The Case of the Goblin Pearls (Chinatown) - Hardcover

Laurence Yep is the acclaimed author of more than sixty books for young people and a winner of the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. His illustrious list of novels includes the Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate; The Earth Dragon Awakes: The San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee; and The Dragon's Child: A Story of Angel Island, which he cowrote with his niece, Dr. Kathleen S. Yep, and was named a New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing" and a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book.

Mr. Yep grew up in San Francisco, where he was born. He attended Marquette University, graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and received his PhD from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife, the writer Joanne Ryder.

Laurence Yep has written many acclaimed books for children, including Child of the Owl, Dragon of the Lost Sea, and The Rainbow People. He was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1975 for Dragonwings and in 1994 for Dragon’s Gate. Mr. Yep lives in Pacific Grove, Ca.

Grade 4-8. Lily's Auntie Tiger Lil comes to stay with the girl's family while organizing a float for the Chinese New Year's parade in San Francisco. A street gang called the Powell Street Boys threatens to disrupt the parade and steal the "Goblin Pearls" worn by Miss Lion Salve, and so sets the scene for the suspense. Although too many characters are introduced and not fully developed, this first title in a new series has real possibilities. The two heroines, Tiger Lil, a fading Hollywood star, and her niece and namesake, Lily, carry the story. The mystery involves the pearls, Chinatown, and a local sweatshop called "Happy Fortune." The bad guys aren't obvious right off the bat, but clue follows clue as events unfold and even though Lily doesn't intend to get involved, she is the one who pieces the truth together. There is a lot of culturally specific material nicely introduced as Lily discovers her heritage and makes connections at the same time that readers do. Some of the unfairness of the sweatshop seems overly dramatized, especially when the workers are so kind as to share their nearly nonexistent wages with a stranger. But there are some nice touches, such as tidbits left hanging in the air for youngsters to puzzle over before being explained. With enough fun and intrigue to keep the pages turning, this is a worthwhile series title.?Carol A. Edwards, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.