GhostTrainGhost Train, by Paul Yee, illustrated by Harvey Chan • Groundwood Books/Douglas & McIntyre, 1996. 32 Pages.

Choon-yi is a Chinese peasant girl, born with only one arm. Her mother is horrified by her daughter’s deformity, but Choon-yi and her father are close, and he strives to give her the happiest childhood possible.

Choon-yi was also born a special talent — with her one arm, she’s able to draw amazing pictures, capturing people and objects with lifelike clarity.

But the family is poor. One day, Choon-yi’s father decides to travel to North America, where he will be able to find work building a railway through the mountains. He saves and saves, until Choon-yi and her mother are finally able to travel to meet him. But when they arrive, they discover that he has been killed in an accident on the job. Choon-yi is devastated, but she still has a chance to help her father’s spirit find its way home.

The book is gorgeously illustrated, with dark, detailed paintings that capture the emotion and otherworldliness of the narrative. Yee’s story mixes history and legend in a perfectly balanced blend, creating a story that feels simultaneously real and fantastic.

Though the book has pictures, the story is genuinely spooky, with deaths and ghosts and dangers. Readers young as nine should enjoy the story, though its spookiness might intimidate younger readers. Teachers looking for books about the history of the Chinese in North America looking for more than a “just the facts” rendering will enjoy this book as well, as will their students.