The Magnolia Sword (a Ballad of Mulan): A Ballad of Mulan

Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of EducationBestselling writer Sherry Thomas weaves an enthralling retelling of a story that has thrilled readers for centuries: the ballad of Mulan.CHINA, 484 A.D. A Warrior in DisguiseAll her life, Mulan has trained for one purpose: to win the duel that every generation in her family must fight. If she prevails, she can reunite a pair of priceless heirloom swords separated decades earlier, and avenge her father, who was paralyzed in his own duel. Then a messenger from the Emperor arrives, demanding that all families send one soldier to fight the Rouran invaders in the north. Mulan's father cannot go. Her brother is just a child. So she ties up her hair, takes up her sword, and joins the army as a man. A War for a Dynasty Thanks to her martial arts skills, Mulan is chosen for an elite team under the command of the princeling--the royal duke's son, who is also the handsomest man she's ever seen. But the princeling has secrets of hi