Books with author Jane O'Connor

Lintong County, People's Republic of China, March 1974Three farmers are digging a well when suddenly their shovels hit something hard. It is a clay head of a mad who stares back at them, open-eyed and amazingly real looking. The farmers have never seen anything like it; neither have the archeologists who arrive and being to uncover more and more pottery men—first dozens, then hundres and eventually thousands! Buried for more than 2,200 years, they are soldiers, life-size as well as life-like, and they stand at attention as if waiting for the command to charge into battle. The only thing missing is their weapons, and soon those are found too—thousands of real bronze swords, daggers, and arrowheads still so sharp they can split a hair.Now, after almost thirty years of ongoing excavation, a buried army of 7,500 terracotta soldiers and horses has emerged. And this site that three farmers accidentally stumbled upon ranks along with the Great Pyramids in Egypt as one of the true wonders of the ancient world.The Emperor's Silent Army features more than forty full-color photos that showcase the terracotta troops. A vivid and engaging text tells all about the army as well as the extraordinary story of the men who commanded its creation—the ruthless and tyrannical first emperor of China.

For more than two thousand years, a secret army of life-size terra-cotta soldiers lay buried underground in China. But in 1974, some farmers digging a well discovered the first of what turned out to be an army of more than 7,000. Who made them? And why? In this fascinating reader, kids will learn all about one of the wonders of the ancient world and the fierce first emperor of China.

Illus. in full color with black-and-white photos. "Covers not only the story of Robinson's prowess and his problems as the first black man to play in the major leagues, but also the story of the rise and fall of black baseball and some of its star players and managers. Nicely geared by vocabulary, sentence length, and print size to the primary grades audience."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.