A Single Pebble
A Story of the Silk Road
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In 9th century China, a little girl sends a small jade pebble to travel with her father along the Silk Road. The pebble passes from his hand all the way to the Republic of Venice, the end of the Silk Road, where a boy cherishes it and sees the value of this gift from a girl at the end of the road.
A Neal Porter Book
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a sweet-natured story set over two years during the ninth century, Christensen (I, Galileo) follows a small jade pebble along the length of the Silk Road, from China to Italy. The pebble is initially given to a silk merchant by his daughter, Mei, who isn't allowed to accompany her father. "At least my pebble can go," Mei says. "A gift for a child at the end of the road." Mei's father isn't traveling the road's entire length, so he passes the pebble to a Buddhist monk, who gives it to a sandalwood trader heading farther west, and so on, with additional small treasures (a flute, a cinnamon stick) accumulating along with the pebble. Although Mei (understandably) never finds out if her pebble has reached its destination, readers know the truth, and are also privy to a neat reciprocal journey involving a piece of blue glass. Although the characterizations are on the light side, Christen-sen's atmospheric paintings and prose provide lively snapshots of life on the Silk Road; endnotes include additional historical information. Ages 3 7.
