Books by Laurence Yep

Laurence Yep is an award-winning Chinese American author who reaches out to all children regardless of their ethnic background. Many of his books focus on characters feeling alienated or not fitting into their surroundings, which is something Yep struggled with as a child.

In this story by Laurence Yep, a young boy was known for having the saddest face in the world. Because of this, the boy would wear a big straw hat that covered his face so no one could see it. When it came time for the Harvest Festival in town, the elders asked the boy's parents to keep him at home so everyone at the festival would remain happy. The boy felt bad that his parents had to stay home because of his sad face, so he ran away.

After running through many towns, the boy finally ended up on a beach too tired to walk any further. It was there that he met the caravan of giants and their elephants. The giants noticed the boy's sad face and asked what was wrong. The boy tried to explain nothing was wrong. Because he repeatedly denied this fact, the giants thought of him as being very brave. The giants gave this young boy a job in their caravan and took him as they traveled to the city of dragons. Their journey through the water was dangerous as they encountered monstrous clams, giant crabs, and even a school of sharks. As they came to the town, young dragons greeted them, but just like before, the boy covered his face in fear of making the dragons upset. The dragon elder informed the giants they could no longer get the pearls they had come looking for. The giants were concerned and therefore wanted to try and fix the problem themselves.

When the giants and boy walked to the rear of the building, they saw many scalloped bowls and dragons behind each of them. The dragons were telling sad stories, but none of them were crying because they had all heard the stories before. It was then the boy realized what he needed to do. He took off his helmet and sat in front of the dragon maidens showing his sad face. The dragons began to cry pearls instead of tears and the giants couldn't thank the young boy enough. It was in the city of dragons where his sorrowful face was finally appreciated. He went back to his home village on an elephant and they celebrated for many days after that. The people in the town learned to never ask him to smile or cover his face, but rather to appreciate what he had done for the giants.

Other Books by Laurence Yep:
The Magic Paintbrush
The Butterfly Boy
When the Circus Came to Town
The Ghost Fox
The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty and the Beast Tale
The Shell Woman and the King: A Chinese Folktale