This is the sixth book in the acclaimed Warlord’s Series, acclaimed for its unique and artful approach to introducing math concepts to young readers. Each mathematical adventure is set in ancient China, and encourages children to use their imaginations and math skills to find solutions to the characters’ dilemmas.

In The Warlord’s Messengers, the warlord’s presence is requested at the emperor’s banquet in just two weeks, but he is sixteen days away by horseback. Faced with a situation that threatens the warlord’s honor, Chuan and his friend Jing Jing must reach him in time to deliver the invitation and assure his punctuality. Using their math knowledge, ingenuity, and the wind, the children devise a sailing cart and reach the warlord’s camp two days ahead of the emperor’s messenger, just in time to deliver the invitation and save the warlord from dishonor.

Like each book in the series, The Warlord’s Messengers includes instructions for making a math-related craft. Following Chuan and Jing Jing’s sailing adventures, kids are encouraged to make their own windsock to measure wind speed.

The Warlord’s Series includes The Warlord’s Puzzle ($15.95; activity: tangram puzzle); The Warlord’s Beads ($15.95; activity: abacus), The Warlord’s Fish ($15.95; activity: compass), The Warlord’s Puppeteers ($15.95; activity: puppets), and The Warlord’s Kites ($15.95; activity: kites), all available from Pelican.

about the author
Virginia Walton Pilegard completed both a B.A. and M.A. in education with a mathematics emphasis. She has worked as an elementary-school teacher and is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and the California Mathematics Council. She lives with her husband in the foothills of California’s central Sierra Nevada Mountains.

about the illustrator
Nicolas Debon is a freelance illustrator in Versailles, France. In addition to his illustrations for the Warlord’s Series, he is also the author/illustrator of several other books, including two Canadian Governor General’s Literary Award finalists.

THE WARLORD’S MESSENGERS
By Virginia Walton Pilegard
Illustrated by Nicolas Debon
32 pp. 8 ½ x 11 31 color illus. Ages 5-8
ISBN: 1-58980-271-3
EAN: 978-1-58980-271-1