HELENA CLARE PITTMAN is the author of numerous books for children,
including the acclaimed A Grain of Rice, The Snowman's Path,
The Angel Tree, and Once When I Was Scared.
You can visit her at Helena Clare Pittman at
helenaclarepittman.com.
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year for 9 to 12
“Gracefully illustrated with finely shaded drawings. . . . This
original story set in fifteenth-century China will captivate
readers and perhaps teach them a little about mathematics.”
—Booklist
“Clever and quietly told in simple, yet evocative language.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Any young reader (with calculator handy) will enjoy the tale.”
—Scientific American
“Pittman invites readers into her story through her choice of
concrete objects, sensory images, and universal messages. She
borrows from the motifs of oral literature, and also weaves in
information about arithmetical progression and 15th-Century Chinese
people, patterns, and traditions. Pittman's well executed pencil
drawings ooze with emotion, and there is a fusion of text and
illustrations . . . [A] book that is wise and humorous, and
one to be perused and savored.” —School Library Journal
Gr 3-8 An original story set on the grounds and in the palace of the Emperor of China during the 15th Century. Pong Lo, the son of a farmer, kneels in the Emperor's court to ask for his majesty's daughter's hand in marriage. Employed as a storeroom worker, Pong Lo sets about to prove that he is ``wise and quick and more than a little clever, and would make. . .as fine a prince as China has ever seen.'' Pittman invites readers into her story through her choice of concrete objects (e.g., the Imperial Storeroom), sensory images, and universal messages. She borrows from the motifs of oral literature, and also weaves in information about arithmetical progression and 15th-Century Chinese people, patterns, and traditions. Pittman's well executed pencil drawings ooze with emotion, and there is a fusion of text and illustrations. A picture book that is wise and humorous, and one to be perused and savored.Shelley G. McNamara, University of Maine, Farmington
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year for 9 to 12
"Gracefully illustrated with finely shaded drawings. . . . This
original story set in fifteenth-century China will captivate
readers and perhaps teach them a little about mathematics."
-Booklist
"Clever and quietly told in simple, yet evocative language."
-Kirkus Reviews
"Any young reader (with calculator handy) will enjoy the tale."
-Scientific American
"Pittman invites readers into her story through her choice of
concrete objects, sensory images, and universal messages. She
borrows from the motifs of oral literature, and also weaves in
information about arithmetical progression and 15th-Century Chinese
people, patterns, and traditions. Pittman's well executed pencil
drawings ooze with emotion, and there is a fusion of text and
illustrations . . . [A] book that is wise and humorous, and one to
be perused and savored." -School Library Journal
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