The warlord�s presence is requested at the emperor�s banquet in two weeks, but he is sixteen days away by horseback. Using their math skills, ingenuity, and the wind, Chuan and Jing Jing reach the warlord�s camp and encourage him to use their sailing cart to travel to the feast. The Warlord�s Messengers is the sixth book in the acclaimed Warlord�s Series, and includes directions for making your own windsock as well as suggestions for velocity-related math activities. Grade 1-4–In this sixth title in the series, characters once again employ math to help solve a real-life problem. Set in ancient China, this book tells how two children, Chuan and Jing Jing, use their ingenuity to deliver an important message. A messenger on horseback delivers a scroll summoning the warlord to a banquet at the emperor's palace, which will take place in 14 days. It has taken 10 days for the man to get to the warlord's palace, and the warlord is currently 3 days north of his home. It will take 3 days to reach him, another 3 for his return, and an additional 10 to arrive at the banquet–16 days in all, making him late, a grave dishonor. Chuan recalls how boats along the river traveled faster than the wind, and he and his friend devise a plan to harness the wind's power on land. Though the foolish adults doubt them every step of the way, in the end, the warlord arrives in plenty of time. This lively story reads like a folktale with a scientific twist. It explains the math and children receive a valuable physics lesson as well. Readers will admire the youngsters' ingenuity and thrill at their unstoppable cart flying down the road. Debon's paintings, in pleasing earth tones and primary colors, reflect the book's humor and adventure. A windsock craft and experiment is appended. An appealing choice for lessons on problem solving, energy, or simple computation. –Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. K-Gr. 2. The sixth picture book in a fictional series that highlights early Chinese inventions and incorporates a little math, this story begins with a dilemma in ancient China. A message is sent to the palace of the warlord that the emperor commands his presence in 14 days. But by the time the messenger reaches the warlord, it will be too late for him to obey the emperor. How can two children, Chuan and Jing Jing, get word to the warlord in time? With ingenuity and daring, they attach a mast and a sail to a cart and let the wind carry them down the road at breakneck speed until they reach the warlord's camp. The book closes with illustrated instructions for making a windsock. Like tangram puzzles and the abacus, subjects of two other books by Pilegard and Debon, "land sailing" was an ancient Chinese invention. Though the happy ending is never really in doubt, children will enjoy both the satisfying story and the distinctive paintings, which are at their dramatic best as the wagon races down the road. Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "Children will enjoy both the satisfying story and the distinctive paintings, which are at their dramatic best..." -- Booklist "This lively story reads like a folktale with a scientific twist. . . . Debon's paintings, in pleasing earth tones and primary colors, reflect the book's humor and adventure." -School Library Journal "Children will enjoy both the satisfying story and the distinctive paintings, which are at their dramatic best as the wagon races down the road." -Booklist Visually stunning and intellectually stimulating, this sixth book in the Warlord's Series encourages young children to use their imaginations and mathematics to find the best solution for the characters' dilemmas. 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 assure the warlord's punctuality. Using their math skills, ingenuity, and the wind, the children devise a sailing cart and reach his camp two days ahead of the emperor's messenger. They arrive just in time to deliver the invitation and save the warlord from dishonor. Like each book in the series, The Warlord's Messengers includes instructions for a math-related craft. Following Chuan and Jing Jing's sailing adventures, kids are encouraged to make their own windsock to measure wind speed. (Back Flap) Together, Virginia Walton Pilegard and illustrator Nicolas Debon have earned great praise for the highly acclaimed Warlord's Series, which includes The Warlord's Puzzle, The Warlord's Beads, The Warlord's Fish, The Warlord's Puppeteers, The Warlord's Kites, and The Warlord's Alarm, all published by Pelican. Virginia Walton Pilegard completed both a B.A. and M.A. in education with a mathematics emphasis. She has worked as an elementary-sch