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BookDragon Blog

20 Oct / The Seeing Stick by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini

Seeing StickWithout a doubt, the most remarkable part of this striking new edition of Jane Yolen’s 1977 title are the pictures. The story is simple: a Chinese emperor’s daughter, blind since birth, learns to “see” with the help of a wise old man and his mysteriously powerful walking stick.

But oh how the tale comes to vibrant life with newcomer (this is only her second children’s title!) Daniela Terrazzini’s magical pictures. To underscore young Hwei Ming’s dark existence, the book begins in black and white with a few shades of gray. At the emperor’s desperate bidding, monks, physicians, and other specialists arrive to cure the girl, hoping to earn the promised reward of many jewels.

Yet no one can help her … until a very old man literally begins to change the landscape, adding a few muted splashes of blues and maroons, as he journeys toward the palace to help Hwei Ming. The walking stick he carries brings his stories to life, adding vibrant color to his many tales… and the book’s pages actually shine and shimmer with Terrazzini’s gorgeous illustrations.

With the old man’s gentle guidance, Hwei Ming learns to “see” with her fingers, her hands, her inner being, and she, too, bursts into color – her cheeks turn pink, her rich brocade dresses swoosh, she glows with new understanding. The transformation of Hwei Ming’s world, both in her story and on the actual page, is astonishing. Terrazzini’s talent truly presents a magical gift of technicolor sight.

Readers: Children

Published: 1977, 2009 (newly illustrated edition)

By Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center in Children/Picture Books, Chinese, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific Tags > BookDragon, Cultural exploration, Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, Folklore/Legend/Myth, Girl power, Haves vs. have-nots, Identity, Jane Yolen, Parent/child relationship, Seeing Stick
14 Comments
  • Andrew Murray

    This seems to be a very interesting book that I would love to read. I would love to know how the old man brought color to the emperor’s blind daughter.

    Reply
    • terryhong

      And read it you should! Just to turn the pages is a revelation … and it’s all about the power of the human touch, and the amazing healing, entertaining, transforming stories we share with one another. Go share it with your favorite child, too …

      Reply
  • simonsterg

    Well, you’ve sold that one to me! Must find it…

    Reply
    • terryhong

      Am guessing that you’re in France?

      Out of curiosity, I just checked Amazon France, and indeed, The Seeing Stick is available … http://www.amazon.fr/Seeing-Stick-Jane-Yolen/dp/0762420480/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=english-books&qid=1259069249&sr=8-8 — so do order it. The illustrations alone are worth every euro.

      Do come back and let us know what you think. Thanks for visiting the blog, too!

      Reply
      • simonsterg

        It’s in my panier…

        Reply
        • terryhong

          Très bon! Maintenant vous venez de pousser un bouton Acheter, non?

          Let us know what you think …

          Reply
          • simonsterg

            Yep, I loved it! The illustrations are amazing, how the glossy colour ones raise off the page, almost as if you could read them with your fingers.

            I like the story lots. I wonder if it was Jane Yolen’s or if it comes from a folktale?

            Interesting too that the book had a previous illustrator –
            http://covers.openlibrary.org/b/olid/OL5187504M-M.jpg

            Reply
            • terryhong

              I saw that other edition, too … but am so glad that Terrazzini did another version. Did you see her other book that she illustrated? Animals Marco Polo Saw: An Adventure on the Silk Road by Sandra Markl — gorgeous, too, but Seeing Stick is still the more spectacular, raised glossy color and all.

              I don’t know if Jane Yolen wrote the tale or adapted it … I’ll ask the publicist for the title and get back to you if I hear anything.

              Thanks so much for sharing your reactions. Come visit again soon.

              Reply
              • simonsterg

                Just found the answer. Jane Yolen calls it “this original fairy tale ” on her website
                http://www.janeyolen.net/blurbs/seeings2.html
                so I guess she made it up!
                I hadn’t seen the silk road book before! – another treat out there!

                Reply
                • terryhong

                  So many books, so little time for sure …

                  Thanks for finding the answer, too.

                  We’ll both have to be on the lookout for the next Terrazzini title!

                  Reply
                • terryhong

                  Look what just turned up in my inbox … from Jane Yolen herself, via her publicist:

                  I made up THE SEEING STICK myself based originally on a legend about a boy who made bamboo flutes and tied them to the legs of doves so that the wind whistled through the flutes when the birds flew up above the city. The legend was reported in a single paragraph in FIELD AND STREAM magazine. (We were visiting my husband’s family in West Virginia and there was no other reading material in the bathroom!) But the bamboo flute morphed over several years into the seeing stick, probably because my youngest son’s best friends in elementary school were twins one of whom was partially sighted. Or maybe it was the twins’ younger brother who was partially sighted. I can’t remember. That was almost forty years ago.

                  Reply
                  • simonsterg

                    That was thorough of you to investigate, Terry, and nice of Jane Yolen to reply so fully. So there was a legend behind it – even though it seems to have totally morphed. I suppose I’m pleased – I especially like traditional stories – even if the story was an inovation, the folktale feel and flavour somehow came through.

                    (I guess the original flute-dove story is beyond our reach…)

                    Reply
                    • terryhong

                      You’re a storyteller … YOU could make up the latest version! And get Terrazzini to illustrate it for you. How about that for your next project??!!

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