Title: On the Run in Ancient China
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Date: 2003
Writer: Linda Bailey
Artist: Bill Slavin
Editor: Valerie Wyatt
Short educational graphic novel for kids, part of the Time Travel Guides series. The general format has the fictional comic story at the top of each page, while the bottom half has a writeup of the relevant historical and cultural facts.
In terms of plot, this resembles Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series. Three kids, Emma, Josh, and Libby, enter a magical (time-) travel agency and are transported back in time to Han-dynasty China. Mayhem ensues when the youngest is found by a traveling nobleman and taken to the Emperor's court. Meanwhile, the two older siblings accidentally stumble on the secret of silk-making and quickly become wanted fugitives.
The story whisks the kids through an array of scenes, showing life and culture during the time period, while the kids get into more and more trouble as they go.
The illustrations looked good, but the story was mostly about the older two siblings trying to reunite with Libby and escape, and the frantic pace of it loses some of the sense of wonder. The story comes to its expected reset, without much more than superficial character development, and some of the historical prose felt a bit dry. Libby, who actually enjoys most of her adventures, is the highlight of the story, but her plotline gets excessively silly at times.
Rating: 5.5/10
