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Informationen zum Autor Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon No one knows for sure if Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag, so Abigail and her friends travel back in time to investigate the truth and ensure Betsy's rightful place in history. Illustrations. Betsy Ross’s Star Monday Something funky was going on. Sure, to anyone else sitting in our third-grade social studies class, things seemed normal. But I could tell. They weren’t normal at all. Mr. C was sitting on the edge of his desk, like usual. His hair was messy. His suit a disaster. His bow tie sideways. All normal. He’d been five minutes late to class, just like he was every Monday. So what was the problem? It was the question he asked to start the period. It was more like a nonquestion. It was a statement, really. He said, “Share something you know about Elizabeth Claypoole.” At our blank stares, he cleared his throat and said, “You know her by the name Betsy Ross.” Most people wouldn’t think there is anything wrong with a teacher telling his class to share. But anyone who knows Mr. C and is really curious, like me, would be immediately suspicious. Mr. Caruthers always, and I mean always, starts class on Monday with a “what-if” question. Like, “What if Betsy Ross quit and never sewed the first American flag?” I love Mr. C’s “what-if” questions. His questions are the best part of social studies. Today Mr. C didn’t ask “what-if” anything. That’s how I knew something freaky was going on. I sit at a table with my three best friends, Jacob, Zack, and the new kid in school, Bo. Bo’s real name is Roberto, but no one ever calls him that. I leaned over toward Zack, who was sitting right next to me. “What’s wrong with Mr. C?” I asked, nodding my head slightly toward our teacher. “What are you talking about?” Zack whispered back. “What do you mean something’s wrong? What could be wrong? Are we in danger?” I slapped myself on the forehead. I should have known better. Zack is a worrywart. He gets stressed out about everything. “What’s the matter with Mr. C?” He was going on and on. “Is he sick? Hurt? Do you think I should get the principal?” Oh, man. The thing is, when Zack’s not worrying, he’s very funny. He tells jokes and acts silly. Even his clothes can make me laugh. Today he was wearing a T-shirt, inside out and backward, with a pair of jeans. I’m sure he got dressed in a hurry, and knowing Zack, he probably figured he’d simply pretend it was backward day instead of turning his shirt around. “Abigail,” Zack whispered back to me. His voice sounded shaky and nervous. “What makes you think Mr. C has a problem?” I decided not to stress him out further. “It’s just that . . .” I stalled. “Mr. C is so messy today.” Zack’s face relaxed and he grinned. “It’s Monday,” he reminded me. “Mr. C is always messy on Mondays because we have History Club after school.” Then Zack winked at me. “Oh, yeah,” I replied as if I was just remembering. “I almost forgot.” Of course, the truth was I could never forget it was Monday or that we have History Club on Mondays. Like I already told you, History Club is my favorite thing on earth. And even though I pretended not to remember, I knew exactly why Mr. C was five minutes late and messy today. I knew because of all the kids in our social studies class, Jacob, Bo, Zack, and I were specially chosen as Mr. C’s secret helpers. On Mondays, Mr. C makes the time-travel cartridge for our History Club adventure. He never gives himself enough time to make the cartridge and get to class on time, too. There is also a huge explosion that screws up Mr. C’s clothes and Get ready for a Stars and Stripes surprise! The Blast to the Past friends are o...
