Ribbons

by Laurence Yep

Overview

A promising young ballet student cannot afford to continue lessons when her Chinese grandmother emigrates from Hong Kong, creating jealousy and conflict among the entire family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698116061
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	10/28/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.53(d)
Lexile:	710L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

Editorial Reviews

Yep fumbles with this strained tale about an 11-year-old girl who yearns to dance. The star of her ballet class, Robin Lee has to give up her lessons at Madame Oblamov's academy when her mother imposes a draconian budget on the household, in order to save enough money to bring Robin's grandmother from China to the Lees' home in San Francisco. Robin gamely practices on her own, stuffing her feet into outgrown toe shoes and dreaming of her return to ballet school, but tuition money isn't available, even after her grandmother finally moves in. To make matters worse, Grandmother blatantly favors Robin's younger brother. In a forced parallel, Robin damages her feet (those too-small toe shoes), and only Grandmother can understand her determination to dance anyway: Grandmother's feet were bound in childhood and, despite immense pain, she unbound them in adulthood as a way of embracing modern values. A lot of the characterizations here verge on stereotypes: the indomitable Chinese matriarch, the unstoppable young artist with a dream, the impoverished but noble-hearted Russian ballet mistress. Combine this with the adults' extremist stances (Mom won't even let Robin keep the $20 her other grandmother sends for Christmas), and the novel reads as a lengthy contrivance. Ages 10-14. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Although ballet means everything to 11-year-old Robin Lee, she is forced to give up her lessons. Her parents need every cent they can save to fulfill their long held dream of bringing her grandmother over from China before Hong Kong becomes part of the communist mainland. Robin is determined to maintain her skill by practicing alone and with friends, but it is difficult. It is even more difficult for her to hide her resentment and get along with her grandmother when she arrives and is moved into Robin's room. But after discovering a secret involving Grandmother's injured feet, as a result of being bound, they gradually come to understand and care for each other.

Children's Literature - Gisela Jernigan

Gr 4-8-Yep once again explores the hazardous terrain that separates a Eurasian girl from her Chinese mother and grandmother. At 11, Robin has found her life's passion: ballet. Then she learns that her high-minded, impecunious parents can no longer afford lessons, now that they are bringing Grandmother over from Hong Kong. Refusing to give up the world she loves, Robin continues to practice in the garage on a cement floor, wearing toe shoes she rapidly outgrows. Meanwhile, Grandmother arrives, limping painfully with the aid of two canes. Though Mother forbids any mention of her disability, Robin's ignorance about bound feet strains credibility. The girl's wary hostility toward the old woman who so disrupts her life turns to active dislike, and then to understanding when she sees her uncovered damaged feet. Andersen's story "The Little Mermaid," awkwardly patched into the narrative, symbolizes the determination to transcend pain shared by Robin and her grandmother. The parents' inattention to their daughter's damaging practice sessions seems contrived to further the plot, and the murkier depths of mutilation in the cause of beauty are never sounded. If Robin's self-knowledge seems unnaturally mature, it is because she is telling about her emotions rather than letting readers feel them. This said, Robin's final epiphany, using the book's symbolic title to great effect, is genuinely felt, and genuinely moving. An appealing story that draws readers into the world of ballet while offering an authentic and sometimes amusing look at the dynamics of Chinese-American family life.Margaret A. Chang, North Adams State College, MA

School Library Journal