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Seesaw Girl
by Linda Sue Park

If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to grow up in Korea during the 1600’s, this is a great award-winning book to read. It features Jade Blossom, a 12 year-old girl from a wealthy family. At this time, girls are not allowed to leave their family’s house, or Inner Court, until they marry. They cannot attend school like their brothers, but instead learn to cook, sew, and care for their family’s laundry. (Whose clothes are ripped apart at the seams, washed, beaten to take out the wrinkles, and sewn back together.)

Jade Blossom passes the time playing pranks with her cousin and best friend Willow. But when Willow marries and moves away, Jade plans to escape and see the outside world. She sees many new things, some exciting, some sad. At the end of the book, back inside the Inner Court of her home, Jade invents the Korean seesaw as a way to see over the wall once again.

**The Korean seesaw is a traditional game for women known as Nolttwigi. It is a long piece of board supported by piles of straw in the center. Instead of sitting on it, as American children do, girls stand and take turns jumping, causing their friend on the other side to pop into the air.