The Golden Bull A Mesopotamian Adventure [Paperback]

A brother and sister's search for a new life and new home . . .

5,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia during a terrible drought, Jomar and Zefa's father must send his children away to the city of Ur because he can no longer feed them. At fourteen, Jomar is old enough to apprentice with Sidah, a master goldsmith for the temple of the moongod, but there is no place for Zefa in Sidah's household. Zefa, a talented but untrained musician, is forced to play her music and sing for alms on the streets of Ur.

Marjorie Cowley vividly imagines the intrigues, and harsh struggle for survival in ancient Mesopotamia.Marjorie Cowley was trained at the Fowler Museum of Cultural History at the University of California, Los Angeles, and taught prehistoric history to students from first grade through high school. In this capacity she was designated a professional expert by the Los Angeles Unified School District. She has written two previous novels with settings in ancient history, DAR THE SPEAR-THROWER and ANOOKA'S ANSWER. She lives in Santa Monica, California.1. Changes
 
            The drought had lasted for months. Jomar dug for edible roots in the dry, sandy soil, but found only three small, misshapen carrots that once he would have given to the pigs. He glanced up at the squawking blackbirds as they flew high above him. When he was younger, it had been his job to wave his arms and yell at the birds to scare them off before they ate the precious barley seeds. Now they no longer swooped down to pick at the brown and brittle grain.
            Jomar stopped digging when he heard the bellowing of a cow. He had promised his father to help with the birthing of her calf.
            As he ran across the scorched fields toward the cowshed, the rocky soil cut into his frayed leather sandl#3