Seesaw Girl

Park, Linda Sue & Tseng, Jean and Tseng, Mou-sien (Illustrators). Seesaw Girl. Clarion Books, 1999. ISBN 0-395-91514-7

Plot

Jade Blossom is 12 years old. She lives in seventeenth-century Korea. Her 15-year-old aunt, Graceful Willow, is her best friend. Together they play tricks on the boys in their household and learn to do the women's work they must master before they are married. For Jade and Willow, their family's home is their entire world. After reaching the age of eight, girls are not allowed to leave their family's Inner Court except to attend weddings. The day comes for Willow to be married. Jade watches with interest as a goose is ceremonially presented and set free. Then Jade feels sad as she sees Willow sitting isolated amidst the wedding festivities. She realizes this is the last time she will ever see her friend. After Willow leaves, Jade has more household responsibilities. She feels overwhelmed by the endless laundry and sewing. She longs for the freedom her brother, Tiger Heart, enjoys as he leaves their home and visits the market. One morning Jade stows away in a large basket as the cart leaves her home for the market. At the market Jade sees many women and girls at work. Her fine clothes attract attention. She quickly enlists the aid of a child named Change who directs her to Willow's new home in the house of Lee. Before she leaves the market, a group of prisoners (strangers from Europe) is marched through the market. Jade finds the house of Lee, but the gatekeeper sends her away, telling her that she could not be Willow's niece because no noble girl would leave her own home to come to their gate unattended. Jade returns to the market and finds her family's servant who takes her home. Her mother is angry that Jade has dishonored her family by leaving their Inner Court. She tried to help Jade see that their limited life has its benefits. Her family is well cared for and well fed, and that should be enough for Jade to be happy. The next day the household is upset by news of the European strangers' arrival. Jade's father believes that the men should be allowed to visit and leave Korea as they wish. The King says they must be imprisoned or put to death. Jade still thinks of the men and remembers her adventure in the market. She thinks of the people and the mountains she saw. Living behind the walls of her family's home she begins to forget what the mountains look like. She teaches her younger cousins the jumping seesaw game so that she can see over the walls that surround her to the mountains in the distance.

Critical Evaluation

Jade is a very modern-thinking girl living centuries ago in Korea. She is brave in her efforts to see the world outside her home. Her trip to the market highlights the isolation she feels and the isolationist tendencies of her country. Her longing to see the mountains again is vividly portrayed as she tried to embroider a mountain scene on silk. Then she must hide as she paints a mountain scene. Painting is a pastime for boys and men. Finally, her determination to see the mountains pays off when she teaches her cousins to play the jumping seesaw game. The children bounce high enough to see over the walls of their home. Jade's endurance makes her a hero even though she must continue to live within the walls of the Inner Court.

Annotations

Jade Blossom longs to see the world outside her family home. When her friend and aunt, Graceful Willow, is married and leaves their home, Jade decides she will visit her. Her failed attempt to see Willow impresses Jade with a wider view of her world.

Author

Linda Sue Park says that she was horrified and fascinated to learn that noble class Korean girls of the Choson period were not allowed to leave their homes. Her mother taught Linda to play on a jumping seesaw when she was a girl. She is the author of A Single Shard which won a Newbery medal.

Genre

Fiction – Korean history

Curriculum Ties

Language Arts

Social Sciences – discuss the different roles boys and girls had in the past.

Booktalk Ideas

Introduce the characters Jade and Willow and describe their secluded life in the Inner Court.

Reading Level/Interest Age

Grade 4 - 6 (age 9 - 12).

Challenge Issues and Defense

None.

Why is it here?

I loved the contrast between Jade's outer, constrained world and the soaring, wide world she carried in her heart8.