Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan

After several months working with a 12-year old homeschooler studying the Silk Road, and learning about the old capitol in China, the oasis cities, the hardships and the length of the travel from there to Kashgar, I have found a story that is full of gripping adventure to share. We have looked at pictures, videos, texts, and artifacts, but this story brings me there in my imagination, and I am eager now to share it with others who are interested in understanding more about the experience of being on the ancient Silk Road. The author successfully brings to life many cultural customs, values, and social limitations of the time in which the story has been set. It is rich in its descriptions of the landscapes and climates of the regions through which they traveled and its characterization of the relationships, moral dilemmas, and endeavors of its characters. It is suitable for young readers. I am very glad to have found this book, and indeed, have read it with great pleasure in one sitting.

I got this hoping it could work as a class read aloud focused on Asia Continent study. Although I love the subject matter, I found the level of writing to be severely lacking - sentences and descriptions and dialogue are all quite simplified. I teach Upper Elementary and like to offer GOOD examples of literature to my students; I don't think I should sacrifice skillful storytelling for the sake of content/relevant subject matter. I'll be keeping this for my book clubs (students' independent reading groups) and will be earmarking it for 3rd or maybe 4th graders only.

This is the bedtime reading for my 9 year old. We are both really enjoying the inside view of a life style so foreign to us. The 13 year old Chengli hears the desert wind calling him. He was born out in the Gobi desert but was sent to live in the city when his parents died. Now he feels the need to return to his roots to discover his father. He joins a caravan which will travel across the desert and mountains visiting cities and villages along the way. He encounters a difficult princess and feels responsible when she is kidnapped. Right now we are at the part where he tried to follow the kidnappers but fell off his horse and was injured. He was rescued by a nomadic family and when he healed they helped him on his way.. Can't wait to find out what happens. On one hand he is a boy much like any boy but living in a time and place very different. We can feel the grit of sand in our eyes after the sandstorm, and we feel the thirst from the deadly heat of the desert. This is a great book if you want your kid to understand different kinds of people and appreciate different life styles.

I got this book for school reading with my daughter. We both are loving reading it together and find it very interesting and hard to put down. It goes well with history and learning about customs in ancient China and about the Silk Road. The hard cover book looks very nice and came in new condition. It shipped quickly.

As a fan of good YA stories I enjoyed the characters, the setting and the challenges. I hope boys and girls everywhere will identify with the noble endeavors and consequences of a young boy listening to his conscience and a spoiled princess discovering her inborn strengths. Life isn't fair? If you hang in there long enough maybe it is.

This book was light hearted not heavy. It was very informative in the culture of the people. Very descriptive. it follows the story and a young boy and his many adventures, the people he deals with and a best friend that is with him " no matter what "

The first half of the book depicts some of the events that took place while he got deployed in Afghanistan with a unit for 15 months. He gives the readers a look into his life while he was there by including wonderful photographs and to aid him and he provided captions as well as little "journal entries" about different things that he bore witness to. The second half of the book depicts the war in Afghanistan from the civilian point of view that he was able to experience after he finished his deployment and returned home to the U.S. for a period of time but he felt that he only captured half of the story when he was over there the first time. This part of the book I liked best. There is one thing that is often forgotten is that depsite there being a war happening, there are innocents still trying to eek out a meager existence and I fully appreciated this. This book is perfect for older kids and even teens, there are also interesting little sidebars that give additional information about Afghanistan. All in all it wasn't a bad book but it wasn't great those I wish the authors the best of luck in their future endeavors. *I recieved a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

My children had this book so they could learn about China for homework(witch is boring to them)instead they love homework all because of one book.