Ribbons - Softcover

Yep, Laurence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0698116062 ISBN 13: 9780698116061

Publisher: Puffin Books, 1997

Synopsis

If you asked her, Robin would say that ballet means everything to her.

But no one's asking Robin. Not her parents, who can no longer afford ballet lessons because all of their money is going toward bringing Robin's Chinese grandmother to America. Not her grandmother, a demanding woman who can barely walk. And now, Robin is even losing touch with her ballet friends, who are moving on without her. It's hard for Robin to hide her resentment of this foreign grandmother who's changed her whole life. Then Robin uncovers a secret that leads to a new understanding of the many ways in which she and her tough old grandmother are alike.
"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."—School Library Journal

"Kids who appreciate a story about fighting for one's dream will enjoy Robin's saga."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books 

About this title

About the Author:

Laurence Michael Yep is a prolific Chinese-American writer, best known for children's books. In 2005, he received the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his career contribution to American children's literature. His distinguished novels for young people that deal with the Asian-American experience include two Newbery Honor Award winners, Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate. Mr. Yep, who has a Ph.D. in English, has taught at the University of California at Berkeley and Santa Barbara. He also is an award-winning playwright and has edited a collection of writings by Asian-Americans.

From Publishers Weekly:

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.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0698116062
• ISBN 13: 9780698116061
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 192