We're Riding on a Caravan: An Adventure on The Silk Road

Author: Laurie Krebs
Illustrated by: Helen Cann
Hardcover: 32 page(s)
Age Range: 5 to 7

Book Description:

Explore a world of stunning silk, delicious spices and exotic trade locations in this rhyming tale about the Silk Road, the trade route through Asia. This beautiful picture book includes endnotes on the towns along the Silk Road, the history of the route and the story of silk, making it an excellent addition to school and home libraries.

School Library Journal
One summer morning, a family of silk traders leaves Xi'an to begin their yearlong journey on the Silk Road in China. As the seasons change, they travel and trade their silk for various products along the route. They pass through an ever-changing landscape-huge sand dunes surrounding the oasis at Dunhuang, the vineyards and grape-drying huts of Turpan, and the high mountains near Kashgar where they sell their silk at the famous Sunday market and prepare to return home. Told in pleasant, well-crafted verse with a chorus of two sentences at the bottom of each spread, the story is engaging and generally informative. The short descriptions of places visited are accurate, both in the story and in the appended information about the Silk Road and the making of silk. However, life in a caravan is romanticized, especially in the illustrations, and no dates are given for what is clearly a historical tale. In addition, no sources or bibliography are included. The illustrations are bright and colorful, depicting a world much more beautiful than it is in reality. The artist used watercolor, graphite, and collage, often with marbled or decorative papers of vivid hues, which lend a brilliant richness to the pictures. Despite its drawbacks, this book is an excellent way to introduce the trade route.