Genre 5 Book 2 – Historical Fiction

1. Bibliography
Park, Linda Sue. 1999. SEASAW GIRL. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Illustrated by: Jean and Mou-sien Tseng
ISBN 0440416728

2. Plot Summary
Jade Blossom lives in her family’s inner court and is never allowed to venture past its boundaries. During this time period, seventeenth-century, Korean traditions did not allow a girl to leave home until she was going to wed into her new family. Jade is twelve and her cousin Willow is fifteen. These two girls go about their days learning to sew, embroider and laundry while still finding time to play.

Jade accepts her role, but not without being curious about what is on the outside. She continuously asks her brother Tiger Heart about what he sees when he accompanies their father to market.

Soon, Willow gets married and moves away. Jade misses her desperately and dares to venture beyond the boundaries to visit her cousin and get a glimpse of the outside world. However, what she encounters only peaks her curiosity even more. When she returns home, she can’t get the visions of the mountains out of her mind. She finally discovers a way to see the outside world while remaining inside the inner court…a seesaw.

3. Critical Analysis
Park combines action, descriptions, and beautiful black and white paintings to make this book a sure hit. The expressions on the characters in the paintings illustrate their feelings without even reading the page. One really gets a feel for the setting as well. The story flows chronologically is a really easy read for those struggling readers who get overwhelmed when faced with longer drawn out novels.

The characters are created in such a way that children can relate to them even though this story takes place in the seventeenth century. Jade’s relationship with her brother is quite intriguing. It is obvious how much she looks up to him. “Elder Brother, what is it like there”, she ask him of his journeys. Park does an excellent job of portraying the brother and sister’s comradery. Finally at the end of the story, the reader is treated to the reason behind the title of this book: SEESAW GIRL.

Humor is utilized occasionally to add to the appeal of young readers. The novel begins with Jade and Willow playing a prank on their brothers. However; while some of the actual history is hard to decipher from the text, Park adds an Author’s Note at the end to clarify this part. Overall this novel will appeal to both young children and young adults.

4. Review Excerpt(s)
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Even the minor characters have substance.”
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY: “Fortunately, Jean and Mou-sien Tseng's animated black-and-white drawings fill in many details missing in the text concerning dress and setting.”

5. Connections
There are not a lot of books on Korean history that would appeal to young children. SEESAW GIRL is a great novel to share with students. Teachers could discuss the importance of following one’s dreams. Jade is a very interesting character. Students could create other stories involving her. Students could even extend this story. What happened to Jade? Did she get married? Did she ever get to visit the outside world again? Did she ever see Willow again? It is a great novel for classroom discussions.
Other books by Linda Sue Park include A SINGLE SHARD, PROJECT MULBERRY, and KITE FIGHTERS.