Laurence Yep

 "The Seademons are squid-like creatures that inhabit the seas of the planet Fancyfree, now in its second generation of human colonization. Until the advent of Maeve, a mysterious girl-child more at home among the sea creatures than among her own kind, the colonists have paid little attention to their aquatic neighbors. Maeve's continuing unorthodox behavior disrupts the staid life of the colony, drawing its ire upon the Seademons and leading to a disastrous war between the two species. Yep's poetic language, strong yet sympathetic characters, and echoes of Celtic legend make something rather special of what could have been an ordinary little story."

Dragon of the Lost Sea An intriguing and unique fantasy story based on Chinese mythos, written in Yep's captivating style. It features an exiled dragon princess named Shimmer, who is impressed by the courage and fairness of a young boy named Thorn. After a warrior of the witch Civet attacks Thorn, Shimmer saves him and takes him away from his abusive master. Civet once stole the sea belonging to the race of dragons and confined it in a pebble, leaving it a salt-covered wasteland. Shimmer, who has a terrible secret of her own, has decided to find her and reclaim the waters of her home. They set out across the sea and meet the mischievous and irritating Monkey, then find Civet after she floods a village. The dialogue is snappy and amusing, and the descriptions are well-done, especially the beautiful visions of the dragons' seas, prior to their draining by Civet. Yep strikes an excellent balance between spare prose and descriptive prose, placing each where it belongs. Shimmer's tough shell (she has both a literal and figurative one) is an effective shield against the kind of hurt that she has suffered in the past, given her rejection prior to this book. Her attempts to rebuff Thorn, or to convince him that she doesn't need his help and can do things perfectly well on her own, are as unconvincing to the readers as they are to Thorn. She needs a friend, though she does not wish to admit it. An effective counterbalance to her cynicism and I-don't-need-anybody attitude is Thorn, an intelligent and optimistic young boy, who was basically enslaved at an inn with an abusive master. He becomes Shimmer's friend after his rescue, wanting to help her out of sheer kindness. The situations in which he jolts her out of her huffs are entertaining and snappily written. An excellent, classic fantasy, well worth the while of the reader.

Dragon Steel Returning to her underwater dragon kingdom expecting to be rewarded for capturing an enchantress, Shimmer and young Thorn instead must continue their quest to restore the dragon princess’s clan to its ancestral home.A tale of dungeons, sea monsters, and magicians, this sequel to Dragon of the Lost Sea "will lure even more readers to [Yep's] legion of followers." —V. "The novel's fast pace [and] exciting action sequences mark this as a tale sure to delight fantasy lovers." 

Dragon Cauldron Shimmer, the dragon princess, pursues the quest she began in Dragon of the Lost Sea (1988) and continued in Dragon Steel (1985, both HarperCollins). Although she possesses the magic cauldron capable of reclaiming her clan's lost sea home, it is damaged. With her loyal companions, the children Thorn and Indigo; her former enemy Civet; and the trickster-hero Monkey, Shimmer now seeks the only being capable of repairing the cauldron. Monkey recounts their headlong flight from one adventure to another, with ever-higher stakes, until at last they inadvertantly release the evil Nameless One, who threatens the entire world. Cementing their friendship with insulting wisecracks, heroic rescues, and enormous sacrifice, these companions clearly value group loyalty above personal honor. Yep draws from Chinese folk tradition to paint landscapes and situations with an "Arabian Nights" extravagance. The characters in this action-adventure are sketched in broad strokes, without the subtle shading found in his realistic stories, Dragonwings (1975) and Child of the Owl (1977, both HarperCollins). Readers with a taste for dragons will want to join Shimmer on her quest, which is far from complete.

Dragon War The evil, immortal Boneless King has taken possession of the powerful dragon cauldron-with the soul of Thorn, the human child, trapped inside-and has declared all-out war on dragonkind. His plan: to use the cauldron to boil the seas and destroy the dragons. And he has convinced Shimmer's brother, Pomfret, to be his ally. The dragon princess Shimmer, the wizard Monkey, and Indigo, a human child, transform themselves into guards, horses, and even fleas to elude the despicable Boneless King. In desperation they return to the kingdom of the High King of the Dragons to recruit Shimmer's kinmates in a fight for their lives and to save the Inland Sea. Up high in the sky and down low to the underwater mountains they go to fight the Boneless King's army. Can they defeat this evil incarnate, return Thorn's soul to its human form, and restore the Inland Sea?

City of Fire When her older sister dies trying to prevent the theft of one of her people’s great treasures, Scirye sets out to avenge her and recover the precious item. Helping her are Bayang, a dragon disguised as a Pinkerton agent; Leech, a boy with powers he has not yet discovered; and Leech’s loyal companion Koko, who has a secret of his own. All have a grudge against the thieves who stole the treasure: the evil dragon Badik and the mysterious Mr. Roland. Scirye and her companions pursue the thieves to Houlani, a new Hawaiian island being created by magic. There, they befriend Pele, the volatile and mercurial goddess of volcanoes. But even with Pele on their side, they may not be able to stop Mr. Roland from gaining what he seeks: the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yu. Together, they will give him the power to alter the very fabric of the universe….

City of Ice From the islands of Hawaii, Scirye and her loyal companions pursue the villainous Mr. Roland and evil dragon Badik all the way to the city of Nova Hafnia in the Arctic Circle. With the help of a trader, Prince Tarkhun, and his daughter Roxanna, the companions chase their enemies into the vast and desolate Wastes. Scirye and her friends are determined to stop Mr. Roland from getting his hands on the second of the Five Lost Treasures of Emperor Yü, which will give him the power to alter the very fabric of the universe. But few who enter the Wastes ever return, and Scirye has no choice but to call on the spirit of the North for help. As wild and unpredictable as the Arctic itself, will the spirit turn out to be friend or foe?

City of Death (forthcoming, 2013)

The Tiger's Apprentice San Francisco is the setting for this modern-day fantasy. 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. The rose, a phoenix egg in disguise, is stolen by Kung Kung's lieutenant, who wants to use it to take over the world, and a motley crew of bickering magical creatures goes on a mission to get it back. The action is nonstop, with one predicament and villain after another, and plenty of humor to lighten things up. Tom's friends may be exotic, but they still have to take buses and taxis to get across the city, squabbling like siblings all the way. Some scenes feel a bit too familiar (a magical marketplace in Chinatown called Goblin Square is quite reminiscent of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley), but the emphasis on Chinese folklore and culture keeps the story fresh. The sense of menace from a powerful enemy isn't as strong or as pervasive as it could be, which sometimes gives the impression that Tom and his cohorts are on an afternoon jaunt rather than an urgent and dangerous quest, but the plot is still compelling, with enough strings left hanging to make readers eagerly anticipate the next book in this projected series.

Tiger's Blood: Book Two Ever since Tom became the apprentice to Mr. Hu, the Guardian of the phoenix egg, his life has been a whirlwind. Now Mr. Hu is weak after saving Tom's life in battle, and the two must flee with their motley crew of friends to the dragon kingdom, far below the ocean's surface. While Tom waits for Mr. Hu to recover, he realizes that even the dragons cannot promise safety. And as an unstoppable evil advances, Tom must find the strength within to protect the egg by himself.

Tiger Magic: Book Three Part of a secret network of ancient Chinese deities headquartered in his uncle's antique store, Tom gears up for a decisive showdown against evil while raising the precious baby phoenix that imprinted upon him at the end of book two. As Yep crowds ever larger hordes of characters and creatures into the conflict, even series fans will find it difficult to distinguish friend from foe. But the epic dust-ups will thrill action-addicted readers regardless, and most libraries will want to complete the Tiger's Apprentice adventures, one of few middle-grade fantasy series with roots in Chinese lore.

The Magic Paintbrush After his parents are killed in a fire, eight-year-old Steve experiences cultural and generational shock when he goes to live with his immigrant grandfather and Uncle Fong in a Chinatown tenement. Convinced that the stern, disapproving old men don't want him, his grief and misery are compounded by shame when he's penalized at school for not buying a new paintbrush--which his penurious grandfather can ill afford. The rapprochement begins when Steve's grandfather gives him a family heirloom, a paintbrush said to be made with the hairs from a unicorn's tale. Suddenly, whatever the boy paints springs to life, from a steak to the Chinatown moon of legends, transforming their dreary life. "Chinatowners are made, not born," insists his grandfather, who, with Uncle Fong's help, uses the new vistas that the paintbrush reveals as an opportunity to teach his grandson the lore of his ancestral homeland. As always, Yep's crisp style keeps the pages turning, and he leavens his story with snappy dialogue, realistic characters and plenty of wise humor.

The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale When a poor farmer falls into the clutches of a dragon, he begs each of his seven daughters to save him from death by marrying the horrifying creature. At last, the youngest consents. The dragon carries Seven (the daughters are named in birth order, following Chinese tradition) to his home under the sea. Far from being frightened, Seven is full of wonder. When she tells the dragon, "The eye sees what it will, but the heart sees what it should," the monster turns into a handsome prince. They live happily until Seven longs to return home. There, her jealous third sister tries to drown her and takes her place as mistress of the dragon's palace. Then the Prince must go searching for his lost bride. Lavish, hyperrealistic paintings appear opposite each page of text, with two wordless double-page spreads interspersed. However, few of the paintings begin to capture the shivery wonder of the narrative. Most are too literal to illuminate the mood of the story, and leave little scope for the imagination. In the version included in Betsy Hearne's Beauties and Beasts (Oryx, 1993), the monster bridegroom is a snake. Here, the snake transforms itself into a dragon, increasing the excitement and danger. Still, Yep's version of this romantic adventure celebrates resilience and understanding.

The Shell Woman and the King: a Chinese folktale When Uncle Wu marries the beautiful Shell, who is of the sea and can assume the form of a seashell at will, he cannot resist bragging about her, and word soon reaches the realm's greedy, cruel king. The ruler imprisons Wu, vowing to kill him and marry Shell--unless she can perform three seemingly impossible tasks. Relying on both magic and wiles, she accomplishes all three feats and destroys the monarch forever. Yep's evocative yet gentle retelling emphasizes the story's romantic aspects as well as its supernatural qualities: Wu and Shell meet because both are lonely, and they establish their bond with mutual understanding and trust. Yang's exquisite pen-and-watercolor scenes have the simultaneous delicacy and strength of traditional Chinese art. His precise, graceful lines and soft colors capture both the mystery of Shell's transformations and the practical determination that underpins her eventual success, and evoke settings ranging from the solitary expansiveness of the South China shore to the cold, terrible splendor of the royal palace.

The Ghost Fox Drawing on a classic Chinese ghost story, Yep delivers a lively, shivery tale in which a nine-year-old boy tests his wits against those of a powerful ghost fox. The stakes are high: the ghost fox is intent on stealing Little Lee's mother's soul. Prompted by his loving mother's seemingly inexplicable transformation into a harsh and distant woman, Little Lee pretends to be a ghost fox and gets the best of his adversary, restoring his mother to her former self. Little Lee--resourceful, persistent and remarkably self-sufficient--makes an appealing hero. His story, though simply told, spans an impressive range, from the tension of the supernatural to the humor of Little Lee's interactions with his mother's family to the darkness of the mother's estrangement. The Tsengs (who illustrated Yep's The Boy Who Swallowed Snakes , reviewed above) provide a visual grounding for the exotic 17th-century setting with historically accurate pen-and-ink drawings.

The Man who Tricked a Ghost Sung is a man so brave that he thinks nothing of walking home at night, despite his friend's warning. Accosted by a ghost (none of your flimsy European wraiths--this huge, solid-looking warrior has a fiercely craggy visage and ``antique armor made of rhinoceros hide with metal scales''), Sung boldly claims to be a ghost, too. Undaunted by the ghost's mission--to scare or kill the overcourageous Sung, whom he doesn't recognize--Sung tricks him at every turn, even getting the ghost to confide that ``once we are spat upon we cannot change our shape''--a useful bit of information that in the end not only saves Sung but enriches him. Yep's simple, lively narrative perfectly suits an entertaining trickster tale that, he notes, dates in written form to the third century; Seltzer matches its energy and humor in vibrant, freely rendered paintings that will enthrall listeners as much as the spooky, funny story. A winner.

Tongues of Jade Drawing on the same WPA project that provided the bare bones for his Rainbow People (HarperCollins, 1989), Yep has crafted a fine collection of short stories based in the oral Chinese-American tradition. Tongues of Jade has a distinctly more Chinese feeling than the previous title, and supernatural tales predominate. Organized under headings like "Roots," "Family Ties," etc., the stories are sometimes thoughtful, always effective, and usually point to some moral. The writing is replete with lush descriptions, witty asides, and crackling dialogue. Each story is a world of its own; each is successful and satisfying. All open with an attractive ink-and-wash illustration. The selections range from tragic to touching to richly humorous. The only peculiarities are the mini-essays that introduce the sections. While earnest in intent, they are not substantial enough to supply meaningful context and tie the pieces together by the slenderest of threads. This aside, Yep has gathered an excellent compilation of folktales that will be enjoyed by a wide audience of readers--and listeners.

The Rainbow People Chinese folktales, selected and retold by Yep from those collected in the 1930s in the Oakland Chinatown as part of a WPA project. His introduction helps children to see the Chinese workers, gathered in a shack after their day of "hot, grueling work," telling stories to pass the time before sleep comes. Each section is prefaced by a short explanation of how the tales might relate to the Chinese-American experience. Yep retells the stories simply and directly, attempting to use his own voice while preserving the "spirit and spare beauty" of the original tales. He does this by weaving bits of rich description into short, clear telling. The tales, while drawn from and depicting Chinese culture, present a variety of familiar motifs and types: wizards and saints, shape changing and magical objects, pourquoi tales and lessons. An "Afterword" provides suggestions for further reading on Chinese folktales. This is an excellent introduction to Chinese and Chinese-American folklore that reads aloud well, that will provide little-known tales for telling, and that is simple enough for older children to read by themselves.

Sweetwater On the planet Harmony, Tyree and his people are fighting to survive. Their beautiful world holds terrible dangers -- vicious sea creatures, diminishing food supplies, and, at the heart of it all, a rising tide that will soon destroy the city where they cling to their way of life. Tyree has secretly befriended Amadeus, the greatest songmaster of the native alien race. Amadeus teaches Tyree about the power of music, and, to Tyree's blind sister, he gives an awesome treasure. But his gift kindles the fears of Tyree's people -- fears more dangerous than the sea itself. Tyree must help his people before they tear their community apart. In this richly inventive science-fiction novel, acclaimed children's author Laurence Yep creates a future world that is as haunting and as powerful as the song that Tyree learns to play.

Monster Makers, Inc. Godzilla makes an unruly pet, as teenage Piper Kincaid learns when his geneticist father hatches a monster a foot high to prove it's possible. (On the command, "Tokyo," the little beast breathes fire.) Even so, Dr. Kincaid's fledgling business on the planet Carefree is foundering through bad luck and the tendency of his little creatures to get loose and wreak havoc at nearby resort hotels. One such ecapade introduces Piper to spoiled but personable Shandi Tyr, whose tycoon father may be the financial angel the Kincaids need. First, though, they learn that their bad luck was contrived by alien Xylk beings, who were worried that the scientist would see through their own genetic engineering, a key element of their plan of invasion. This is a lively young adult novel, but its marketing as an adult book creates expectations it was not meant to fulfill.

Tree Of Dreams Drawing on sources acknowledged at the end of the book, Yep retells 10 stories from Japan, India, China, Greece, Brazil, and Senegal in lively prose, shaping plot and point of view to emphasize each tale's dream aspect. In one selection, Badger guardians speak to their generous benefactor in his dream. In another, a prince braves distance and danger to find the princess of his dreams. In a third, a boy's dream spirit enters the body of a cricket, while a warrior dreams a lifetime as an ant, and learns humility. In yet another, a boy gains wisdom from the tree of dreams growing deep in the rain forest, only to incur murderous jealousy from other members of his tribe. A preface reminds readers that "dreaming is a bond that unites us," while an afterword briefly touches on the literary, scientific, and Freudian views on dreams. Seltzer offers one illustration per tale in a brash, deliberately rough-hewn style emphasizing the tales' strangeness. A collection to read for pure enjoyment, or to ponder the connection between dreams and folklore.