Seesaw Girl

The powerful tale of a sheltered girl's daring attempts to enlarge her world, from Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park.

Jade Blossom never ventures beyond the walls of her family's Inner Court. In seventeenth-century Korea, a girl of good family does not leave home until she marries.

She is enthralled by her older brother's stories about trips to the market and to the ancestral grave sites in the mountains, about reading and painting, about his conversations with their father about business and politics and adventures only boys can have. Jade accepts her destiny, and yet she is endlessly curious about what lies beyond the walls. Will she ever see for herself?

A lively story with a vividly realized historical setting, Seesaw Girl "will capture and hold readers" (Kirkus).

"Park sympathetically conveys the challenges and joys of becoming an adult, and offers perspective on the many meanings of 'privileged.' The lovely, delicate illustrations detail traditional clothing, architecture, and decorative arts for visualization and context."

"The evocative descriptions and Jade's intensity in creating new ways to learn will capture and hold readers."

"Park's novel offers readers a brief but enticing glimpose at another time and place." - School Library Journal

"A wonderful and exciting book." - Children's Book Review Service