Megan Frazer Blakemore

“The Planeswalker knowYOu take the card from the libraryAnd bury it when you're done.On the path, you face history.Walk the path, do the math:Start with the prime numbers under 100Whose digits give you 10.Choose the happy median.Add it to: The square root of The cube of five divided byThe sum of 3 and 2.”

“Mr. Douglas told us true.He knows why the sky is blue.Why the earth spins round and round,And where the next clue can be found.Ask him, maybe, will he tell you?His radio, those ads will sell you.Peppy song will make you wonder,If the world is going under.Bring him something from the doctor--Nothing spicy-while he proctors.It may be those fizzy bubbles, Let him help you with your troubles.”

“Ephraim found a stack of postcards tied together with a faded green ribbon. He shuffled through them and found they were from every World's Fair from 1915 in San Francisco to 1939 in New York. None of the postcards hed been written on or mailed.”

“His gaze glossed over a stack of wooden crates and landed on a steamer trunk that was covered with stickers from all over the world.”

“Orlando said it was important for scientists to have minds kept open by literature, and souls touched by the creativity of art.”

“Ephraim lifted the top of the trunk. Neatly stacked were mementoes from what seemed like hundreds of journeys. Right on top was an etching of the Eiffel tower next to an African mask that looked at him with surprised eyes. He reached in a little deeper and unearthed a small teapot decorated with blue drawings just like the kind his grandmother collected and kept in a locked china cabinet.”