Jean-Marie Omont – författare

Shanghai, November 1937. Yaya, the eight-year-old daughter of a diamondmerchant, lives a life of luxury in the French Concession in Shanghai. Her onegreat passion is the piano. While she is preparing for an important audition,her father decides that the family must leave town in the face of the imminentJapanese invasion. The evening before all the family is to leave, stubborn Yaya,unaware of the danger, runs away in an attempt to make it to her audition comewhat may. On the way, in the midst of the crowd fleeing the Japanese offensive,She is caught in a bombardment. She owes her life to Tuduo, a street urchin whodiscovers her unconscious in the ruins of a house. With his help, Yaya learnsthat her family fled for Hong Kong without her, and she determines to go jointhem there right away. Tuduo begins to dream about what his life would be likeif Yaya’s parents welcomed him and his little brother into their beautifulhome. He decides to go along with Yaya on her long and perilous journey. Butbefore he can do anything, he must escape from the clutches of Zhu, who runs agang of homeless boys. When Zhu learns that Tuduo’s littleprotégée is from a very wealthy family, he comes up with aMachiavellian plot to kidnap her and collect a ransom. Tuduo and Yaya barelymanage to get away and head off for the south. But Zhu, a heartless outlaw,doesn’t give up so easily and comes after them, driven by his high hopesof cashing in on the ransom scheme. This nine-volume series chronicles theirlong journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, bothfriendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo aredifferent in every way: social background, character, dreams, and desires. Thesechildren learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is tojudge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. Thegloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youthto overwhelm grim reality. Imagination is the only thing these children have todefend themselves against adults who are like the ogres, evil fairies, or goodwitches of bedtime tales. Their imagination gives the story a touch of poetry,while humor brings a lighter touch to a story that is steeped in genuinehistorical tragedy.

Despite the bombings that ravage the streets of Shanghai, young Yaya and Tuduo find themselves in the clutches of the infamous gangster Zhu. Tuduo is already quite familiar with Zhu's criminal business intentions, having run the streets for quite some time before the war began, but now he's held prisoner and forced to loot the many deserted homes in the city's upscale neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Yaya is forced to do housework around the criminals' lair, including cleaning a room filled with captive snakes! As scary as that may be, however, her uncanny ability to talk to animals helps turn things around. But when Yaya's former nanny finds them, Zhu realizes this little rich girl could be his ticket to the fortune of a lifetime. Even as Yaya, Tuduo, and the nanny escape Zhu's clutches, their adventure is only just beginning . . . This second book in the adventures of Yaya continues the exciting formula launched by the first volume: two adorable kids chased by a wicked villain, a small animal with extraordinary capabilities, and a desperate war raging in the background. Artist Golo Zhao is particularly at home in this landscape format of large, beautifully colored panels in which Yaya and Tuduo's innocence contrasts with the chaos of the setting. The story may be simple and intended primarily for the young readers, but with a vivacity and energy that will thrill audiences of all ages.

Shanghai, November 1937. Yaya, the eight-year-old daughter of a diamond merchant, lives a life of luxury in the French Concession in Shanghai. Her one great passion is the piano. While she is preparing for an important audition, her father decides that the family must leave town in the face of the imminent Japanese invasion. The evening before all the family is to leave, stubborn Yaya, unaware of the danger, runs away in an attempt to make it to her audition come what may. On the way, in the midst of the crowd fleeing the Japanese offensive, She is caught in a bombardment. She owes her life to Tuduo, a street urchin who discovers her unconscious in the ruins of a house. With his help, Yaya learns that her family fled for Hong Kong without her, and she determines to go join them there right away. Tuduo begins to dream about what his life would be like if Yaya’s parents welcomed him and his little brother into their beautiful home. He decides to go along with Yaya on her long and perilous journey. But before he can do anything, he must escape from the clutches of Zhu, who runs a gang of homeless boys. When Zhu learns that Tuduo’s little protégée is from a very wealthy family, he comes up with a Machiavellian plot to kidnap her and collect a ransom. Tuduo and Yaya barely manage to get away and head off for the south. But Zhu, a heartless outlaw, doesn’t give up so easily and comes after them, driven by his high hopes of cashing in on the ransom scheme.This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo are different in every way: social background, character, dreams, and desires. These children learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality. Imagination is the only thing these children have to defend themselves against adults who are like the ogres, evil fairies, or good witches of bedtime tales. Their imagination gives the story a touch of poetry, while humor brings a lighter touch to a story that is steeped in genuine historical tragedy.

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchin friend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japanese invasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents. This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchin friend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japanese invasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents. This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchin friend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japanese invasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents. This nine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. The children meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they travel toward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, not the least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social or financial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to the incredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchinfriend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japaneseinvasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents.Thisnine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. Thechildren meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they traveltoward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, notthe least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social orfinancial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to theincredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.In Book 7, Yaya'smemory is still missing, even after being saved from a wolf attack in the forestby the wicked Zhu, the gangster who has been chasing her for her family'swealth. She mistakes him for a good Samaritan and agrees to follow him to HongKong where he promised to return her to her parents. Meanwhile, Tuduo keeps hispromise by also going to Hong Kong to inform her parents of her apparentdeath.

The continuing adventure of little rich girl Yaya and her street urchinfriend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of the Japaneseinvasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents.Thisnine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. Thechildren meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they traveltoward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, notthe least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social orfinancial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to theincredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.In Book 8 Yayaand Zhu set sail on St Patrick's Day, and head towards Shanghai while Tuduo andOyster Gravy miss the boat. During the crossing, however, Yaya recovers hermemory and realizes that her savior is not who she thought he was!

The conclusion to the nine-part adventure of little rich girl Yaya and herstreet urchin friend Tuduo as they cross war-torn Shanghai in the wake of theJapanese invasion of 1937 in hopes of finding Yaya’s parents.Thisnine-volume series chronicles their long journey fraught with perils. Thechildren meet all sorts of people, both friendly and wicked, as they traveltoward Hong Kong. Yaya and Tuduo learn many growing lessons along the way, notthe least of which is to judge a person on their character, not their social orfinancial status. The gloom of war, its absurd tragedy, gives way to theincredible capacity of youth to overwhelm grim reality.Yaya is finallyback home in Shanghai, ending her great adventure where hope and disillusionmentintertwined. But her homecoming is met with a very bad surprise -- the big housewhere she expected to find her family is deserted. Only the loyal driver Changis there to greet her. Fortunately, Tuduo and his little brother arrive to cheerher up and give her hope. Because her parents may not be that far away... Butthe seemingly indestructible Zhu continues to lurk in the shadows...