Puffin Australia 2002
ISBN 0 14 330027X

www.penguin.com.au/puffin
Also published by:
Puffin UK www.puffin.co.uk
Grupo Editorial Norma, Colombia (Spanish Translation) www.norma.com
Bolinda – talking book (audio tapes) www.bolinda.com
Truebook Co. Ltd, Korea

For Teachers’ Notes click on the PDF icon

Awards-
Aurealis Award for Excellence in Speculative Fiction 2002 – Winner Best Children’s Long Fiction
QLD Premier Literary Awards 2003 – Shortlisted Best Children’s Book
Children’s Book Council of the Year Awards 2003 – Notable Book
W.A. Young Readers Book Award (WAYRA) 2004 Young Reader –Listed
SA Kanga Awards 2003 – Listed
Family Award for Children’s Books 2002 – Listed

The Story
Mimi laid the box on the bench and opened it carefully. Inside were rows and rows of coloured pastels that shimmered in the light. She rolled them under her fingertips and her imagination began to fill with amazing pictures.

When Mimi is given a box of magical pastels, she discovers that she can draw the Garden of Empress Cassia – a drawing so beautiful and real that people are transported inside it. But the pastels are ancient, mysterious and powerful, and in the wrong hands can be very dangerous…

Background
The Garden of Empress Cassia is loosely based on my childhood. Like Mimi, I lived on top of a shop and loved to draw. And like Mimi, I felt ashamed of being Chinese.

The idea for the book started out as a dream. When I woke up I wrote my dream down and as I wrote, memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. I remembered my mother’s gold lacquer box where she used to keep her pearls, and I remembered the shop we used to live in, filled with fascinating things from China – finely embroidered white handkerchiefs, miniature carved cork landscapes, embroidered slippers, laughing Buddhas. In between customers, my mother would sit in the corner, the gold lacquer box the size of a biscuit tin on her lap, threading pearls to make necklaces. It was a very clever box. The wooden walls slid in and out of each other so that you could make the compartments any size you wanted. One compartment held glistening white pearls, another fine silk thread, and another, little gold coils for attaching the clasps. On the lid of the box was carved a lake with willows, bridges and pavilions. For me it was a magic box.

The possibility of being transported inside a picture came to me one stormy evening when I was nineteen. I had just finished a day at art school and was invited to stay the weekend at a friend’s holiday house near Wilson’s Promontory. She was already there, so I had to make the two-hour journey alone. By the time I arrived, it was dark and pouring with rain.

The house was at the end of a muddy road surrounded by dense scrub. There was a note pinned to the front door: Gone to the store. Back in 5 minutes. I let myself in and sat down at the kitchen table tapping my fingers while I gazed at a rather pleasant painting on the wall. The scene was an English cottage with a kindly lady standing at the gate waving. But as I stared at the picture, I felt strangely drawn to it.

I stood up to take a closer look when suddenly I realised it was me the lady was waving at and she was inviting me to be in the picture with her! I felt that all I had to do was to let my mind go. Realising the danger, I quickly turned away. I have never forgotten that strange night which still leaves me with a cold shiver.

Reviews:
This book is intriguing from the first page. This book is beautifully written. I would say it is one of the best books I have ever read.
From Ash, aged 13, Pin Rivers Qld.

I love to read and I think that The Garden of Empress Cassia is by far the best book I’ve read. I liked how you used different words instead of just using the same word over and over again. We have started to read The Pearl of Tiger Bay, it is really interesting. I hope you keep on making books so I can keep on reading them.
From Renee (Grade 5), Diggers Rest Victoria

My name is Maria. I really liked your book The Garden of Empress Cassia. I liked it because it was very magical and the story was just really nice. We did a lot of activities on your book. We made our own dragons, they turned out really good and funny. In the book my favourite part was when Mimi was in bed thinking of how she lost her pastels, and then Empress Cassia appeared and she told Mimi that the pastels were in hr heart. It was a great book.
From Maria (Grade 4) Diggers Rest Victoria

The Garden of Empress Cassia was a good book because it didn’t get boring and I think everyone in our grade enjoyed it. We have just started reading The Pearl of Tiger Bay. We have done some activities about the book like colouring a map of the garden, drawing dragons and writing what we thought would happen next. I’m sure we will all like The Pearl of Tiger Bay.
From Robert (Grade 5) Diggers Rest Victoria

Monivae College, Hamilton Age 15 ‘Such a beautiful day, sun shining. Almost to good to be true! As I reached the library entrance I’m quickly snapped out of my daydream. The librarian looked at me frantically. ‘Sweetie you have to get out of here, there’s a tidal wave coming.’ I ran to the third isle, middle shelf, fourth book along, exactly where my favourite book is kept The Garden of Empress Cassia by Gabrielle Wang. I remember the magical feel of the cover, touching it sends shivers down my spine. Once you open the cover you can’t put it down. It entices you in its mysterious, magical way. The author describes Mimi’s drawings with such detail and beauty. Its descriptive words give you a clear image of what the drawings look like. There it is! I clutch the book tightly and run out of the place. Mum and Dad are waiting from me.’

Australian Family Therapists ‘A complex interplay of teacher, friends, family and cultural factors combine in an engaging story, about a girl, with a Chinese background, who is bullied.’

Australian Book Seller and Publisher July 2002 ‘Asian exoticism infuses the text with spice and variety. Descriptions are fresh and poetic. This debut novel from Chinese-Australian illustrator and teacher Gabrielle Wang is a gentle fantasy/adventure that also succeeds as a depiction of what it’s like to grow up between cultures.’

Magpies Vol 17. Sept. 2002 ‘The text is simple but studded with original imagery, so that even slow readers are guided into new language experiences. The novel’s great strength is its characterisation.’

Teacher’s Comment
‘I would love for you to pass on my comments and congratulations on a fabulous novel to Gabrielle. I read “The Garden of Empress Cassia” and personally connected with Mimi. I too came from another country and desperately wanted to be Australian. Like with Mimi, it took friends like Josh and Miss O’Dell to show me that the food, culture and my family should be valued and appreciated for their uniqueness. I also read this with a group of reluctant readers this year who loved the imagery and the discussion this book generated.’