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“Show me your hands, Strange One.”
A grim voice.
“Stand–slowly–and show me your hands.”
Kevin is trying to remember what he’s supposed to do if there’s an intruder in the house: stay calm, don’t look scared, call 911. At the same time, he’s doing his best to figure out how the heck some guy with a bow and arrows got into the room. The archer’s explanation–“I lost my balance, fell off the tiger, and landed here”–just adds to Kevin’s bewilderment.
The stranger’s astonishing arrival is only the beginning of a dazzling adventure. For the man, whom Kevin calls Archer or Archie, has come from a centuries-old Korean kingdom. And it’s up to Kevin to find a way to send him back through space and time . . . before history is changed forever.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 13, 2007 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739351727
- File size: 109450 KB
- Duration: 03:48:01
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.6
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3-6
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Reviews
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When an armed ruler from an ancient Korean kingdom time-travels with bow and arrows to Kevin's bedroom, Kevin doesn't panic, but he sure is puzzled! Feodor Chin conveys Kevin's dawning awareness of the problems surrounding an armed visitor who has to be returned to his past without being seen or captured. While the suspense builds, there is humor in the many misunderstandings that arise between the two characters. Chin contrasts Kevin's young, casual voice with the measured, courtly tones of the Archer. Chin uses the most subtle nuances of accent and pitch to convey the various Korean-American generations. R.H.H. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine -
May 1, 2006
Park's ("A Single Shard") novel, set in 1999, is part history lesson, part martial arts adventure; it begins with a rather shaky premise but quickly pulls in readers. Twelve-year-old Kevin, a Korean-American math whiz who dislikes social studies ("Names and dates and places from ages ago. Boring, boringer, boringest"), is shocked to discover an arrow -and the archer who took its aim -in his bedroom one afternoon. The intruder identifies himself as "Koh Chu-mong, Skillful Archer," and Kevin nicknames him "Archie." A search on the Internet reveals that Archie was born in 55 B.C. and founded the Koguryo kingdom (now Korea); he explains his chronological detour to Kevin: "I lost my balance, fell off the tiger, and landed here." Kevin raises the same questions that readers may have ("Fell off a "tiger"? Who "was" this guy?"). But the logistics soon take a back seat to Kevin's breakneck mission to discover enough details about Archie to return the king to his own place and time. Along the way, popular folktales about this Korean hero come to light, and a credible friendship grows between man and boy. The conclusion wraps hastily, and supporting characters, including a museum curator and Kevin's parents come off sketchily. But the relationship between Kevin and Archie, and their race against the clock (with the Chinese Zodiac and Kevin's math skills both playing a part) to set things right will keep the pages turning. Ages 9-13. "(May)" . -
April 9, 2007
What would you do if a ruler and expert archer from ancient Korea literally crash-landed in your bedroom, bow-and-arrows in hand? That's the shocking—and ultimately illuminating as well as humorous—situation facing 12-year-old Kevin who lives in 1999 Dorchester, N.Y. Trying to untangle who the intruder really is (Koh Chu-mong), how he arrived traveling through time and how to get him back to his kingdom makes for an engaging, if not always logical tale. Luckily, Kevin's affinity for math, plus assistance from his Korean grandparents and the local library, help him put things to right. Chin does a fine job of conveying child-like curiosity, as well as the varying levels of incredulity and culture-clash facing both protagonists. His stilted, fish-out-of-water rhythm for Koh Chu-mong's dialogue early in the recording is spot-on. Ages 9-up.
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