Water Ghost Author:Ching Yeung Russell Gr. 3^-5. Based on Russell's own childhood, this moving story continues the chronicle of life in 1940s China for Yeung Ying that began in First Apple. Ying, now 10, is selling chicken fences to raise money to pay for a schoolwide camp-out. Heading home after a successful day at the market, she passes the poor, sick grandmother of a schoolmate wh... more »o recently drowned--an incident that has haunted Ying because she feels partly responsible. Impulsively, Ying spends all her hard-earned money on a dead chicken the old woman is selling, leaving herself open to the wrath of her family and the cruel teasing of her schoolmates. Delicate illustrations in washes of gray tones are nicely interspersed throughout the compelling drama about a passionate protagonist. American youngsters will find Ying's thoughts and actions both foreign and familiar, fueled as they are by a combination of ancient Chinese superstitions and the universal need to fit in. A useful complement to a unit on China. Lauren Peterson« less