Ruby's Wish

by Shirin Yim Bridges

Other authorsSophie Blackall (Illustrator)
Paperback, 2004

Status

Available

Publication

Scholastic Press, New York (2004), Edition: 1st Scholastic Printing

Description

In China, at a time when few girls are taught to read or write, Ruby dreams of going to the university with her brothers and male cousins.

User reviews

LibraryThing member debrasw
Summary: I loved this story because it showed the importance of family, perseverance and education. This goes through the story of Ruby and how she came to be educated in a time when not many girls were allowed to be educated. She grew up in a small town, with a large family in China. Her
Show More
grandfather had gone to gold mountain (california) and came back with a fortune so that he had many wives and built a large house. He had one grand-daughter that loved studying and wanted to go to the university like the boys and so one day when she was older, her grandfather made it possible! this story was retold by Ruby's grand-daughter.

Genre: This is a biography due to the fact that it tells the true life story of a woman who loved wearing red and beat all the odds by becoming educated.

Point of View: This story is great because we have no idea who is telling the story until the very end when the narrator tells us that she wrote the book and it is a true story about her grandmother. So we get to know the grandmother through the grand-daughter's perspective! This is important because we get a feeling of importance and love of the main character through the narrator's perspective and in the end we find out why.

Media: gouche
Show Less
LibraryThing member jmilton11
Genre: Biography
Age: Intermediate
Media: Watercolor
Review: This book is the story of the author's grandmother and how she wore red all of the time. It is also about her triumph through struggle. This is what classifies it as a biography.
LibraryThing member Laceyjo10
Review: In China, a young girl from a large extended family named Ruby has a wish. She wishes to be treated like all the rest of her boy cousins. She doesn’t like that she and her girl cousins have different studies that they must attend to while the boys get to learn and prepare for university.
Show More
Ruby’s Grandfather loves his granddaughter very much and is impressed by her love of learning and surprise her by letting her go to university.
Genre: This genre would be classified as multi-cultural/biography. The author is retelling the real life story of her own Grandmother, and does so in a way of bringing the history of China to life. She mentions different cultural practices that affect some of the people in China, such as marrying multiple wives or living with extended family. The story is engaging and helps students to consider different gender roles that they may believe.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Wonderful, engaging story based on the experiences of the author's grandmother.
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Based upon the childhood experiences of her own grandmother, Shirin Yim Bridges tells the delightful story of Ruby, a little girl living in "Old China," whose love of the color red, and intense desire for learning set her apart from her sisters and girl cousins. Fortunate enough to belong to a
Show More
wealthy family whose patriarch who allows both the boys and girls in his family to be educated, Ruby still wishes for more. She wishes to attend university like the boys in her family. But will her grandfather's unusual tolerance for female education extend that far...?

I loved Ruby's Wish, which is my first title from Shirin Yim Bridges, but hopefully not my last! The story is engaging, emphasizing both the blessings that Ruby enjoys and the challenges that she faces. Her grandfather, who learns of her secret desire through a poem she writes, is such an admirable figure - one obviously worthy of the love and remembrance he is accorded through this fictionalized story - and Ruby herself is a charming young character. The illustrations, done by Sophie Blackall in gouache, are likewise charming, and a perfect (and perfectly vivid!) accompaniment to the text. All in all, a delightful family story, one that reminded me of the work of Patricia Polacco, who also mines her family history for story ideas!
Show Less
LibraryThing member gundulabaehre
An engaging historical story (a true account, based on the childhood of Shirin Yim Bridges' own grandmother), Ruby's Wish tells the story of Ruby, a young Chinese girl growing up in a large household, where the enlightened patriarch (Ruby's grandfather) allows both girls and boys to be educated.
Show More
Ruby however, desires more; she also wants the opportunity to attend university like her brothers and male cousins. Will her grandfather grant Ruby her wish, will Ruby be allowed to attend university, or will she be forced to get married?

Ruby's Wish is both inspiring and thought-provoking. Like my LT friend Abigail has mentioned in her own excellent review, the story emphasises both the blessings Ruby enjoys (her education, the fact that her grandfather allows both his grandsons and his granddaughters to be educated) and the challenges she faces. Her grandfather is not only admirable and enlightened, he also listens to Ruby, listens to her words and takes her ideas, wishes and desires seriously. And Ruby, although at first a bit shy at being summoned to her grandfather's office and somewhat upset that her poem about boys being considered more worthy than girls might have angered him, has the courage to explain to her grandfather why she thinks boys are better looked after and that her greatest wish is not to get married, but to be able to attend university. When at the Chinese New Years' celebration, Ruby receives a letter of acceptance to attend university from her grandfather, I was so happy for Ruby that I had tears of joy in my eyes.

It must be remembered though, that Ruby is only able to attend university because her grandfather, the family patriarch, is in agreement with this. If he had said "no" and/or if it had been up to Ruby's mother and the other women of the family, Ruby would not have been allowed to further her education. I find it interesting that in many historical stories (both novels and picture books) about girls' education, it is often the mothers who are the most vehemently opposed to this, while the fathers (although they do generally have the last word) are often not nearly as negative and suspicious with regard to girls desiring more educational opportunities. Now, I know that this is probably a rather facile and non-nuanced assertion, but it is something that I have noticed about both classical girls school and college novels and historical children's literature, and it is something that I believe begs and requires further analysis and discussion.

Regarding Sophie Blackall's illustrations, although on their own, they would likely not be entirely to my taste, I think that they are a brilliant and wonderful complement to Shirin Yim Bridges narrative, providing an authentic seeming pictorial account of what late 19th, early 20th century China must have been like and looked like. The generally muted colours, contrasted with Ruby's penchant for bright red also makes her stand out a bit, makes her into a truly special character, not only within the text, the narrative itself, but within the scope of the illustrations as well.
Show Less
LibraryThing member larasimmons2
Shirin Yim Bridges bases her book, "Ruby's Wish", on her grandmother's childhood in "Old China". Ruby is given the nickname "Ruby" because of her love of the color red. Unlike her sister and girl cousins, Ruby is a passionate learner and studier. Steering away from tradition, Ruby's grandfather
Show More
allows Ruby to continue and develop as a student. The main theme of this story is centered around the importance of education. Another prevalent theme is to maintain a passionate drive for one's interests.

The book focuses around the challenges and benefits of hard-work. I liked this book as it provides a positive image of education. It also portrays how cultural traditions can change. I find that Ruby is a respectable young character. Her challenges with school are certainly things readers can relate to.

Sophie Blackall's gouache illustrations, posses a lot of Chinese characteristics. Blackall is able to capture the spirit of a Chinese hutong, without much description in the text. The buildings are reminiscent of traditional hutong and important buildings (temples, government housing). The study rooms have the traditional materials. Windows in the pictures even include a variety of the geometric shapes frequently found in classic Chinese homes. The traditional Chinese dress in the illustrations are accurate. These illustrations serve as an excellent addition to the text.
Show Less
LibraryThing member KiTiraShorter
“Ruby’s Wish” is a great story with a great message of if you express the want of something and work towards getting it is very achievable. This is shown through the plot of the story. The plot in this story was very well paced and allowed for the reader to be actively engaged. For as I was
Show More
reading I wanted to know what unheard of thing Ruby would do next. When she explains to her grandpa that she wants to go to college and then she becomes the first Chinese woman to go to college it was just astounding. But the biggest surprise was finding out that Ruby is a real girl and related to the author. This made me as a reader very excited and intrigued by the things that were going on. It caused me to just keep on reading till the very end. I also loved the illustrations within the book they seemed to be more of a Chinese way of drawing. This I felt help bring all the many aspect of China into the book. The color schemes of the red also helped since it was incorporation of Ruby’s favorite color. I feel this allowed me as the reader to have a connection to the main character.
Show Less
LibraryThing member danielleshorr
Grade: 1-4
Biography
Ruby is a young girl who is Chinese. Ruby is one out of many brothers and sisters. There are so many children in the family that her grandfather hires a schoolteacher to tutor them. This is unusual during this time period in Chinese culture for women to receive education. Mostly
Show More
they were expected to learn to take care of the house and family. Although Ruby did perform her "female" duties she also excelled in school. One day Ruby had a talk with her grandfather. She was explaining to him why it would be better if she were a boy. "But most importantly", said Ruby, staring hard at her red shoes, "the boys will get to go to University, but the girls will be married". Ruby's Grandfather takes what Ruby says to heart, and gets Ruby accepted as the first female student to the University. This book hits on the important issue of gender equality, because of Ruby being allowed to attend the University. Although this would have not happened if she had not been so persistent with her education. This book is very inspirational about following your dreams.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GaiaGonzales
In my opinion, I thought that this book was an interesting read. This book is about Ruby, who yearns to go to University. She comes from a very traditional, very large, Chinese family. Boys in the family are able to complete their education, while girls are unable to do so because they are often
Show More
married at a young age. One reason I liked this book was because of the character, Ruby. Ruby loved to learn and really wanted to continue her education, unlike some other girls in her family. She also highlighted the differences in the treatment of boys and girls in her family. For example, she recalled that the boys get the red lanterns in different shapes while the girls only get plain lanterns during the Lantern Festival. I also liked how there was a little bit of a historical element to the story. For example, in the beginning, it was mentioned that some Chinese men had gone to California during the Gold Rush, and that those who came back became very rich. After reading this book, I found that the big message is to follow your dreams, no matter how big they are.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Madison_DeWeerdt
This book was very different for me. One part of it was talking about having multiple wives which is against the law here in the United States, so it is interesting to me that they have that in this book and I think that would be a hard conversation in the classroom that could definitely be avoided.
LibraryThing member jspare2
The story is told about a young girl, Ruby, who is growing up in China. Ruby was a very smart and talented young lady. Ruby expresses the hardship of growing up in a male dominant society and the will of a young lady who wants to held to the same standards as the males in China. Ruby is able to
Show More
express the inequality between genders to her grandfather. The story is filled with very vibrant and uplifting photos that correspond with the reading. At the end of the novel, Ruby is accepted to a university as one of the first female students to attend the university. This story teaches a valuable lesson of believing in yourself and going beyond the standards. Ruby was able to push herself to work hard to achieve the goal she set for herself.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Dallas_Lee
This is a great book that explores the idea of a different culture. It takes you on a journey about a young girl wanting to break out of the normal and go to college. What makes this book even better is that it is based on a true story. Also, at the end of the book it gives real pictures of ruby
Show More
and her family. The illustrations follow along well with the text to make it flow. I would recommend this book to anyone to use in the class or at home.
Show Less
LibraryThing member kfrey4
I really liked this book. The main idea of the story is a girl breaking the gender roles of china and going to a university. I liked the illustrations in the story. The red seemed to be the key color with yellow/gold as the complimenting color. The illustrations were bright and had shown the wealth
Show More
of the family. I also really liked the message that women are able to do the same things men can do. Normally woman in china finish grade school and then focus on the home duties as men go to universities. Ruby had made her New Year’s wish to go to the university. Her grandfather had granted her wish and enrolled her into the university. This is a great gender role book and very insightful of East Asian culture.
Show Less
LibraryThing member QianqiongWang
Ruby’s Wish is a informational book that tells us a real historical story of author’s grandma, which was happened in 1990s China. A girl named Ruby lived in a big traditional house headed by his grandfather. Her family like other family that only emphasis on boy, they can go to school and study
Show More
but girls cannot. However, Ruby is a different girl that she challenged traditional thinking and try her best, finally she had a chance went school and entered into University finally. The media in this book are water-colored, which are full of Chinese culture.
Usage: I will read this book to primary school students, let them know about China in that time, and how difficulty for a girl to go to school, which may touch them.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
The pictures made it come alive, despite the straightforward text. The fact that it's a true story made tears come to my eyes. I do believe anyone, of any age, can enjoy and appreciate it, even though little children might just love the red, or the grandfather, and grandparents might want to check
Show More
their own behavior against the paragon of the story.

I wonder how much his time in California influenced his perspective?
Show Less
LibraryThing member JenW1
A wonderful introduction to Chinese culture. The true story of a young girl who wanted to go to school and was willing to put in the necessary work to get there. Inspirational!
LibraryThing member lissabeth21
A beautiful true story. Great launching point to talk about different cultures and different eras.
LibraryThing member wichitafriendsschool
Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author's grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, Ruby's
Show More
Wish is an engaging portrait of a young girl who strives for more and a family who rewards her hard work and courage.
Show Less

Awards

Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2006)
Georgia Children's Book Award (Finalist — Picturebook — 2008)
Monarch Award (Nominee — 2005)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2004)
Treasure State Award (Nominee — 2007)
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Nominee — Picture Books — 2005)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Children's Book Award — 2006)
Ezra Jack Keats Book Award (Winner — New Illustrator — 2003)

Language

Original publication date

2002

ISBN

0439699908 / 9780439699907
Page: 1.8428 seconds