Laurence Yep – “The Man Who Tricked a Ghost”

http://www.amazon.com/Man-Who-Tricked-Ghost/dp/081673030X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322362650&sr=1-1

     The Man Who Tricked a Ghost is a story about a man named Sung who was not afraid of anything.  During a walk home, Sung comes upon a ghost who is on his way to scare Sung.  Sung tricks the ghost by telling him he is also a ghost, but a very new one and that is why he doesn’t know everything about being a ghost yet.  On the journey Sung tricks the ghost into telling him secrets about being a ghost and what ghosts fear the most, being spit on by a human.  If a ghost is spit on by a human they are stuck in that form forever.  As the two get closer to the village the ghost turns into a goat to fit in better with the crowd of people.  Once he’s a goat, Sung spits on him and he is stuck as a goat forever.

            The Man Who Tricked a Ghost was originally published in the third century A.D.  Many believe the story was written by a Chinese Emperor.  The story is very creative, but I feel that it would only work for intermediate grades.  I think younger readers may find the ghost scary.  Also, the ghost says that he is going to scare Sung and if Sung isn’t scared, he’s going to kill him. 

            This was the first book that I have read by Laurence Yep and I really enjoyed it.  I am anxious to read more of his work.  Other books by Laurence Yep are:

·         Dragon’s Gate

·         The Magic Paintbrush

·         The Lost Garden

·         City of Fire

·         The Rainbow People

·         The Star Fisher

·         Cockroach Cooties