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High
Country Books |
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- Thirty Pieces of Gold
- by Heidi
Smith
- ISBN: 1617777288
US$8.99
70 pages; trade paper; pubished by Tate
Publishing
When Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar notice a new star in the
west, they begin to research all the texts housed in the palace
library. What they discover are ancient texts predicting the
birth of a new king. They select gifts and go to Jerusalem to
pay homage, only to find that Herod has not heard of a new king,
and that the birthplace is actually Bethlehem. Their gift of
gold enables Mary, Joseph and Jesus to flee from Herod's wrath,
but will the money be enough to see them all the way to Egypt?
Find out in Heidi Smith's debut juvenile novel!
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Excerpt:
- The sun sank slowly below the western
horizon, and Balthazar watched from his balcony as its last rays
reflected off the rooftops of Saveh. He had lived most of his
life in this small palace near Saveh's scholarly district, having
come as a young man to Persia's heart of knowledge to be a part
of the cutting edge of modern thinking. He was particularly well
versed in astrology himself, but as age advanced upon him, he
was beginning to wonder about the meaning of life-his own life
in particular. Have I really contributed anything of worth
to the world that will remain after I am gone? he often wondered.
He was beginning to have his doubts. Still, he liked to watch
as the sun left the sky each evening and the stars came out to
take its place. This was his favorite time of day.
Peering intently at the darkening western sky, he thought he
saw one last flicker of sunlight off of the gold-inlaid roof
a few blocks past his own palace. But no, that couldn't be right-the
reflections had ceased a few moments ago as the sun had disappeared,
and this flicker seemed to stay in one spot and grow stronger
as the sky grew darker! Surely it was a figment of his imagination;
he rubbed his eyes and kept them closed for a moment to clear
his vision. But when he opened them again, the light in the west
was still there and growing stronger! Puzzled, he continued to
watch the strange illumination for some time, but even as darkness
became complete and the stars came out, the light stayed steady
in the same spot, growing in brightness, outshining even the
brightest of the evening stars.
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