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Silent Lotus
Although unable to speak or hear, lovely Lotus learns to perform the intricate story dances of the Cambodian court ballet.
32 pages, Paperback
First published November 28, 1994
1 person is currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Jeanne M. Lee
14 books3 followersJeanne M. Lee is the author and illustrator of many books, including The Song of Mu Lan and I Once Was a Monkey: Stories Buddha Told.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 22, 2020
In this children's book, you will read about a little girl from Kampuchea, who was born with a hearing impairment and for that she never learned to speak. The Silent Lotus mentions the many down falls of not being able to hear but in the end, they captured the most beautiful creation of a little girl who learned to dance as a symbol for speaking.
With in the illustrations of this book, the author and illustrator brought the words to motion. The author would delightfully explain what the little girl was doing as the next page would be illustrations of the girls actions.
I would recommended this book for an early childhood classroom, because its cultured, provides many opportunities for children to ask questions, and highlights the difficulties and strengths of a child with a hearing disability.
With in the illustrations of this book, the author and illustrator brought the words to motion. The author would delightfully explain what the little girl was doing as the next page would be illustrations of the girls actions.
I would recommended this book for an early childhood classroom, because its cultured, provides many opportunities for children to ask questions, and highlights the difficulties and strengths of a child with a hearing disability.
October 28, 2009
Eh.. girl is supposedly born deaf _and_ mute and how often does that happen? And nobody plays with her. But then she goes to the temple and sees some dancers and learns to be a dancer. And now she has friends. The end.
The story takes place "Long ago in Kampuchea". And I will admit to not knowing where that is.
The story takes place "Long ago in Kampuchea". And I will admit to not knowing where that is.
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December 22, 2020The author is Vietnamese-American and was "Inspired by the decorations on the twelfth-century temple at Angkor Wat [...] to bring to life the thousand-year-old tradition of the Cambodian court ballet, and the quiet triumph of an eloquent young dancer."
Our titular character, Lotus, is born deaf and does not speak. Her parents love, accept, and support her, but she struggles to find other children who are willing to play with her. Finally, her parents take her to the temple, where she feels the vibrations of the music and imitates the movements of the dancers. I wanted the illustrations to capture me/the impression of dance more than they did.
Lotus stays at court and becomes a great dancer, though I was disappointed that the narrative didn't try to explain how her parents explained to her that they were leaving her at court. We read that, "Lotus made many friends. She was no longer lonely and sad," but there's no explanation of how.
Our titular character, Lotus, is born deaf and does not speak. Her parents love, accept, and support her, but she struggles to find other children who are willing to play with her. Finally, her parents take her to the temple, where she feels the vibrations of the music and imitates the movements of the dancers. I wanted the illustrations to capture me/the impression of dance more than they did.
Lotus stays at court and becomes a great dancer, though I was disappointed that the narrative didn't try to explain how her parents explained to her that they were leaving her at court. We read that, "Lotus made many friends. She was no longer lonely and sad," but there's no explanation of how.
November 8, 2020
My mum used to read this to me when I was a child. It was my favourite book. I am now a diagnosed autistic person so I think knowing about disabilities from a young age has helped me come to terms with mine. Love it!
March 1, 2022
This book has a simple but great story for young readers and amazing pictures alongside it. Showing Lotus' story will hopefully encourage readers to be kinder to one another and inspire children who may be Deaf, nonverbal, or both. I would definitely recommend this book to others!
January 15, 2022
Lotus cannot hear or speak, but she ends up being a dancer for the King.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2026
Strange morals, or lesson - not quite sure how to take it.
February 14, 2017
Wonderful story for children on not letting adversity prevent you from achieving your wish.
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March 2, 2016Title: Silent Lotus
Author/Illustrator: Jeanne M. Lee
Genre: Non-European folktale
Theme(s): Friendship, Overcoming hardship
Opening line/sentence: Long ago in Kampuchea, a man and a woman lived on the edge of a lake.
Brief Book Summary: A young woman, Lotus, is born deaf and cannot speak. She does not fit in with the others. After some time, her parents take her to the temple in the city and she learns to dance. She speaks with her body and becomes the best dancer in the land.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Jeanne M. Lee, Author-Illustrator Silent Lotus 32 pp. Farrar 10/91 ISBN 0-374-36911-9 14.95 (Picture Book) In the form of a folk tale, Lee tells the story of Lotus, a young Cambodian girl who is beautiful and graceful but who cannot hear or speak. Her parents, seeking help for Lotus, take her on a trip to the city, where she sees the temple dancers. With permission from the king, she learns to perform for the royal court and eventually becomes a famous dancer. Lee tells her story with simple, undecorated prose, carefully balancing all the story elements. Her flat, stylized paintings are reminiscent of Far-Eastern art and do much to capture the ambiance of the ancient setting.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
Inspired by the 12th-century temple at Angkor Wat, Lee sets a tale in long-ago Kampuchea (Cambodia). Lotus is lovely, but silent from the day she is born. However, by quickly comprehending her parents' gestures, she learns to represent her name with her hands; ultimately, she finds a worthy calling when she becomes a dancer at the king's palace, telling ``tales of gods and kings'' with her graceful gestures. Lee illustrates this simple but pleasing story with elegantly decorative paintings, bright with subtly contrasted color, their clean compositions reminiscent of Allen Say's art. (Picture book. 4-8)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree very much so with the reviews that the illustrations balance the plot very well. The illustrations do well to capture the time period and culture of the book. The book is simple, yet it contains such a strong message.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The author does a really good job developing Lotus’s character. The reader is really able to grasp how Lotus struggled being deaf and mute. As the story goes along, it is as if the reader feels Lotus’s transformation into a beautiful dancer and the reader feels excited for her. The style of the book is very simple. There is not much variation in sentence style. Most of the sentences are short and to the point.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think a great instructional application would be to teach some sign language accompanied with the book. Children often don’t know what it means to communicate with the deaf or mute, so it might be useful to introduce them to sign language and how people communicate through sign language.
Author/Illustrator: Jeanne M. Lee
Genre: Non-European folktale
Theme(s): Friendship, Overcoming hardship
Opening line/sentence: Long ago in Kampuchea, a man and a woman lived on the edge of a lake.
Brief Book Summary: A young woman, Lotus, is born deaf and cannot speak. She does not fit in with the others. After some time, her parents take her to the temple in the city and she learns to dance. She speaks with her body and becomes the best dancer in the land.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Jeanne M. Lee, Author-Illustrator Silent Lotus 32 pp. Farrar 10/91 ISBN 0-374-36911-9 14.95 (Picture Book) In the form of a folk tale, Lee tells the story of Lotus, a young Cambodian girl who is beautiful and graceful but who cannot hear or speak. Her parents, seeking help for Lotus, take her on a trip to the city, where she sees the temple dancers. With permission from the king, she learns to perform for the royal court and eventually becomes a famous dancer. Lee tells her story with simple, undecorated prose, carefully balancing all the story elements. Her flat, stylized paintings are reminiscent of Far-Eastern art and do much to capture the ambiance of the ancient setting.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Kirkus Reviews
Inspired by the 12th-century temple at Angkor Wat, Lee sets a tale in long-ago Kampuchea (Cambodia). Lotus is lovely, but silent from the day she is born. However, by quickly comprehending her parents' gestures, she learns to represent her name with her hands; ultimately, she finds a worthy calling when she becomes a dancer at the king's palace, telling ``tales of gods and kings'' with her graceful gestures. Lee illustrates this simple but pleasing story with elegantly decorative paintings, bright with subtly contrasted color, their clean compositions reminiscent of Allen Say's art. (Picture book. 4-8)
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I agree very much so with the reviews that the illustrations balance the plot very well. The illustrations do well to capture the time period and culture of the book. The book is simple, yet it contains such a strong message.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The author does a really good job developing Lotus’s character. The reader is really able to grasp how Lotus struggled being deaf and mute. As the story goes along, it is as if the reader feels Lotus’s transformation into a beautiful dancer and the reader feels excited for her. The style of the book is very simple. There is not much variation in sentence style. Most of the sentences are short and to the point.
Consideration of Instructional Application: I think a great instructional application would be to teach some sign language accompanied with the book. Children often don’t know what it means to communicate with the deaf or mute, so it might be useful to introduce them to sign language and how people communicate through sign language.
August 6, 2016
Lee, Jeanne M. “Silent Lotus”. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1991.
Pages: 32
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture
Race/Culture/Ethnic Group: Cambodian
Summary: Inspired by decorations on a 12th century temple in Angkor Wat, this is the story of Lotus, a young girl who can neither hear nor speak, who becomes a dancer.
Evaluation: I selected this text because I can’t remember ever reading a children’s picture book that was specifically Cambodian, plus I’ve seen programs on Angkor Wat and it interests me. The author/illustrator is a Vietnamese American who traveled to this particular temple multiple times when she was living in Vietnam. The story is nice and portrays Cambodian as beautiful and graceful. The watercolor illustrations are not the best, though. The illustrations are colorful and show traditional dress, but I was bothered by all of the faces looking alike – it was even difficult to discern male characters from female characters. Generally, this was an OK picture book, but not a great piece of multicultural literature.
Pages: 32
Age range: 5-8
Genre: Picture
Race/Culture/Ethnic Group: Cambodian
Summary: Inspired by decorations on a 12th century temple in Angkor Wat, this is the story of Lotus, a young girl who can neither hear nor speak, who becomes a dancer.
Evaluation: I selected this text because I can’t remember ever reading a children’s picture book that was specifically Cambodian, plus I’ve seen programs on Angkor Wat and it interests me. The author/illustrator is a Vietnamese American who traveled to this particular temple multiple times when she was living in Vietnam. The story is nice and portrays Cambodian as beautiful and graceful. The watercolor illustrations are not the best, though. The illustrations are colorful and show traditional dress, but I was bothered by all of the faces looking alike – it was even difficult to discern male characters from female characters. Generally, this was an OK picture book, but not a great piece of multicultural literature.
March 26, 2013
Silent Lotus is a young girl who was born deaf to two loving parent who want the best for her. She never tries to talk but she mimics the movements of herons. These movements seem to be the way she communicated as if she was dancing. When the king and queen saw her they were amazed with her movements. They allowed her to join the royal dancers and she became the most famouse dancer. This book would be great for 3rd grade and up.
August 21, 2018
Silent Lotus
Lee, Jeanne M.
a good Vietnamese story, teaching about the culture and the roles of an individual
Lee, Jeanne M.
a good Vietnamese story, teaching about the culture and the roles of an individual
April 11, 2013
Beautiful story about what can be done despite being unable to hear and speak.
December 22, 2015
We read this to complement our middle ages history lesson about Southeast Asia.
Want to read
September 27, 2016Cambodia ages 6-8
April 28, 2017
A deaf mute learns to dance. Thai story.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews