LITTLE SILK

by Jacqueline Ayer ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 9, 1970

The bittersweetness of transience in the chancy life of a Chinese doll. ""Very First Mistress, who sang sweet songs of praise to her, has long since faded into the world of Never Again. Now Little Silk lives with the Shu family in the world of today on a crowded hillside in Hong Kong."" And today, market day, Little Silk falls from the halter on the back of Missy Shu, finds herself in the gentle hands of Old Man and, from Small Child, gains a red silk smile for her faded face. The telling is mellifluous, almost a litany: ""Cabbages and kumquats,/ Chestnuts on the fire,/ 'Virtuous and prosperous,'/ Fried squid, rubber tires""; the design is at once lucid and intricate, morning-bright and gently crayoned--and atmospheric without recourse to picturesque strategems. Most noteworthy altogether is the absence of sentimentality: this is a doll story that touches down, and touches deep.

Pub Date: Sept. 9, 1970

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1970

Categories: CHILDREN'S