The Case of the Lion Dance (Chinatown Mystery #2) [Paperback]

Laurence Yep (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

When Lily's great-aunt Tiger Lil is hired to publicize the opening of a new restaurant, she plans an all-out extravaganza. But a mysterious bomber sets off an explosion, and all her plans go up in smoke. Someone is trying to sabotage the restaurant! And now the police are writing off the case as a publicity stunt gone wrong. It's up to Lily and ex-action star Tiger Lil to catch the culprit themselves.

In this, his second book in the Chinatown Mystery series, award-winning author Laurence Yep has written a fast-paced, hilarious story that brings San Francisco's Chinatown to life.

Pacific NW Library Assoc. 2001 Young Reader's Choice Award Masterlist

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7-Tiger Lil and her niece, Lily, first introduced in The Case of the Goblin Pearls (HarperCollins, 1997), are back. As part of the festivities for the opening of her friends' new restaurant, Auntie has invited students from two local martial-arts schools to compete in a Lion Dance contest. Kong, one of the competitors, is an angry, native-born Chinese teen who has no patience for Lily, who was born in the U.S. and speaks Chinese only haltingly. He has even less respect for Barry Fisher, the other contestant and the son of the restaurant owners. His mother is of Chinese descent, but his father is not. At the conclusion of the competition, an explosion injures both Barry and his brother. In addition, $2000 has been stolen, and sore loser Kong appears to be a prime suspect. Although prejudiced himself, Kong's teacher instructs his reluctant pupil to assist Auntie Lil and Lily in finding the thief. Yep does a fine job of weaving in lessons on Chinese culture and life in San Francisco's Chinatown as well as the need for racial and ethnic tolerance. As Lily and Kong work together to solve the crime, she begins to understand what lies behind his arrogance and anger. Kong also finds that he has misjudged Lily. Yep's style is entertaining, and the pace of the story moves quickly enough to sustain interest. Fans of lighthearted mysteries will enjoy this book.
Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 4^-6. In the second installment in Yep's Chinatown Mystery series, Lily and her great aunt Tiger Lil, a Chinese American movie star turned public-relations guru, have been enlisted to help friends who are opening a restaurant. Unfortunately, opening day festivities go awry when the Lion Dance competition ends in angry words and punches and someone steals money earmarked for charity by rigging an explosion. Was it Kong, the angry martial-arts student; Leonard, the vituperative uncle with the gambling habit; or Bernie, the restaurant's helpful "waitron" ? Yep makes San Francisco's Chinatown more than a simple backdrop here, working in some sense of cultural conflicts within a diverse community as he guides readers through a twisting plot that combines some nice humorous bits with some competently manipulated suspense and some interesting red herrings. Stephanie Zvirin --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064405532
• ISBN-13: 978-0064405539
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,276,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurence Yep has been fascinated with tales of sibling rivalry from the day he was born. His older brother, Tom, chose his name Laurence - after a saint who died a particularly gruesome death. Laurence has been trying to get even ever since. Laurence Yep now lives in Pacific Grove, California, with his wife and is one of children's literature's most respected authors. His award-winning titles include Newbery Honor Books Dragonwings and Dragon's Gate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lion Dance Bomb, February 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case of the Lion Dance (Chinatown Mystery) (Library Binding)

This book is a very exciting book. There is a character that owns a Chinese restaurant. To advertise the grand opening of the restaurant, she decided to have a lion dance competition between two martial arts schools. The winner of the lion dance competition would receive two thousand dollars, but then they would give the money to charity. Right before the money was given to charity the ball of money exploded, destroying the money and hurting two boys. The twist of the book is that in fact the money that was destroyed was not the original two thousand dollars, but only one-dollar bills.
Two amateur detectives give all their heart to solve the mystery of who was the bomber and the thief. The two detectives join forces with their original enemy, Kong and Lung. With the two forces united, the mystery can be solved. The solution will have you wondering how could the character betray their friends.
I liked the book. The book was dull in some parts, but overall it was a pretty good book. I liked the book because you could learn quite a bit about China town. The book gave you a somewhat good idea of what China town was like. I also learned how people from other cultures who speak different languages might feel about assimilation to America. I think the main point to this book is that it is important to not look down on people who are from different cultures because in the end they might become your best friend. I recommend that teenagers should read this book because you learn something while you are being entertained with the exciting mystery.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Case of The Lion Dance, March 31, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Case of the Lion Dance (Chinatown Mystery #2) (Paperback)

This book was extremly well written. I enjoyed the description and usage of words. This book is not only action packed but has a bit of history in it too. To a good mystery and full of excitement this book is great!