Mini Magellan –- Jade Stars: The Great Race, Illustrated by Jerome Lu

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You might be familiar with the Chinese Zodiac and Lunar Calendar which mark 2014 as the ‘Year of the Horse’.  But do you know how each of the twelve animals earned that honor?  To answer that question,  Mini Magellan has released Jade Stars: The Great Race, a children’s book illustrated by Jerome Lu and written by Charles Huang and Stacey Hirata which presents the classic tale in a fun, fresh, &  kid friendly way.  The  hard-cover book ($17.99)  unfolds the Jade Emperor’s fabled race over 24 full-color pages. 

To bring Jerome’s versions of the Chinese Zodiac characters to life, Mini Magellan asked Patty Varoiba (Fat Rabbit Farm) to create large plush toys as a companion to the book.  Currently, there are three plushies – Year of the Horse (17”), Year of the Snake (14”), and Year of the Ram (19”), each with a suggested retail of $59.99.  If your birth year animal hasn’t been given the plush treatment yet, don’t worry; Mini Magellan is planning to create plush versions of all twelve of the Chinese Zodiac animals.

If you have a little one, Jade Stars: The Great Race will make a fine and fun addition to his or her growing library.  Having had a chance to ‘play with the Year of the Snake plush, the oversized, detailed, =undeniably cute, made in the USA plush is easy to recommend.  The book and the plush toys are available now from MiniMagellan.com and should soon be available at retailers around the country.

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