The Seeing Stick
Thomas Y. Crowell, 1977
Jane Yolen is one of our favorite children's book authors, and it was a nice surprise to read her tale about a gentle old man's remedy for the Emperor's blind daughter, Hwei Ming. Yolen never states directly whether the old man is blind, too, but that is the implication, which Remy Charlip and Demetra Maraslis' delicate illustrations also suggest. But where physicians and magicians have failed, the old man can see a way to aid the blind princess. The answer lies in art and artfulness. With a whittling knife and a wooden stick in hand, the old man appeals to human vanity and wonder, overcoming barriers to reach the princess. As the illustrations shift from black-and-white to color, the princess receives the old man's gift of vision. The emperor is deeply moved, and the princess shares her newly found capacity for tactile sight with others.
I believe that there is a newer edition of this story, with different illustrations, which I have yet to see.
In response to a reader's suggestions, I will begin adding age groups to my labels with the proviso that those groupings are based on nothing more than my own experience and instinct. I would be happy to hear your input on age groups as I update earlier postings.
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