Cleopatra's Carpet: Part 4

By KAREN WALLACE, Illustrator ALAN WADE

The bus stopped outside the school and they all got off. Five minutes later, Sophie and Helen and the rest of the class were sitting behind their desks waiting for the new history teacher to come in.

"Yum, yum," whispered Sophie. "I can just taste that Big Fudge ice cream."

Helen grinned shook her head. "No, you can't. I can."

At that moment the door opened and a woman walked into the room. She had a round rosy face and long hair loosely piled on her head. Silver hoops hung from her ears and half a dozen strings of beads glittered around her neck.

She wore a full flowery calf-length skirt and a soft blue shawl that was pinned at the front with a brooch in the shape of a crescent moon.

She perched on the side of the desk. "Hello, everyone," she said. "My name's Clarity Weaver. I'm your new history teacher and I want us all to be friends."

Publisher: HarperCollins $12.95
Age group: 7-9 years