This book came at a good time while my Granddaughter who is homeschooled was studying the Silk Road. I was able to incorporate this book in her English with information for her history. It is the story of 13 year old orphaned Chengli who decides it is time for him to show his independence. He decides to go to the desert and joins a caravan on route to the Silk Road. On the trip he finds many challenges. This is a great book for the middle schooler especially if they are studying the Silk Road.

An intriguing tale on the Silk Road, Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan gives a unique detailed experience of life around the Silk Roads that really isn’t shared particularly in history classes in the US. I enjoyed feeling immersed in a world and a time period that I’ve never really been taught or knew much about.

had so much fun reading this book, the story is so amazing and the illustrations were so well done and charming, there’s so many little details in every page that I couldn’t stop but be mesmerized by it all. I will definitely be recommending it! Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this early copy

I read this book with my three kids as a history read aloud and it captivated all of us with its descriptive, adventurous tale, and its unlikely young hero. Mix in a princess, a long-lost father, and interesting characters along the journey, and you’ll have a good idea of this story. It starts a bit slow, but don’t be discouraged, as the pace picks right up a few chapters in. Yes, it's an adventurous, historical "road trip" story, but really it's about a boy’s search for family at its heart.

Chau Chengli works as a peasant boy for a silk road merchant in a trading city, but he is tormented by the desert winds, which only he can feel. Finally, he decides to go on. a quest to find out what happened to his missing father, an important and highly respected member of the government who has disappeared. He believes his father is dead, but is he? Who was his father? As he sets off on his quest, he encounters new people, dangers, a princess, and learns about both his father and himself. It is an excellent story set in ancient China, the Middle Kingdom, and the silk road trading routes. Enticing details of different cultures are explored as we follow Chengli on his mission to discover what happened to his dad. Excellent read, highly recommended!

A coming-of-age story of a young boy as he journeys on the Silk Road. Touching wonderful historical fiction for young readers, and perfect to include with lessons about the Silk Road.

Orphaned Chengli joins a caravan that travels the Silk Road at age thirteen. This book is about his experiences on this route during 630 AD China. Great book for young adults to learn about the struggles and adventures surrounding the caravan life and the Silk Road. I want to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read the book for an honest review.

This book ties in perfectly to the social studies content of learning about the Silk Road! It is always a challenge to find texts to fit in with what we are learning about so this book is a welcome addition.

The older children very much enjoyed this book as it was a glimpse into a life totally alien to them. There was enough excitement and colourful detail to carry them all through to the end.

What a beautiful story! I just love it! Following Chengli - the Camel Boy - along the Silk Road from Chang'an (today's Xian) in Master Fong's caravan was quite a journey! It was quite a feat to arrive safely and soundly, because dangers and perils lurked behind every grain of sand. The integrity and fortitude that the lowly "Skinny One" exerted in caring for beast and princess alike was heart warming. Seeing the mountains, oasis, bustling towns and more, through Chengli's eyes in BCE times one could feel the excitement, see and hear the sights and sounds vividly, and smell the smells of ancient China, titillatingly. If anyone loves ancient history and the lore of China, this book is for you. Children and adults alike will find great affinity towards Chengli and friends (but watch out for the enemies), I feel quite sure of it!

~Eunice C., Reviewer/Blogger~
July 2022

Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy sent by Net Galley and the Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Chengli and the Silk Road is a work of historical fiction set in seventh century China. Chengli is a young teen who can hear a wind that no one else can even feel. While working for a merchant in a city, he begins to feel the urge to learn about his missing father and to follow the wind he hears. He’s given part of a jade pendant that belonged to his father and joins a caravan looking for answers. What sort of adventures will he have during his travels? Will he learn anything about his father?

This was an amazing work of historical fiction for young adults. The author did a fantastic job describing the setting and the atmosphere of the work. It was immersive and brought a great level of depth to the book. Fascinating cultural lore was also included that added depth. For example, fog rolling off the mountains was explained as a demon who pushed the clouds low over the land. Unique cultural views like this were present throughout the work, adding to its immersiveness.

The author also did an excellent job at writing relatable and enjoyable characters. The protagonist and most of the secondary characters were young teens, and the author managed to give them the voices of teens while still making them relatable to older audiences. While this book is geared towards a younger audience, I found it enjoyable as an older reader. The style was simple but not overly so.

The only thing I found to dislike about this work was that there were several errors throughout. While they were not large enough to detract from my enjoyment of the work overall, the book could use another round of editing.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in non-western historical fiction. This work is suitable for young adult readers as well.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I really liked this book. Easy reading and enriched with culture and history, this book took you right into ancient China. With princesses, master plans, and the search of one’s personal history- you can’t want more. Was happy to read this on NetGalley and also happy to recommend it!

A book suitable for elementary or middle school readers. I did not finish the book, but the tone and characterization was interesting. The conflict was not set early enough in the plot to engage me as an adult reader.

Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan delivers an engaging adventure with a likable hero. It offers a glimpse into the Silk Road and life as a peasant in Imperial China without stressing the historical aspects. We learn that Chengli was orphaned and has worked since he was on his own. He's learned to care for animals and once he is big enough, he chooses to join a caravan on the Silk Road. Their group includes a princess and this leads to all sorts of adventures and difficulties for Chengli. Fortunately, he is kindhearted and high spirited and Chengli and the Silk Road Caravan is a delight!

Chengli and the Silk Caravan is a historical fiction filled with detail and information about a time and place little explored in middle grade books. While the story is exciting and is high stakes adventure, the novel has a quiet and slow start. I personally enjoyed slowly being introduced to the characters, setting, and society as there is important information packed into those pages and the the pace of caravan life is often meandering. Stick with the story. The pace builds. Chengli is a hero that readers will love.

The were multiple problems with this novel which is why I can't commend it as a worthy read. The basic story sounded quite engrossing: Chengli Chau is a 13-year-old orphan who lives in Changan, in seventh century China. He feels a call to join a caravan traveling the old silk road across the desert from one city to another where he might discover what happened to his father (which he never really does), and he begins learning the ropes - literally, since one of his duties is making sure packs are tied securely on camels.

During the course of the novel he encounters problems, hardship, thievery, a bandit raid, and a kidnapped Chinese princess. And that was one of the problems with this relatively short (~200 pages) story: there was far too much going on! Naturally, no one wants to read a tedious documentary about an uneventful caravan journey even though, undoubtedly, most of them had little out of the ordinary happen to them from one trip to the next. But on this journey, it was like everything, including the kitchen sink (if they had such a thing back then!) was thrown at this poor boy, and his life on this trip was one long torturous trial. It became tedious to read of these endless miseries with no leavening whatsoever in between.

Naturally an author wants to spice-up a story, but the trip itself would have been adventure enough without all the added drama. It felt like too much - like overkill and as such felt unnatural - not like an organic story. The boy was constantly abused and threatened with having his head cut-off maybe a half-dozen times. It felt unnatural.

The other side of this coin is that the book description promises us that we can "experience the sights, sounds, and smells of this fabled desert route," but we really don't get a whole heck of a lot of that. There was a lot that could have been learned here of history, but all we did learn was of hardship. There was a lot more to discover, but we were not allowed the opportunity: such as of the kinds of things that were transported, the kinds of people who made up the caravan, the joys some must have felt, traveling and pursuing their calling.

But we really got none of that, and really, no smells! Sights, yes, sounds, some, but that was about it. I got no real sense of what it was like to travel and live in the desert. There was little to nothing that conveyed the beauty of the dunes, the heat of the day, the cold of the night, the mirages. There wasn't a word about desert wildlife or the night sky, or of navigating the endless sand. It felt barren and empty, more like a sketch of a story than a real story.

The description told us that Chengli was called to the desert, but once he began the journey we got none of that. His desert bond disappeared and we heard virtually nothing of it after that. He exhibited no calling whatsoever; no joy of the desert or of the sand. We got no feelings that he might have had of the desert wind in his hair or the spices it carried assaulting his nostrils. It fell completely flat because of the endless trials and pains he endured. There really was no joy in this story.

On top of all this, the book was poorly put together, too. There is no chaptering. It's one, long, continuous, 200 page story! One chapter! No illustrations. And so we can jump several days or more from one paragraph to the next which makes the story extremely choppy, and it robs us of any real sense of a long passage of time. As well as all that, we get false promises! We get, for example, at one point, a promise of the giant waterwheels, at an upcoming city, and then those water wheels are never mentioned again. The book was seriously in need of a competent book editor.

This had the potential to be a fun and engaging story for young kids, but for all the reasons I mentioned it was not and I can't commend it as a worthy read. Young kids deserve better than this.

This book was certainly interesting, though it's likely not meant for everyone. It follows servant boy Chengli's quest for his father, and in the process, takes us through the routes of Ancient China's caravans. All Chengli knows is that he was born in the desert, and when his mother fell ill, she came to the great city of Chang'an. All she left behind was a mysterious half jade, and it is with this, Chengli must take his journey. Along the way, he finds himself recruited into a caravan with an insufferable princess, seeing the sights and wonders of Ancient China along the way, threatened to keep silent about thievery, and finally, be the determined savior in a kidnapping attempt. It was an interesting book, but mostly "okay" overall, though I do have to admire how persistent Chengli is throughout it all.

I loved the way you learn about the Silk Road, such an important era in history, in a way that is so friendly and imaginative. You learn about it from the perspective of a kid, and it is so fun and yet so interesting too.

First of all this is so beautifully described, the way the author has woven each and every word into such a beautiful story.
The heart-wrenching way in which Chengli holds on to the pieces of his father's life, is just mesmerizing........
His journey through the desert is fun, and quite enjoyable!
The most memorable part has to be the princess' transformation.

This was an interesting book and I liked the story of how Chengli found out who his father was and his endeavors with the princess. It is a great book for those ages 8-11.