The Burning Light
Where Alexandra's Scroll (reviewed above) whisks readers back in  time, this novel by an Israel-based author whisks its characters  back in time. In their Tel Aviv apartment, Galit and Gidon  venture out of bed to spin the dreidels in the curio cabinet,  but when Gidon mistakenly handles a block marked Cronos (the  Greek god of time), the siblings find themselves transported to  the scene of the Maccabees' rebellion against the Greeks. The  historical details, like those in Scroll, are excellent; the  plotting runs more to cliffhanger-style action (as suggested by  the cover, showing two terrified children gripped in the trunk  of an elephant ridden by armed Greek soldiers) while the prose  runs to the formulaic. B&w; art throughout. Ages 9-14. (Sept.)Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.