Week 3 part 1

Adeline Yen Mah

1) All of the seven children get a baby duckling for a pet. Adeline befriends this duck and soon spends all of her time with her duckling (whose name is PLT). The family dog (Jackie) is getting put through obedience school, so to test this Father puts PLT in front of Jackie to see what happens. Jackie instantly kills PLT, crushing Adeline's heart. The only one Adeline can now turn to is Aunt Baba. Niang arranges a marriage for Big Sister who is only 17. The man she is marrying is a 31 year old stranger to her, but Big sister doesn't seem to mind. Adeline goes to a friends house behind Niang's back and gets badly punished by Niang's harsh words and her Father's beatings. Father then decides to separate Aunt Baba from Adeline, because he thinks Aunt Baba is a bad influence on her.

2) The author of this book, Adeline Yen Mah, was born in Tianjin, China. Her mother had died while giving birth to her, so her family frowned upon her. She grew up with 6 other siblings, her Father, stepmom Niang, her Aunt Baba and her grandfather. Her family was very wealthy but Adeline didn't get to really experience it because she was almost always ignored or treated badly by her family. At age 14 she won an international writing competition in Hong Kong and moved to London, England soon after. She finished college in England and because a physician. Adeline is now married with two kids, living in Huntington Beach, CA and London, England.

Sources: http://www.uspaacc.com/honorees/adeline_yen_mah.htm
http://www.adelineyenmah.com/falling.html
Chinese Cinderella (the book)