SYNOPSIS

Sai accidentally becomes the assistant of the best mapmaker in the town of An Lung in the Kingdom of Mangkon.

Unlike other assistants, Sai has no known ancestry to be proud of – her father is a thief and a drunk.

The master mapmaker recognizes Sai’s skills and invites her to join him on a royal ship expedition to discover new lands.

On the ship, Sai becomes friends with a glamorous passenger – the captain’s best friend – who later mutinies the ship and throws the captain overboard.

Sai saves a young stowaway’s life who we later discover is the captain’s long-lost son. (They both live to get reunited!)

She also discovers that the expedition will endanger the existence of a mythical (but real!) dragon which so far has remained inaccessible.

After the mapmaker is “retired” off the expedition, the ship is destroyed in a storm, and Sai is safely rescued by her friends, she returns home.

There, she reunites with her remorseful father and becomes an official mapmaker-in-training under her master’s tutelage.

PERFECT AGE 10 – 14

We love

• Sai is a true role model – respectful of elders, self-sufficient and motivated, kind and inquisitive, resourceful, creative!
• A complicated plot about a non-existent world is both fun and educational.
• Impactful messages about the danger of “discovering” lands, people and wildlife which often leads to their destruction (in the real and imaginary worlds, equally).

CONVERSATION STARTERS

• Why does Sai hide her job and earnings from her father? What could happen if he found out where she works?
• Why does the Master want Sai to join the expedition? What secrets of his own does he hide from her?
• What does Sai decide to do to impress Rian? How does the map she makes become a dangerous tool for Rian’s plans?
• Why does Sai save Bo on the ship and how does their friendship help save the Slake?
• Who is your favorite character? Why?