The Emperor's Army [Hardcover]

Virginia Pilegard (Author), Adrian Tans (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 21, 2010 | Grade Level: K and up

Many years ago, a scholar and his son lived in the palace of China's first emperor. They discovered that the emperor was having a mysterious, giant hole dug. In this story, young readers will learn about the famous underground terra-cotta army that the emperor had made to guard his grave.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3–5—This story of a scholarly father and his son during the rise of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, includes beautiful oil paintings. The father and son leave the city to protect the man's books when the emperor orders all scholarly books to be burned, and the boy is sent to the marketplace to spy on what is going on. He discovers that thousands of workers are building an army of clay soldiers. This information is valuable for the outcasts who are planning an attack to overthrow the ruler. The character development is minimal and the plot is confusing, with little excitement or direct action. The full-page, often full-spread paintings add much meaning and clarification to the story. The darkness of the fear, the methods of measurement the boy uses, and the lightness of their new life in the end are all apparent in the art. While mathematics are included in measurements and estimations that the boy makes while visiting the clay pits, the fascinating part of the story is the information about the terra-cotta army, the psychological use of the statues, and the actual weapons employed against the rulers by the peasants. The bravery of the boy is enhanced by the visualization of his size compared to the rough peasant army. The book includes an interesting historical note about the discovery of the terra-cotta soldiers in 1974 and directions for making small clay soldiers.—Erlene Bishop Killeen, Stroughton Area School District, WI
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

Like the picture books in Pilegard’s Warlords series, illustrated by Nicolas Debon, The Emperor’s Army involves a boy in ancient China who uses math to solve a problem. A learned man and his son take refuge in a cave after hearing that Emperor Qin Shi Huang has started burning books and burying scholars alive. After the emperor’s death, the boy observes artists forced to create lifelike statues of clay. When rebel peasants ask for help discovering the treasure buried with the First Emperor, the boy leads them to the tomb and estimates the total number of clay soldiers based on the volume of clay removed from a nearby hole. While the characters’ fear of death creates ongoing tension, there is little actual drama and the boy’s mathematical calculations seem peripheral to the story. Still, Tans' richly colored paintings create a strong sense of narrative and the link to the famous Terracotta Army, discussed in an appended historical note, is appealing. Grades K-3. --Carolyn Phelan

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (January 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589806905
• ISBN-13: 978-1589806900
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,265,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Virginia Walton Pilegard holds a B.A. in education and an M.A. in education with an elementary mathematics emphasis. The manuscript for her first children's book, The Warlord's Puzzle, won first place in a National Writers Association competition, in the children's literature category. It debuted number two on the Booksense 76 list. Along with The Warlord's Beads, also a Booksense 76 selection, it is listed by the California State Department of Education as recommended mathematics reading for second grade. To date, all seven of Mrs.Pilegard's books have been accepted by the Accelerated Reader program. The books are included in their diagnostic and instructional program as well as in their instructional software programs.

Mrs. Pilegard lives with her husband in a log cabin in the foothills of central California below Yosemite.