What was it like to be a little girl, living in China during the mid 1800s? For Ruby, it m
eant living with her rich grandfather in his house, actually his block of houses, along with her grandfather's many wives and their children, and the children of those children. (Such were the ways in old China.) Ruby's grandfather had made his fortune by traveling to the "Gold Mountain," otherwise known as California, during the time of the Gold Rush. But unlike many Chinese men who stayed in this new land, Ruby's grandfather returned to China and brought his fortunes back home with him. Thus he was able to provide a rich home for his family, including Ruby.Ruby lived with her cousins, over 100 of them, and went to school with them too. Her grandfather hired a teacher to come to the house, and any child who wanted to learn was invited to attend. This was unusual at the time since girls in China did not traditionally attend school. Most girls never learned to read or write. But Ruby was very interested in learning, and continued on even when all the other girls dropped out to learn how to cook, keep house, embroider, etc. She worked extra hard to keep up with her studies and thought it very unfair that boys were treated "better" than girls.
Ruby's grandfather discovered how unhappy Ruby was, especially because she would never be allowed to go to the university to study like the boys. But Grandfather surprised Ruby one New Year's Day with a special gift inside her red envelope, an invitation to be the first female student at a university in China.
What is so wonderful about this book is the portrayal of male/female roles in old China, told so that a child can understand. But even better is that this is a true story about the author's grandmother. The last page features the illustration of Ruby in the story next to a photograph of the real Ruby as an adult. The illustrations in this book will help young readers to "see" China as it was back then while the words tell of the "unfairness" felt by one girl living during this time.
