Laurence Yep
Reading Rockets recommends the following books by Laurence Yep.
Case of the Goblin Pearls (Chinatown Mystery, No. 1)
When Aunt Tiger Lil comes to Chinatown, she and Lily, her niece and namesake, prepare for the New Year's celebration, solve the mystery of a stolen pearl necklace, and help a sweatshop worker. Humor is used in this lively mystery with likable characters in an authentic setting.
Child of the Owl
Set in the mid-1960s, 12-year-old Casey knows little about her Chinese background and only identifies herself as an American. When she moves to Chinatown in San Francisco to live with her maternal grandmother, she feels alienated and isolated, though she gradually comes to accept and understand her Chinese background. Written for young adolescents, this award-winning book is part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles.
Cockroach Cooties
Teddy discovers he has protective instincts when he sees his younger brother, Bobby, being bullied. How Teddy overcomes the bully without fists, acquires a pet cockroach named Hercules, and starts a new friendship creates a gently humorous story. Teddy and Bobby were introduced in Later, Gator (Hyperion, 1997).
Dragon of the Lost Sea
Yep's sweeping fantasy tells of Shimmer, an exiled dragon princess, who must team up with a boy to try to restore her dragon clan's lost home.
Dragonwings
Moon Shadow joins his father, traveling from China to San Francisco in the early 20th century. Together father and son confront harsh prejudice as well as kindness, and ultimately follow a dream to build a flying machine in this Newbery Honor novel.
Dragonwings
Moon Shadow is only eight years old when he sails from China to join his father in San Francisco's Chinatown in the early 1900s. Readers travel through history, gaining insight about being Chinese in America in this thoroughly researched, riveting novel. Written for young adolescents, this Newbery Honor winner is part of the Golden Mountain Chronicles.
Dream Soul
The Lee family, first introduced in Star Fisher (HarperCollins, 1997), is Chinese. Living in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1927, they stand out in the community. Joan Lee and her siblings want to fit in and celebrate a non-Chinese holiday, Christmas. The children's parents agree, but only if the children behave according to the parents high standards. Understanding and friendship gradually emerge in this touching novel based on the experiences of the author's mother.
Rainbow People
Twenty traditional tales from Chinese traditional literature have been gracefully retold in this attractive collection. The stories introduce animals that talk, ghosts, and more, all punctuated and enlivened by illustrations.
The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale
In order to save her father, Seven, the youngest daughter, agrees to marry the dragon. As in the familiar European version of Beauty and the Beast, the dragon turns into a handsome prince and he and Seven live happily until she becomes homesick and leaves to visit her family. Fluid text and realistic illustrations combine to shape an elegant book.
The Earth Dragon Awakes
Henry and Chin both live in San Francisco, both are about eight years old, both adore “penny dreadfuls,” and both survive the 1906 earthquake. Chapters alternate between Henry and Chin’s narrations to provide a look at what happened in very different parts of the city on that fateful day. The story of destruction and survival is told from the perspective of two young boys.
The Khan's Daughter: A Mongolian Folktale
In this fluid retelling of a Mongolian folktale, a simple shepherd named Mongke must pass three tests in order to marry the Khan’s beautiful daughter – not the least of which is the girl herself who is particularly taxing. Handsome watercolors evoke the setting and the difficulty of the challenges that Mongke must face.
The Man Who Tricked a Ghost
On his way home, Sung meets a menacing ghost. Using his wit, however, Sung manages to outsmart the ghost and get the better of him. This traditional tale is told in a lively narrative with dramatic, full-color illustrations.
The Tiger's Apprentice: Book One
Tom is his Chinese grandmother's somewhat reluctant apprentice in magical arts, but after she dies while defending a mysterious coral rose from evil foes, the eighth grader finds himself enmeshed in a dangerous world where Chinese myth is a reality.
When the Circus Came to Town
After being badly scarred by smallpox, Ursula isolates herself in the family stagecoach stop in Whistle, Montana. An unlikely friendship with a cook at the station brings the old Ursula back as she leads the preparations for Chinese New Year in the small town, which is even more isolated than usual by a blizzard. This riveting book explores difficult themes in an accessible way.
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