Jin Ling should be studying seriously, but she has problems with arithmetic. This does not please her mother who wants her only child to work hard so that she can enter the best school, and to do that Jin Ling has to be good in math. Her father refuses to get involved, while her grandmother consoles her with snacks. And so Jin Ling flees into her own world, where, with dedication, she cares for her silk moths, a popular pastime in China. In her search for mulberry leaves to feed her silkworms, Jin Ling gets to know an old woman who can, perhaps, help her …

The Author

Huang Beijia was born in 1955 in the province of Jiangsu in China. After finishing her schooling, she worked in an agricultural collective. Between 1977 and 1982 she studied Chinese at Peking University. Since 1973 she has been writing books for both adults and children, for which she has been awarded many prizes. Several of her books have been translated into other languages and some of them have been turned into films.