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Dead Man's Gold and Other Stories

Paul Yee

Ten original ghost stories by Paul Yee dramatize the history of Chinese immigration to North America, from poor villagers who first came searching for gold in the late 1850s to new arrivals from Hong Kong. Told in the style of traditional Chinese folktales, they are illustrated with moody, abstract drawings by Harvey Chan.

In the title story, two friends seek gold, but the precious metal brings riches to one man and a curse to the other. In "Seawall Sightings," young lovers kept apart by immigration laws have a tragic reunion. In "Reunited," a spoiled teenage boy leaves Hong Kong for North America, only to find that his new life is not the glamorous one he had been expecting.

The stories describe the struggles, dreams, and resilience of people making new lives for themselves in a strange land, while retaining strong links to China and the past. In keeping with authentic Chinese ghost stories, wherever they go, the immigrants are followed by the curse of a friend, the ghost of a faithful spouse, or the spirit of a dead parent.
Shu-Li and Tamara

Paul Yee
Tales from Gold Mountain: Stories of the Chinese in the New World

Paul Yee

Eight original stories give readers a sense of the hardships faced by the first Chinese-Americans. In "Spirits of the Railway," a young man appeases the ghosts of dead railroad workers who were never properly buried. In "Forbidden Fruit," a father's prejudice keeps his daughter from marrying her beloved. Dramatic illustrations accompany the stories. "The brief, pithy tales strikingly reflect traditional Chinese beliefs and customs in New World circumstances. . . . A book not to miss."-- Booklist Starred Review
The Bone Collector's Son

Paul Yee
Roses Sing on New Snow: A Delicious Tale

Paul Yee

Maylin cooks delicious meals every day in her father's restaurant, but her lazy brothers take all the credit. One day a contest is held to honor the visiting governor of South China, and Maylin's brothers decide to pass off her cooking as their own. But when neither they nor the governor can replicate Maylin's wonderful dish, they all learn that there's more to the art of good cooking than the right ingredients. Paul Yee's charming text and Harvey Chan's dramatic watercolors transport the reader to another time and culture in this engaging tale.
The Jade Necklace

Paul Yee

This story begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in South China where Yenyee and her family live. One night, her fisherman father vanishes in a ferocious storm at sea. But it is not only her father that she suddenly loses that day. Yenyee feels betrayed by the ocean, a friend she has trusted all her life, and betrayed by her family who then send her across the Pacific Ocean to the New World to be a servant.
In this poignant story, two worlds-China and North America-come together. Inspired by the Wing Sang collection at the Vancouver Museum, author Paul Yee takes the reader on a magical voyage of love and forgiveness, of bravery and community.
Bamboo

Paul Yee

Told by an author who has made a career out of exploring the world and experience of "overseas Chinese," Bamboo is a sensitive, revealing work. Telling a tale of change and acceptance, the book begins in rural turn-of-the-century China when Bamboo, a young farmer, finds himself beset by poverty and decides to travel to the New World in order to find fortune. But while Bamboo is away, his sister-in-law makes mischief: she schemes to steal Bamboo's ancestral lands. The plan looks set to work until the magic bamboo that Bamboo's new wife, Ming, brings as a gift saves her husband's life.
The Boy in the Attic

Paul Yee
Breakaway

Paul Yee

It is 1932. The only Chinese boy at his Vancouver school, 18-year-old Kwok-ken Wong is repeatedly stung by the racist remarks hurled his way by both classmates and teachers. Life at home isn't much easier, as his family struggles to make ends meet on a pig farm. Worse, Kwok doesn't get along with his father and is embarrassed by his family's circumstances. Kwok dreams of winning a university soccer scholarship. But he soon finds his way blocked, despite his demonstrated talent for the sport. Eventually, Kwok joins the Chinese community's soccer team and develops a sense of pride in his heritage and people. At the same time, he begins to understand and grow closer to his family, bridging a gap between worlds. Young readers will identify with the boy's struggle to prove himself, transcend adversity, and find a comfortable place in the world.
The Curses of Third Uncle (YA Historical Novels)

Paul Yee

Lillian Ho loves her father dearly--he's kind, gentle, strong, a man of integrity greatly respected in Vancouver's Chinatown. But in 1909 China itself is violently divided between supporters of the Empire and Revolutionaries who seek to overturn it, and no one can afford to remain neutral-- not even those who have crossed the Pacific Ocean to Canada.

When her father mysteriously disappears, Lillian fears the worst. And the worst is not long in coming: soon her swaggering, scheming Third Uncle arrives to sell the family business and to take Lillian, her mothers and sisters back to China--a land she's never seen. Lillian knows she much search for her father to thwart her Uncle's plans, and sets off for the mountains to find him. What she finds is more terrible than she could have anticipated--and more dangerous.

The Curses of the Third Uncle is the story of a courageous young woman's fight to hold onto her family and her home in the face of tragedy and upheaval.
Ghost Train

Paul Yee

When a Chinese peasant girl, Choon-yi, who has only one magical arm, learns of her father's death, she returns to China, where her father's ghost tells her to paint the "fire car" that rides the rails he helped build, and her paintings come alive to transports home the souls of the laborers who died while building the railway.
Roses Sing on New Snow (A Groundwood Book)

Paul Yee
A Song for Ba

Paul Yee, Jan Peng Wang

In the Chinese opera, men traditionally sing both male and female parts. Wei Lim's father, Ba, however, usually plays masculine characters and sings in a deep bass voice. But Wei's grandfather played female roles, and has secretly taught Wei to sing these difficult parts. When the New World's entertainments begin to cause a shrinking audience for the opera company, and Ba is forced to play female characters, which can help him learn to sing in such high tones? Color illustrations help bring Wei's tale, and this ancient art form, to life.
Teach Me to Fly, Skyfighter!: and other stories (Adventure in Canada)

Paul Yee

With Samson's butterfly kite flat on the ground and her own kite soaring, Sharon thought of shouting, "Okay, Samson Wong, you big-mouth. Let's see you fly your wonderful kite. Big wings will do it every time, right?"

But now that she had her chance to get even with Samson, Sharon didn't feel like fighting. She was happy just watching her kite pull into the clouds. For the first time in her life, Sharon had something Chinese that she was proud of and she was enjoying herself!

Teach Me to Fly, Skyfighter! and Other Stories offers four closely-observed accounts of growing up in contemporary Vancouver's Chinatown, highlighting the joys and frustrations of growing up in two cultures simultaneously.
What Happened This Summer

Paul Yee