Shirin Yim Bridges, illustrated by Sophie Blackall,
Ruby's Wish.
Chronicle Books, 2002.

Ruby, one of many grandchildren in a wealthy Chinese patriarch's household, knows her own mind. Her name attests to her quiet willfulness: she's called Ruby because, in defiance of custom, she chooses to wear red — the color of celebration of life — every day. She would rather be educated than married, yet the self-possessed child doesn't scheme, fight, or beg for the right to further her studies. Instead, she simply answers her grandfather's questions about her neatly written poem concerning the relative luck of boys and girls. In this crucial conversation, she is careful not to hurt her grandfather, but she also lets him know that she wants to study at the university like the boys. Afterwards, she persists in her lessons, even as the time approaches when she presumably will be bethroted.

Ruby takes no “heroic” action, but she is an entirely engaging heroine. Part of her appeal derives from Sophie Blackall's illustrations, delicate and understated but expressive paintings that show red-clad Ruby growing up in her grandfather's intriguing household. And Shirin Yim Bridges skillfully draws the reader along with a storytelling tone in which the “once upon a time” of fairy tale can become a real place and a real time without losing its magic.

Yet Ruby remains heroic largely through the force of her character: she's intelligent, she acts with care, and she pursues her hopes tenaciously. At several key moments, her grandfather watches the children thoughtfully, focusing on Ruby. One senses that he, too, is compelled to want her to succeed simply because she is so purely herself and so certain of her dream.

Ruby's triumph, when it arrives, is as quiet as her struggle. During New Year celebrations, her grandfather hands her a thicker-than-usual gift envelope. Her family looks on, and the narrator invites the audience to guess what's inside. On the next page, we learn that Ruby's gift was an admission letter from a university just beginning to enroll female students. But readers also find a real photograph of the author's grandmother, Ruby, in a double picture frame alongside another illustration of the young protagonist. It's a triple pleasure to know that Ruby got her wish, that she is a real person, and that “every day she still wears a little red. ”

Jessica Roeder

Winter 2002 - 2003