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Stay a Spell

Page 9

by Nicholas O. Time

The notes chime. The bass begins to thump. Maracas rattle.

  Wooo, ooooh ooooh ooooh ooooh.

  “Do the Hustle!” Aunt Katy shouts.

  And, of course, we all do.

  You would find Sacagawea helping Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explore the land President Thomas Jefferson had bought in the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Sacagawea was a Shoshone woman who spoke both her native language and English. Her skills as a translator were extremely helpful to the explorers. Her knowledge of the land was as well. She also helped ease the tension between the explorers and the Native Americans they encountered.

  Two months before starting the journey, Sacagawea gave birth to her son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. (William Clark became the baby’s godfather.) She and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, took the baby when they headed west with Lewis and Clark on April 7, 1805. Sacagawea did know how to identify roots, plants, and berries that could be eaten or used as medicine. While her husband received 320 acres of land and $500.33 for his service, Sacagawea got nothing.

  If you went back to Hollywood, California, in 1977 . . .

  If you could actually visit Hollywood, California, in 1977, you might run into a movie star or two, and you’d hear the music and see a lot of the things that Jada, Abby, and Daniel did. The fashions they picked out from Ms. Tremt’s box represented the clothes of the time, and Aunt Katy and Gran Brenda were definitely dressed in clothes that were popular back then.

  There were two record stores called Crane’s in Los Angeles, but they were in the Inglewood and Palos sections, not Hollywood. Going to the record store wasn’t just a quick shopping trip, but an event. They were more than just stores; they were places to hang out and check out the latest trends in music and styles.

  There were several major movie studios in Hollywood, California, in 1977, and there still are today, and Paul Newman, Sally Field, and Sidney Poitier were all popular actors at the time. Galaxian Studios is completely fictional, though it does represent the things you’d find in a typical studio—sets, props, costumes, and yes, catering service with cookies.

  If you went back to Egypt in 47 BCE . . .

  You would find Cleopatra on the throne, as she was queen of Egypt, Cyprus, and Cyrene from 51 BCE, when she inherited the throne with her brother, to her death in 30 BCE.

  When the Roman leader Julius Caesar landed with a small group of troops in Alexandria, Cleopatra’s brother Ptolemy tried to convince him to name him as sole ruler of Egypt. Cleopatra snuck into the palace to see Caesar and persuaded him to support her instead. She and Julius Caesar did have a son, named Caesarion, who was born on June 23, 47 BCE.

  The ancient Egyptians thought that beauty was a sign of holiness, and believed the pharaoh was a link between the world of the gods and the world of humans. Therefore makeup and fashion were indeed an important part of Cleopatra’s world. In some Egyptian tombs, makeup trays were buried with the dead.

  The classic thick black eyeliner seen in ancient Egyptian art was created by kohl. Powdered kohl was created by grinding up minerals. Another powdered dye, henna, was created from crushing the leaves of a shrub.

  The ancient Egyptians were one of the first people to keep time by dividing the day into equal parts, and they used sundials and shadow clocks to tell time.

  When Luis Ramirez gets a chance to go back in time, he knows just what he wants to do. He plans to go back to 1696 and see where Captain Kidd left buried treasure, and then retrieve it. But when he brags about time travel to his older brother Rafael, he doesn’t believe him. Luis decides there’s only one way to convince him—he’ll bring The Book of Memories home to show him. Sure, the book is a time portal, but it’s still only a book. What could go possibly go wrong? Turns out—a lot!

  NICHOLAS O. TIME is a retired physics professor and the oldest player in the North American United Soccer League. He built his first time machine when he was twelve, successfully sending his pet mouse back to the Stone Age. Unfortunately, a glitch in the machine caused the mouse to clone upon return. After several trials, Nick’s parents destroyed the machine and adopted a thirty-pound feline named Barney to address the growing rodent problem. Nick and his wife, Rose Maryann, have one son, Justin.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  SIMON SPOTLIGHT

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  This Simon Spotlight hardcover edition July 2016

  Copyright © 2016 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Text by Sheila Sweeny Higginson. Cover illustration by Stephen Gilpin.

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. SIMON SPOTLIGHT and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc. For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.

  Designed by Jay Colvin. The text of this book was set in Adobe Garamond Pro.

  ISBN 978-1-4814-6727-8 (hc)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-6726-1 (pbk)

  ISBN 978-1-4814-6728-5 (eBook)

  Library of Congress Control Number 2016936491

 

 

 


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