On Etruscan Time -

Tracy Barrett

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

2015

177 páginas

5h 54m

ISBN-13: 9781627796736

While spending the summer on an archaeological dig near Florence, Italy, with his mother, eleven-year-old Hector meets an Etruscan boy who needs help to foil his treacherous uncle's plan to make him a human sacrifice--one thousand years in the past.

A mysterious talisman transports a boy back to ancient Italy! / [ASIN: B00XTZ6AZ2 ]
Hector makes a discovery of his own-a strange, unsettling stone that looks like an eye. The stone brings nightmares about Arath, an Etruscan boy who died thousands of years ago but now begs for Hector's help. Are these just dreams, or is Arath really in danger? As Hector unearths the truth, he realizes that he can make himself heard when it counts.

[From School Library Journal] When Hector uncovers a strange stone with an eye carved into it, he is unprepared for what happens next. That night in the darkness of his bedroom, he realizes that the stone is glowing and beckoning him back to the archaeological site--and back in time to help an Etruscan boy named Arath from being ritually sacrificed. Barrett's accurate description of the archaeological dig and the details of Etruscan daily life are well researched and interesting. The plot holds excitement and suspense as readers wonder if Hector will find a way to save his friend. A good choice for kids who are interested in time travel or history. --Anna M. Nelson.

[From Booklist] Gr. 5-8. Eleven-year-old Hector would rather spend the summer in Tennessee with his friends, but, as usual, no one listens to him. Instead, with the rest of his family involved in different projects, Hector will travel to Italy with his mother, an ancient-language specialist invited to assist an archaeological dig of an Etruscan village. Hector becomes more enthusiastic once he is allowed to apprentice on the dig, where he unearths a mysterious stone that propels him, through dreams, to Etruscan times. Through terrifying time-warp trips between now and then, he meets and tries to save a young boy from possible execution. Some readers may get bogged down with the time-travel logistics and the sophisticated background history, but Hector's frustration about being "invisible" to grown-ups will reverberate with most kids, and Barrett's vivid details, particularly the day-to-day work of archaeologists, will capture readers interested in ancient civilizations. Appended material includes an author's note explaining more about Etruscan life, as well as Etruscan and Italian glossaries. --Gillian Engberg.

Tracy Barrett is a professor of Italian language and literature at Vanderbilt University. She is the author of Cold in Summer, a Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, and Anna of Byzantium, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Tracy lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit Tracy Barrett at her website: www.tracybarrett.com

Tracy Barrett is the award-winning author of several books for young readers, including the Sherlock Files books, King of Ithaka,Cold in Summer, and Anne of Byzantium. Her books have been named an ALA Best Book for young adults, a Bank Street best children's book of the year, and a New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age, among many other honors. She is a professor of Italian language and civilization at Vanderbilt University and lives with her family in Nashville, Tennessee.