Young Ruby loves the color red, and she loves to learn. Living in China at a time when few girls were taught to read or write, Ruby eagerly studies with the tutors her grandfather has hired for any child in his house who wants to learn. Ruby excels, and her grandfather takes great pleasure in her success. So he’s saddened and puzzled when he reads a poem Ruby has written lamenting her fate as a girl in a house “where only boys are cared for.” Ruby’s dream is to attend university—an option open to her boy cousins, but not to girls in China. Shirin Yin Bridges based this charming and ultimately uplifting story on the life of her grandmother, who, like the fictional Ruby, was accepted as one of the first female students at a university in China. Sophie Blackwell’s elegant gouache illustrations are a perfect accompaniment to Bridge’s narrative. (Ages 6-9)

Ruby is unlike most little girls in old China. Instead of aspiring to get married, Ruby is determined to attend university when she grows up, just like the boys in her family. Based upon the inspirational story of the author's grandmother and accompanied by richly detailed illustrations, Ruby's Wish is an engaging portrait of a young girl who strives for more and a family who rewards her hard work and courage.