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The Case of the Lion Dance by Laurence Yep
Summary
An ex-movie star turned publicist, Auntie Tiger Lil is a pro at getting people to pay attention to her, especially thieves! Though she was trying to draw all types of people to the opening of the Wok Inn Restaurant, neither Auntie nor her niece Lily expected that one of them would ruin the lion dance contest and make off with a big donation to charity. When the plans for the opening go up in smoke, Auntie Tiger Lil and Lily must comb Chinatown to find the culprit. Was it a lion dancer, a gang member, or someone behind the scenes? Tiger Lil and Lily find themselves embroiled in a mystery that could happen only in Chinatown.
Book talk
- Lily and her ex-action movie hero great-aunt, Tiger Lil, are all ready for the Wok Inn restaurant's grand opening extravaganza. There'll be firecrackers, a lion dance competition for a $2000 donation to a charity, and lots of great food.
- The lion dance is done at many traditional Chinese celebrations. It's a way for martial artists to show off their skills -- two people get into a lion costume and work together to make the lion dance, using movements from kung fu.
- But this time, the lion dance almost turns into a fight, then some firecrackers explode in unplanned places, and to top it all off, the money for the charity disappears.
- Who would want to make the Wok Inn fail? That's what Lily and Tiger Lil are going to chase all over Chinatown to find out.
Discussion questions
- The novel starts out with a dispute between Master Wang's students and Master Sheng's students. How are these two masters different?
- Lily can act bravely when defending her friends. Find some instances in the book where she shows her bravery.
- After the explosion, when Lily questions the need for Ann to pay back the Foundation, Auntie says, "I thought you were Chinatown enough to understand, but I guess you're not." (pg. 49) What do you think this means?
- How does Kong get assigned to help Lily and her aunt?
- Are there any clues to the mystery on the book cover?
- Who are the suspects in this case?
- At what point in the novel did you figure out who was guilty? Were there enough clues presented to do this or did you need to wait until the end?
- What was Bernie's motivation for getting the "lettuce"?
- Were you satisfied with the ending? Why or why not?
- What are some of the challenges that people who don't speak English have living in this country?
- What did you learn about Chinese-American culture from this novel?
If you liked this book try
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- The Journal of Wong Ming-Chung : A Chinese Miner (My Name Is America series) by Laurence Yep
- Sammy Keys and the Curse of Moustache Mary by Wendolin Van Draanen
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
- Wolf Stalker: National Parks Mystery #1 by Gloria Skurzynski
Snacks: Chinese-American takeout, fortune cookies.
Created in part with funds granted by the Oregon State Library under the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Oregon State Library. Send feedback to Katie O'Dell, Reading Promotions Coordinator