Trapped in History

1. Poking about where you shouldn’t always ends badly (pp. 3-12)

On a school trip to the Egyptian Museum with their two classes, Giulia deciphers the inscriptions on an ancient astrolabe with six dials and turns its mechanisms. Luca has just taken a photo of it. As they put it back together, the astrolabe lights up, a whirl of light carries them off, and they land in ancient Egypt holding the frame of the astrolabe, without its six dials.

1. Where are Luca and Giulia at the start of the story? → At the Egyptian Museum, on a school trip with their two classes.
2. What do the six dials of the astrolabe stand for? → Six historical periods.
3. Where do Luca and Giulia land after the whirl of light? → In ancient Egypt.

2. First fragment: the star disc of Tutankhamun (pp. 13-31)

Luca and Giulia bump into Nefer, a young Egyptian inventor whose family has studied journeys through time for generations. He tells them the first fragment is in Tutankhamun’s tomb, inside a pyramid. The two friends get past the sand trial, Giulia opens the last door with a hidden lever, and fitting the first dial sends them to ancient Greece.

1. Who is Nefer? → A young Egyptian inventor whose family has studied time travel for generations.
2. Where is the first fragment? → In Tutankhamun’s tomb, inside a pyramid.
3. How does Giulia open the door to the tomb? → She presses a lever hidden in a small hole in the wall beside the door.

3. Second fragment: the celestial ring of the astronomer (pp. 32-47)

In ancient Greece, Aspasia takes the children home and gives them Greek clothes. To meet the astronomer Philippus, Luca has to win an event at the Olympic Games, so Aspasia’s son Demetrios trains him for two days. During the race the ground starts shaking: Luca slows down and finishes second. Philippus hands over the celestial ring, but he touches the astrolabe and travels on with them.

1. Who takes Luca and Giulia home and gives them Greek clothes? → Aspasia.
2. Why does Luca slow down during the race? → The ground started shaking under him: winning would have changed the past. He finishes second.
3. What is the second fragment, and who made it? → A celestial ring engraved with constellations, made by Philippus.

4. Third fragment: the sextant of the senator (pp. 48-63)

In Rome, during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the three travelers follow Senator Cornelius, who owns more sextants than any man in Rome, to his villa. With the children pretending to be Philippus’s apprentices, they get inside, but Cornelius wants to make the children his slaves and locks them in a cell. Philippus tricks the guards with an eclipse, they grab the sextant, and the third dial carries them to the Middle Ages.

1. Which emperor is reigning in Rome during their visit? → Marcus Aurelius.
2. What does Cornelius want to do with Luca and Giulia? → Make them his slaves.
3. How does Philippus get the guards away from the cell? → He tells them an eclipse is about to happen and that their master wants them outside to see it.

5. Fourth fragment: the astronomical clock of the monk (pp. 64-79)

In the Middle Ages, a castle is under siege because a lord wants the monks’ stores of beer. Tristan, a young soldier running away from the fighting, leads the travelers inside. Giulia advises the general, Luca helps with the catapults until the ground shakes again, and the castle is saved. Brother Basil, keeper of the astronomical clock, finally lets them take it.

1. Why is the castle under siege? → The lord wants to get his hands on the monks’ stores of beer.
2. Who is Tristan? → A young enemy soldier who was running away from the siege and guides them into the castle.
3. What is the fourth fragment, and who keeps it? → An astronomical clock, kept by Brother Basil.

6. Fifth fragment: Leonardo’s lens (pp. 80-93)

In Renaissance Florence, the travelers meet the young Leonardo da Vinci. His magnifying lens has been stolen by a group of children, and Luca and Giulia find it on a stall at the market. Philippus asks to stay in Florence as Leonardo’s apprentice; when the children hesitate, the ground shakes, so they agree, say goodbye and leave with the fifth dial.

1. In which city do they meet Leonardo da Vinci? → In Florence.
2. Who stole Leonardo’s lens, and where do Luca and Giulia find it? → A group of children; it is on a stall at the market.
3. What does Philippus decide at the end of this chapter? → To stay in Florence as Leonardo da Vinci’s apprentice.

7. Sixth fragment: the star chronograph of the Royal Society (pp. 94-108)

In foggy Victorian London, Luca and Giulia meet Elias Montague, a young professor laughed at for his theories about time travel. With him and the librarian Margaret Whitmore, they sneak into the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Giulia sets off an unfinished electrical experiment that blacks out the whole building, and Luca grabs the star chronograph.

1. Who is Elias Montague? → A young professor and scientist who studies time travel and is laughed at by his colleagues.
2. Where is the last fragment? → In the secret laboratory of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich.
3. How does Giulia create a diversion? → She sets off an unfinished experiment in electrical energy, which causes a blackout across the whole building.

8. Back to the present: what do we have left? (pp. 109-112)

Luca and Giulia are back at the Egyptian Museum, at the very moment they left, wearing their own clothes and holding the complete astrolabe. They promise never to forget their journey. Luca now wants to learn history inside out, and Giulia wants to learn to invent.

1. Where are Luca and Giulia at the end? → Back at the Egyptian Museum, with their class, their teacher and the guide.
2. What do they notice about their clothes? → They are the ones they started in: plain tops, skirt, socks, jeans, sneakers.
3. What won’t Luca miss? → Risking turning time upside down every five minutes and changing clothes all the time.