jersey. Born in New York City, AI-LING LOUIE graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and received her graduate degree from Wheelock College.