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Asia
In The Warlord’s Alarm, Chuan and Jing Jing are worried they won’t be able to wake the warlord before the sun rises. They are traveling to the emperor’s palace, and they can only sleep four hours before resuming their journey in order to arrive as the emperor’s gates open. There are no clocks at the inn where they are staying, so they must create their own alarm clock. Displaying the ingenuity shown in the previous six Warlord’s Series books, Chuan and Jing Jing turn their water bag into an alarm clock and awaken in time to rouse the warlord.
Often used by teachers of the primary grades to illustrate the powerful concept of “base ten,” various types of counting frames appeared in China during the Middle Ages. The Warlord’s Beads is a valuable tool for introducing young readers to the wonder of numbers as well as the beauty and mystery of ancient China. Hardcover.
Clever Chuan makes his third appearance, this time as an artist’s apprentice for the warlord, in this story about the compass. When some strangers feel they have been cheated in the market, Chuan serves as interpreter in the dispute, and for his trouble, both he and the artist are kidnapped and, together with the strangers, are taken through the desert. Hardcover.
All is calm in the warlord’s palace, and the artist’s apprentice Chuan takes a break from papermaking to sit with his friend Jing Jing, watching the sunset. Suddenly, a cloud of dust rises on the horizon. It is an invading army. The palace gates are closed, but how will they keep the invaders at bay? Children learn about creativity, folklore, and calculating area in a math lesson that’s as fun as it is fascinating. Directions for making a kite follow the story. Hardcover.
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.
Clever young Chuan and his artist mentor are back in this fourth book of the Warlord’s series. This time, the two are journeying across the desert to find their master, the warlord, when they meet up with a group of traveling puppeteers. When bandits attack and steal their trunk of puppets, Chuan knows that he must step in to help his new friends in order to finish the journey. Hardcover.
In China, a beautiful ceramic tile lies shattered on the ground, and the artist who dropped it is sentenced to the land’s worst punishment. The fierce warlord will execute the artist unless some wise person can put the seven pieces back together. That person will then be invited to live in the castle. Both locals and strangers from far away wait their turns for a chance to solve the warlord’s puzzle. Hardcover.