About the Author

Her childhood:
Adeline Yen Mah was born in Tianjin, China. Her mother died two weeks after
her birth, and Adeline was considered to be a source of bad luck by her family. Her
fathers remarriage to a Eurasian woman (half French and half Chinese) divided the Yen
family into two different classes. Adeline's father, stepmother and their two children were
the upper class, but Adeline and the four other step-children by their fathers first wife
were considered second class. Being the youngest, a female, not-to-mention bad luck, left
Adeline in somewhat of a class of her own.

Her success:
After winning an international writing competition in Hong Kong at the age of
fourteen, she moved to London, England where she studied medicine. She graduated
from London Hospital Medical School as a physician and specialized in anesthesiology,
and practiced as an anesthesiologist at West Anaheim Community Hospital, Anaheim,
California where she became chief of anesthesia.
Today Adeline is happily married to Robert A. Mah. They have two children and
live in California and London. After the publication of Falling Leaves in 1997, which
sold over one million copies world-wide and was a New York Times Bestseller, Adeline
gave up medicine to write full-time. Chinese Cinderella is her autobiography written for
children. It is an ALA Best Book for Young Readers and a Publishers Weekly Best Book.

About the Book:

Adelines story of her childhood is a true Cinderella tale about a little girl
unwanted by her family. Deemed as bad luck for having supposedly caused the death of
her mother, the reader learns not only what its like to be the victim of cultural
superstition, but also what its like to be a woman at this time in China, and how that
causes further rejection from her family. Adeline notes that today even though many
Chinese parents still prefer sons, daughters are not so much despised. (Yen Mah,
Preface)
Set against the back-drop of Chinas war with Japan, 1937-1945, and their civil
war among the communists and the nationalists, this book is a wonderful historical lesson
about China, and the region around it. As Adeline tells her story, she also gives brief
histories about Chinas situation, and how it has affected her family. Through these
comparisons, students have an idea about what the effects of war can be like from the
perspective of someone close to their age.
Adeline also invites her readers into her culture by describing religious matters,
ceremonies, holidays, cultural history, family structures, and by filling her literature with
Chinese calligraphy to represent numbers, names, and places. In the authors note, she
describes the Chinese language, and how it differs from English. It is a pictorial language
that must be memorized, and there is no connection between the spoken and written
language. This is a huge difference between English and Chinese, and is an interesting
concept for students to grasp. Language is an important part of a culture, and Yen Mahs
mixing her own language into the novel invites students to really take a closer look at the

differences and similarities between themselves and the characters, and really take an
interest in learning about and understanding the culture.
This book reveals and discusses numerous aspects of the Chinese culture, and also
guides its readers through a brief history of China, and the countries that surround it. It
would be an important cultural experience for students to see how the war affects the life
of this little girl, her family, and her friends. After my own experiences in college seeing
war from the perspective of others, especially those in which Americans are involved, I
appreciate being able to identify with someone on the other side of the situation, and
understand their position.

Excerpt:
After a while I said, When did my mama die?
Your mama came down with a fever three days after you were born. She died
when you were two weeks old
Though I was only four years old, I understood I should not ask Aunt Baba too
many questions about my dead mama. Big Sister told me, Aunt Baba and mama used to
be best friends. A long time ago, they worked together in a bank in Shanghai owned by
our grandaunt, the youngest sister of Grandfather Ye Ye. But then Mama died giving birth
to you. If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you.
You are bad luck.