Mei Li.
New York: Junior Books; Doubleday Doran & Company, 1938. First edition. Hardcover. First printing of the first edition with "First Edition" printed on the copyright page. Winner of the 1939 Caldecott Medal, Mei Li is the second book to receive the award. Handforth's tale is based on his personal knowledge of China and his neighbor Mei Li, a little Chinese girl from a small village who in this story takes her lucky treasures to the New Year Fair in Peiping. The real child who inspired this story was named Pu Mei Li, born in Anhwei Province in 1934, and left with missionaries. She was sent to an American mission orphans home, and was adopted at a young age by Helen Burton, an American businesswoman who owned a successful gift shop in a Beijing hotel.
Tall 4to (9 1/2 x 12 1/2"), [52]pp, b&w Illustrations. A wonderfully colorful dust jacket in vibrant red, yellow and blue, the title printed in English at the front panel and in Chinese at the rear panel, with the $2.00 price present on the front flap. A triangular piece missing on top of front panel, at top and bottom edges rear panel & base of spine; several closed tears, now in an archival dust jacket. OCLC: 300065. Very good overall. Item #22939
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