The boy in the attic

By Paul Yee

Subjects: Chinese Americans, Immigrants, Fiction, Ghosts, Friendship

Description: From School Library Journal K-Gr 2-This odd tale of adjusting to a new country through friendship with a ghost lacks the reassurance found in Aliki's realistic Marianthe's Story (Greenwillow, 1998). Before moving from China to a large North American city, seven-year-old Kai-ming and his parents look for the tomb of his great-great-grandfather. A butterfly landing on the child's arm gives the family a sign that they have found the right one. Playing in his yard in his new country, lonely Kai-ming spots a boy in the attic window, who turns out to be the ghost of Benjamin, who died in the house years before. When a butterfly once again lands on Kai-ming's shoulder, the two boys are able to speak the same language. Just before Kai-ming's family moves, Kai-ming puts the butterfly on Benjamin's shoulder so he can understand the language of the house's next resident. The use of a fluttering butterfly as a magic symbol that can be transferred from shoulder to shoulder does not work. Full-page illustrations, which appear to be done in pencil and watercolor, oppose pages of text throughout and are as static and stilted as the narrative.-Diane S. Marton, Arlington County Library, VA Copyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.