Two boys.
One year.
One shot at victory.
Year of the Tiger
For Ren and Hu, the Year of the Tiger will be more dangerous than they ever imagined.
‘The last ball roared into flame and flew high into the air, way above the hoop. With a lurch in his stomach, Ren realised that Archer Yi was aiming straight in his direction. The arrow whizzed into the tiles on his left, and wedged there. It was a very near miss…’
Ren and Hu cross paths with an army battalion. Their plans to win an archery tournament go badly wrong. When every arrow becomes a matter of life and death, can they trust each other?
Year of the Tiger is an adventure novel set in the shadow of the Great Wall in Ancient China. For readers aged 8-12.
ISBN: 9780143303626
A fast-paced adventure…The mystery, adventure, and excitement of the final battle will attract readers, even those who do not usually enjoy historical fiction.
School Library Journal
This skillfully-crafted work of historical fiction provides an exciting tale of life in ancient China when rigid class structures afforded people little freedom to maneuver beyond a strictly-defined set of expectations. The poorest households remained highly vulnerable to hunger, cold and disease, with little hope of assistance or advancement. Alison Lloyd uses these conditions to motivate a unique storyline that will both inform and entertain readers, as they wonder about the fate of these two unlikely friends.
Rutgers University Economics and Children Project
Life in Ancient China
China’s history stretches back 5,000 years. When Year of the Tiger takes place, in the Han Dynasty, China is a big country of 50-60 million people. That’s a lot less than now. But it’s still more than twice the population of Australia.
How do we know what life was like in Ancient China? A small number of books have survived the centuries. Everyday things and pictures of daily life have also been found in Chinese tombs.
Ancient China was a different world to ours. You can read about it in Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors. And you can look inside it here…
Weapons
A strong army kept the Emperors of Ancient China safe, from foreign attackers and inside threats. But only if they had the right gear. What weapons were in a Han soldier’s kit?
Walls
You’ve heard of the Great Wall of China, right? But did you know that every city in Ancient China was protected with a wall? Even people’s homes had walls and towers.
The Dance of Death
Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors tells how rebels Liu Bang and Xiang Yu destroyed the Qin Dynasty. What happened next?
The moment the last Qin ruler was dead, the rebels faced a new enemy – each other.
Tigers
Ancient China had large stretches of wild forest. The land was rich in wild animals – monkeys, pandas, bears, deer, wolves, and the world’s biggest tigers…
Chinese History Resources for Teachers
Here are two free resources for teachers, exploring Year of the Tiger by Alison Lloyd, with discussion starters and activities, to engage students on the book’s themes of friendship, family and social structure.
For a lively non-fiction introduction to Ancient China, have a look at Wicked Warriors and Evil Emperors.