Joe, Fred, and Sam experience sandstorms, desert bandits, a smelly camel, andstrange horoscopes, as they travel back to 13th-century China where they meetexplorer Marco Polo. Illustrations.

Reviews

Gr 3-6-This installment in the series takes Joe, Sam, and Fred over the Silk Road into China. As it opens, the infamous blue Book transports Joe from the pool of his local YMCA to the desert where he meets Marco Polo, who is on his way to meet Kublai Khan. The boy is reunited with his friends only after rescuing himself and Marco Polo from bandits and a sandstorm. He also teaches the explorer how to play the game named after him, which provides for some very funny moments. The book concludes with a description of the animals in the Chinese Zodiac. This title is as rich in historical detail as it is in humor and will have special appeal to reluctant readers.-Kathleen Meulen, Blakely Elementary School, Bainbridge Island, WA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

?[The Time Warp Trio?s] tongue-in-cheek humor makes for laugh-out-loud reading.? "?School Library Journal", starred review