Product Description

The Spirit of the Silk Road is your guide as you journey through this book from Chang-an to Samarkand, following one of the arterial caravan routes of the silk traders. As you travel across treacherous deserts and through lonely mountain passes, you will learn about the importance of silk as a commodity, see some of the distinctive customs of the Central Asia people, and join in many storytelling sessions at starlit oases and campfires.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #384038 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781841488042
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Gilchrist has clearly done substantial research for this collection of folktales from countries along the ancient trade route. She has uncovered so much information to supplement the folklore that she includes an introduction; a character called the "Spirit of the Silk Road," whose two-page spiels preface each individual story; and two pages of facts at the end of the book. The result is a collection of seven tales, somewhat weighted down by the burden of explanatory matter. The stories themselves are unusual enough that libraries with large folklore collections or with a strong interest in Asia may want to purchase this title. A few of the selections are reminiscent of European or American variants. "Clever Ashik" is similar to the riddle-solving "Clever Gretchen" and the wish-granting "Magic Saddlebag" is like Jack's magic tablecloth in "Jack and the Northwest Wind." Other tales are more culture specific, such as "Monkey and the River Dragon" from China or "A Rainbow in Silk" from Uzbekistan. Gilchrist's writing is bland, showing little variation as she moves from people to people. Mistry's gouache paintings illuminate the costumes, architecture, and terrain along the way. An additional purchase.
Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In seven stories, the lively Spirit of the Silk Road takes readers through the culture, history, and folklore of the ancient trade route that stretched from China to Persia and was used from 200 B.C. to the fourteenth century. The retellings, from humorous to creepy, feature an assortment of kind and vengeful gods, spirits, animals, and human travelers. "Clever Ashik" illustrates how cultures adapt and recreate familiar stories; "The Magic Saddlebag," a morality tale, shows the rewards of generosity and kindness; "The Enchanted Garden" presents a nightmarish experience resulting from greed. The conversational tone of the tellings evokes a tourist's sight-seeing expedition, with brightly colored, intricately patterned illustrations of exotic places and characters providing visuals and context. An introduction gives general background about the Silk Road and traded goods; endpaper maps detail the route. A "Did You Know?" facts section and source notes are appended. This will be a good resource for storytellers, particularly those wanting material for international story times, and for individuals interested in Asian folklore. Shelle Rosenfeld

From Kirkus Reviews
The intriguing tales retold in this enchanting book are memorable mainly because of the exotic watercolors on every page. Gilchrist records the folklore about dragons, demons, goddesses, spirits, and camels handed down through the ages along the ancient trade route between East and Westfrom Tehran in Persia to Lanzhou in Chinacommonly known as the Silk Road. In ``The Bride with the Horse's Head,'' a mother who promises her daughter's hand in marriage to the person who rescues her husband from robbers, then learns that the rescuer is a horse who wants his prize. Among the stories are ``Monkey and the River Dragon,'' ``White Cloud Fairy,'' and ``The Enchanted Garden,'' while short pieces``The Jade Gate,'' ``Demons and Dragons of the Taklamakon,'' ``The Splendors of Samarkand,'' etc.give a sense of the places along the Silk Road. (Fiction/folklore. 8-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Geography, Culture, and Great Stories!
This has been a favorite for our kids from about kindergarten on up, and perhaps even a bit earlier. In Bearfoot Book style, this book includes a full curriculum of art, geography, religion and history in the form of plain old good, engaging stories. The silk road slinks from China through the deserts of Central Asia and into the Middle East, and in this age when so much new history is being written in Central Asia and the Middle East the stories and the accompanying discussions will really help orient your kids to the broader world.

Among the stories that have struck our kids the most are "Monkey and the River Dragon", which should keep the kids laughing through the whole story, and "The Bride and the Horse's head", a story with more pathos and tragedy.

The art in this book particularly stands out, even with the high standards usually set by Barefoot Books, and the maps are a particularly colorful delight. Among kids books, this is one of the better selections when you are reading to children that span all the elementary school grades, as it has something of interest for the older kids as well as the younger ones.

Great Tales from the Silk Road
This book has a series of tales from the Silk Road countries - China, Uzbekistan, Kirghizstan, and Afghanistan. They are easy to read and interesting. I have Afghan students and recently saw the Afghan treasures show at the National Gallery. This book goes along well with a teacher's unit on this area of the world. We don't teach much about Central Asia and I think we often don't much about it. This is a book that gives the area more life and interest in Central Asia.