"In a warlike land of wind and sunlight, "ringed by a restless sea," live Rhaskos and Melisto, spiritual twins with little in common beyond the violent and mysterious forces that dictate their lives. A Thracian slave in a Greek household, Rhaskos is as common as clay, a stable boy worth less than a donkey, much less a horse. Wrenched from his mother at a tender age, he nurtures in secret, aided by Socrates, his passions for art and philosophy. Melisto...

"Five kids across centuries recount the history of Cleopatra's Needle, from its construction in ancient Egypt to moving it across the ocean to New York city in the 19th century"--

Ten-year-old Kepi, a young girl in ancient Egypt, embarks on a journey to save her family when she is unexpectedly taken captive, along with the baby baboon she has rescued from a crocodile. An origin tale about fairies.

Twelve-year-old Addison Cooke and his friends travel across Asia in an attempt to rescue Addison's aunt and uncle from the clutches of a dangerous gang and prevent the legendary tomb of Ghenghis Khan from falling the in the wrong hands.

"Forced to flee Thebes or face death, Sesha and her friends, Paser and Reb, travel up the Nile and into the desert in search of a hidden oasis. Led by a freed spy, they plan to rescue Pharaoh's daughter Princess Merat, given to a Hyksos chieftain against her will. Before they can get there, though, they have to battle lurking crocodiles, endless dunes, and blinding sandstorms. When the group finally straggles into the Hyksos camp, they find the rebels...

"It's time for little Julius, who will grow up to become the most powerful person in the Roman Republic, to put on his toga, attend the dinner banquet, and eat his fowl, boiled camel's feet, baked dormouse, and peas!"--

"In her search for answers, Sesha must find a priceless scroll for the pharaoh. Sesha and Ky, children of the pharaoh's royal physician, are left charming snakes and stealing food to survive after a brutal fire takes their parents and their home. Unsure of whom to trust, the pair are found and brought back to the palace, despite misgivings that the royals are somehow involved in their parents' deaths. Sesha is tasked with finding the rare and valuable...

"Nobody but the old wise-woman knows what truly happened to Aissa, the firstborn daughter of the priestess. If they saw the half-moon scars on the servant girl's wrists they would find it out, but who would look twice at lowly, mute No-Name? Only the Lady's cats, and the fireflies summoned by her silent song. Then the soldiers of Crete come, demanding children as tribute for their god-king's bull dances, and Aissa is determined to take destiny into...

Flea, the least significant member of a gang of teens who sleep next to the Temple walls in first-century Jerusalem, witnesses Christ's passion and resurrection, torn between Jude, who protects Flea and employes him to run errands, and a brutal Roman spy determined to uncover the truth about "the Magician."

In ancient times under the reign of Yellow Emperor (about 2500 B.C.), people kept records by piling stones and tying knots. One day, Cang Jie, a historical official who tied knots to keep records under Yellow Emperor, unexpectedly made a big mistake. Feeling very guilty, he was determined to find out a better way for keeping records. He went back to his hometown to think it over for many days and nights. Inspired by the footprints of animals, he began...