The silken thread by Gabrielle Wang

The silken thread is a delightful, warm and magical story about cross cultural friendship, overcoming grief and hope. It's a book that this writer would give or read to her grandchildren. That is a high recommendation. 

Gabrielle Wang has written an award-winning body of work and was our Australian Children's Laureate for 2022 to 2023. Born in Australia of Chinese (Victorian Gold Rush) heritage, Wang's books blend "... Chinese and Western culture with a touch of fantasy". The silken thread (written and illustrated by Wang) takes this pattern as it weaves a tale of Moonie in Melbourne, Little Dipper on Chongming Island in China and J.M Barrie's Peter Pan and Wendy (1911). What a delightful tale! Wang has imaginatively recreated the story of her grandparents when they were children and imagined what might have happened if they had met then. Her mum grew up in Carlton Melbourne in the Depression years of the 1930s and her father's job as a child was to take care of the silkworms on the family's farm in China. Wang drew on what historical records she could find and on her mother's memoir to create this work of fiction which magically captures the time and place.

The silken thread is imaginary silk from a magical cocoon which enables Moonie and Little Dipper to connect, visit and develop a friendship across continents and oceans. It is a metaphor for the threads of friendship and the ties that bind. Moonie's household is sad. Her mother (Ma Mi) has had to leave the children and go away. Wang doesn't tell us why. Perhaps she is physically unwell; perhaps it is a mental condition. Will she come back or has she left forever? The tension is there. Moonie's father employs an awful woman (Miss Yip) who starts to take over the household and "care of the children". Unhappiness descends. Tapping shades of the evil stepmother in Cinderella, Moonie's father seems unable to stand up to this woman and protect his children. Meanwhile, in China, Little Dipper, a Chinese peasant boy wins a scholarship but his efforts to get to school are sabotaged by troublesome ghosts. The silken threads of friendship help both to strive for their dreams in a  magical manner reminiscent of the dreamlike visitations of Peter Pan.

The realities of life are tough and they are there in The silken thread but they are dealt with with such wisdom in the gentle, skilled hands of Gabrielle Wang. The characters are delicately drawn and the perspective alternates in an authentic manner between the two main characters. Being children the cares and concerns are those of children. The interactions between the characters are warm and delightful. LongMa, the Chinese cow is a sentient being. Ghosts inhabit the story, being there to help and hinder and to disappear when no longer needed. A way to handle grief and move on to a life of your own is woven in.

A lovely extra are the paper-cut doll silhouettes and patterns for outfits that can be copied and cut out at the back of the book. 

The silken thread is a magical story with roots in reality (a tribute to the magical realism genre) that offers wisdom and comfort through the eyes of Moonie and Little Dipper, two very relatable characters who overcome grief and disappointment through friendship. 

This book is a gem for school libraries and homes. It would make a great classroom read-aloud for year 5+ especially if classes are working on cross cultural understanding and/or dealing with grief.

Themes: Choices and destiny, Cross-cultural friendship (China/ Australia), Kindness, Courage, Overcoming grief.

Wendy Jeffrey