Wishbones

by Barbara Ker Wilson

Yeh Hsien discovers that the bones of the beautiful fish she has caught, and which her envious stepmother plots to kill for supper, are magic wishbones that transport her, like Cinderella, to the exciting Cave Festival.

Genres: Picture Books, Cinderella

Hardcover

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Barbara Ker Wilson was born on 24 September 1929 in Sunderland, in the north of England. In 1964 she immigrated to Australia, living first in Adelaide, then Melbourne, then Sydney. She settled in Leura, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

As a child she used to accompany her father to a large publishing office in London, to deliver corrected proofs of his latest engineering textbook, and she knew then that she wanted to work in the world of writing and publishing.
Her first 'successful' work, written when she was eight, was a play based on the coronation of King George VI; it was performed at her primary school in England.

The Second World War influenced her greatly, particularly the experience of living through air raids in London. With the end of the war came her first experience of travelling abroad; afterwards, she traveled extensively in Europe and Asia.

Winner of the Dromkeen Medal (1999).

Reviews

[Charlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wishbones is a Chinese version of the traditional tale Cinderella. It is about a young girl called Yeh Hsien who lives with her father, step mother and step sister. She uses the fish bones to wish for things so that she is able to attend the festival. She loses her slipper as she flees the festival because her step mother recognises her.

The young king of T’ o Haun found the slipper and searched the countryside to find the woman who lost the slipper. Yeh Hsien tried on the slipper and it fit her. The young king married Yeh Hsien. Yeh Hsien took the fish bones with her to T’ o Haun, but the king wished for so many things that the fish bones refused to grant any more wishes. The king was ashamed and buried the fish bones. They were never to be seen again.

I read this story to my year 2 class in my third placement. This was part of the schools book week. This story is brilliant for all ages. It gives the children the opportunity to hear a traditional tale from a different culture.

The activities that I carried out were; story mapping, role play, map work, tasting Chinese food, looking at artefacts from China, finding the similarities and differences between the Cinderella story we know to the Chinese version.

[Linda Rusche · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun story! The illustrations are colorful and imaginative! The story left me with one question though. I won't mention it for fear of spoiling the ending.

[Kelly Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite spin on Cinderella.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wishbones: A Folk Tale from China is the familiar story of Cinderella with a Chinese twist. Yeh Hsien has the requisite evil stepmother, but this time she uses magic fishbones to dress in finery and thereby impress the king. She wishes for violet slippers and loses one when the evil stepmother becomes suspicious...she flees in terror.

You know the rest... she marries the king and they live happily every after.

Used for "Gung Hay Fat Choy!" storytime: January, 2012.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Chinese rendition of the Cinderella story. The stepmother killing the fish was a bit disturbing. I wonder what the original telling is like, for I think something was definitely lost in translation here. While the children would recognize the Cinderella elements, I'm not sure how well this would go for a story time.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cinderella story. A good starting point for Chinese folk and fairy tales.