(4) YA Emmajin, unconventional (fictional) granddaughter of Kublai Kahn, plans never to marry and instead join the Mongolian army. Her first assignment brings her close to trader Marco Polo; little does she expect that this imaginative explorer will cause her to examine her values, her goals, and her heart. Though it's a bit overwrought, Emmajin's story is dynamic and well plotted.

Reviewer: Rebecca Hachmyer

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Robert Byrd. The thirteenth-century Mongol ruler was no barbarian; Krull presents a nuanced view of his surprisingly tolerant regime. Byrd's tapestry-like ink and watercolor illustrations reflect the broad scope of the Khan's reach and his receptive mind. Though Krull admits in an afterword that "information about Kubla Khan is sketchy," she draws on what is known in order to pull a real man from the legend.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(3) 1-3 Time Warp Trio series. Illustrated by Adam McCauley. A game of Marco Polo lands the Time Warp Trio in thirteenth-century China, where the lads befriend the famous Italian explorer, feast with Kublai Khan, and outwit Khan's jealous astrologer. Through it all, the boys keep up their lively patter: "I really, really do not like cats." "Allergies?" "Yeah, I'm allergic to their sharp teeth." Another must-read for series fans.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(2) YA The thirteenth-century Chinese practice of using kites to test the wind is spliced into the later Japanese invention of man-carrying reconnaissance kites. Escaping his vicious great-uncle, Haoyou, twelve, joins a circus, performing death-defying kite flights and ever-more-novel feats. In addition to a grand array of colorful characters, skillful plotting, hair-raising suspense, and vivid details all help bring this adventure to life.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2002