num_pages: 352
description: In the village of Huanan in medieval China the deity that rules is the Great Huli Jing. Though twelve-year-old Li Jing's name is a different character entirely from the Huli Jing the sound is close enough to provide constant teasing-but maybe is also a source of greater destiny and power. Jing's life isn't easy. Her father is a poor tea farmer and her family has come to the conclusion that in order for everyone to survive Jing must be sacrificed for the common good. She is sold as a bride to the Koh family where she will be the wife and nursemaid to their three-year-old son Ju'nan. It's not fair and Jing feels this bitterly especially when she is treated poorly by the Koh's and sold yet again into a worse situation that leads Jing to believe her only option is to run away and find home again. With the help of a spider who weaves Jing a means to escape and a nightingale who helps her find her way Jing embarks on a quest back to Huanan--and to herself.
language: English
title: The Crystal Ribbon
publisher: Scholastic Press