Kat and the Emperor's Gift

This is the second book about Kat in the Stardust Classics series. The Kat books are about a ten-year-old girl and her aunt who have adventures traveling through time. Kat and her Aunt Jessie are on another time travel adventure. This time, they have arrived in 13th century China, and have met Marco Polo, who is living there at the court of Kublai Khan, ruler of the land. Marco Polo takes Kat and Jessie, whom he believes to be travelers from Europe, to the court of the Khan, who has an interest in foreign visitors. However, a mistake leads the Khan to believe Kat and her aunt have magical powers. Because of this, the Khan's two favorite astrologers having bitter feelings towards the Kat and Jessie. Kat does make a friend at court - Chin, a teenaged princess. Chin was to marry the ruler of Persia. However, the astrologers interfere, and to gain power, one of them convinces the Khan to have Chin marry a governor of one of China's provinces instead, a man who is known to be cruel. And now the Khan is preventing Marco Polo and his two relatives from leaving China, but Kat knows from history books they were supposed to leave at this time. Can Kat and her aunt fix the problems they have caused for Chin and the Polos and prevent history from being changed? This is a charming book that is sure to be enjoyed by young girls who like to read time travel adventures or historical fiction. This book teaches a lot about what life was like in 13th century China, and also a bit about the travels of Marco Polo. Kat is an appealing character, and I look forward to reading the two remaining books about her time travel adventures.

I bought this book for my 7 year old daughter while on vacation in California. Once we started reading it together we could not put it down. It has really interested her in the history of the period-13th century China- and the book has a very useful appendix called "The story behind the story" which explains what is known about Marco Polo. This stimulated a discussion about how much was real and how much was fiction in the book itself. Not many books have provoked such insights! The other big plus is that it is not overly sentimental or soppy but still managed to engage my daughter with its combination of suspense and magic. We've ordered all the other books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. It showed a nice, loving relationship between aunt and niece. I liked the way the author stayed true to the time period and was conscious of not changing history. The author presents all female characters in positve manner. I feel this important to the young girls who will be reading these books.I have recommended this series of books to my nieces and so far they have enjoyed the ones they have read. I have included them in my children's book collection right next to the American Girl series and the Magic Attic Club.