Silent Lotus

At the edge of a lake, near a small village, herons and white egrets walk with long, graceful steps. In the city, at the king's palace, dancers perform beautiful and intricate stories to honor the gods. A young girl, Lotus, belongs to both of these worlds. She loves to walk among the wild birds, learning from their natural elegance. And when Lotus travels with her parents to the city, she is enchanted by the temple dancers and wants to dance as they do. But Lotus cannot hear or speak. Will the king give his permission for her to become a dancer?

Inspired by the decorations on the twelfth-century temple at Angkor Wat, Jeanne M. Lee has used vivid watercolors and drawings to bring to life the thousand-year-old tradition of the Cambodian court ballet, and the quiet triumph of an eloquent young dancer