In long-ago China, as a young princess prepares to leave her parents' kingdom to travel to far-off Khotan where she is to marry the king, she decides to surreptitiously take with her a precious reminder of home.

A real, wily dragon winds through streets in China, eluding the traps set by a group of children during the Chinese New Year celebration.

A panda cub tries to find out what kind of kiss is just right for him, with help from his parents.

Retells the story of how the Jade Emperor chose the twelve animals to represent the years in his calendar. Includes a chart so the reader can learn their own zodiac sign. Suggested level: junior, primary.

Winston inadvertently stops a robbery at Mr. Pang's Whimsies, an oddities shop in Chinatown. As a reward, Mr. Pang invites Winston to choose any item in the store-the first one he touches to be exact. Before Winston can decide, a magpie flies under a shelf, and he impulsively grabs an old broom to sweep it out. When some of his most beloved possessions go missing, all Winston can think about are the broom and dustpan.

Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. There is ritual and routine, and it has been ever thus for generations. Then one day a jeep appears at the village gate -- the first automobile any of them have seen -- and a stranger arrives. In this remote Yunnan village, the stranger finds the rare tea he has been seeking and a reticent Akha people. Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, translates...