Decebal şi un șolomonar misterios

Ilinca and Călin go back in time to save their ancestors’ names. While they play in an attic, they find an old chest. Inside lies a book with a spell on it. It lists each pair of twins born in their family. When they try to read it, they break the spell. This wipes out the names. To bring them back, they must find their twin ancestors.

The chest takes them to Dacia in the year 105. Roman troops plan to cross the Danube and invade. They plan to use a bridge that Apolodor of Damascus built. The children make friends with Oroles, a young Dacian messenger. He takes them to a fort called Sarmizegetusa. There they meet Decebal. But they still need to find the twins they seek.

Simona Antonescu writes for young readers. She blends a tale of the past with fantasy and mystery. This book starts her series, Istoria povestită copiilor. The series looks at Romania’s past and old legends. Each book centres on a figure from history or legend. The books show how children lived in different times. They also visit the courts of rulers from those times. These range from Decebal to Vlad Țepeș and Mircea cel Bătrân. They reach the time of Queen Maria too. The series looks at landmarks, customs, carols and old forms of dress. It also shares old games and recipes for sweets. Radu Răileanu’s black-and-white drawings appear in this edition.

Antonescu was born in Galați in 1969. Her first novel came out in 2015. It won two awards for a first book. Her later novels have won Romanian prizes for writing too.