(4) K-3 Illustrated by Adrian Tans. Hiding out during a purge of academics and artists in ancient China, a scholar's young son uses volume and estimation to determine the number of terracotta warriors being built in a nearby prison camp. Pilegard's details about the clay soldiers created to defend China's first emperor in the afterlife are more engaging than the ancillary math content. Tans's illustrations aptly convey the time period.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nicholas Debon. "Time passes slowly," Chuan complains. Readers may agree, as Pilegard's storytelling feels rather sluggish in this seventh book about Chuan and Jing Jing. Chuan is stumped by warlord Ying-Fa's request for an early morning wake-up call; he solves the problem by fashioning a water clock out of a bowl and a leaky bag. The expansive illustrations beautifully depict ancient China. A related activity is appended.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nicolas Debon. In ancient China, a band of greedy traders kidnap the warlord's artist and his young apprentice Chuan to make up for their supposed losses. The party gets lost in the desert, and Chuan uses the artist's compass (a carved wooden goldfish) to lead them to safety. Though it is resolved too easily, Pilegard's tale is dramatic, as are Debon's striking, richly colored illustrations.

Reviewer: Mark Adam

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Nicolas Debon. While helping his father count treasure belonging to their master, a warlord in ancient China, Chuan invents the abacus. The story will be helpful in classrooms teaching base-ten counting, but the setting isn't well evoked, and this account of the origin of the abacus isn't very inventive. Artwork suggestive of ancient China illustrates the action.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Nicolas Debon. Well suited for a math-through-literature unit, Pilegard's tale describes the origin of the Chinese tangram puzzle. An artist accidentally breaks a ceramic tile--his gift to the warlord--into seven pieces, and, anxious to avoid punishment, suggests a contest to reassemble the tile. Debon's clever artwork sets melodramatic characters against simple, stage-like backgrounds peppered with playful details. A brief source note is provided.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger