Gordy Wright

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Walk like an Egyptian

This year has seen the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, as well as the bi-centenary of the finding of the Rosetta stone and the translation of hieroglyphs by Jean-Francois Champollion.  This has given me the impetus to compile this list of books featuring that fascinating civilization.  It is something that I have wanted to do for a long time.  However I am amazed by the sheer volume of books about the subject.  Mainly I have kept to those published in the last year or so, but I have included some long term favourites from my own library.  I hope you enjoy reading some of them

“The Mystery of the Golden Pyramid” by Adela Norfan and Aaron Cushley is a delightful introduction to Ancient Egypt.  When Sophie moves to Egypt, she is surprised to find a dog in her bedroom, but this is a talking dog who gives her a quest to find and return four lost amulets to the tomb of King Nebra.  It is full of action and humour and will appeal to all KS1 children.  The illustrations are excellent, with some great ‘lift-the-flap’ elements.

“The Curse of the Tomb Robbers” by Andy Seed and James Weston Lewis is an exquisitely illustrated story of intrigue and tomb robbery, in which two children are able to foil the robbers and bring them to justice.  It highlights the importance of reading the hieroglyphs and also the respect that was given to the dead, by the Egyptians.

“Secrets of the Dead” by Matt Ralphs and Gordy Wright is produced by the British Museum and looks at the various forms of mummification found around the world.  Egypt is only one of those places, but the chapter in this book looks at the methods used and at some famous examples such as Tutankhamun and Ramses II.  The book makes for a fascinating read.

“The magnificent book of Treasures: Ancient Egypt” by Philip Steele and Eugenia Nobati.  I have written a full blog post about this book and you can see it by looking for the title on the blog site.  It is a gorgeous book.

“King Tutankhamun tells all” by Chris Naunton and Guilherme Karsten is written by one of our most well-known and knowledgeable Egyptologists.  The illustrations are cartoon style and full of colour and is written in the form of a memoir by the dead Pharaoh.  There is a great deal of humour in the way that it is written, but it is still full of information about the king and also Ancient Egypt itself.

“Mummies Unwrapped” by Tom Froese is written in conjunction with the British Museum and is a fascinating look at the various processes that a mummy underwent; asking many of the questions that young people want to know..  The illustrations are  bright clear and have elements of humour, which really adds to the enjoyment.  The cover is gold, which will add to the attraction for the intended audience.

“Egyptology” by Dugald Steer is the first in a series of truly sumptuous books, full of illustrations, lift the flaps, added artifacts and information about a range of topics.  this book has a gold cover and really gives the reader a sense of the grandeur that was found in Egyptian tombs.  Whilst this is not a new title, it is one that should be the basis of anyone’s collection about Egypt.

“Egyptian diary: The Journal of Nakht” by Richard Platt and David Parkins is the story of a young boy living in Memphis with his family and how he helps foil a gang of tomb robbers and eventually get to meet the Pharaoh Hatshepsut, only to discover that they are a woman (one of very few female pharaohs).  this is a large size book with some fabulous illustrations.  Since its publication in 2005 it has become a staple of all school libraries.

“Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx” by Joe Todd Stanton is the second tale in the “Brownstone’s Mythical collection” series and follows the adventures of Marcy, the daughter of the original hero Arthur, as she attempts to save her father from the clutches of the Great Sphinx.  Children will love the graphic novel format and the fast pace of the action.

“I was there: Tutankhamun’s Tomb” by Sue Reid is a great read for younger audiences.  It is based on the fact that a young boy was involved in finding the stairs which led to the tomb discovery.  it is full of action, villains and  of course introduces the audience to Howard Carter and his patron Lord Caernarvon.

This is just the first section of this rather mammoth post, but I found it o difficult to cut down on the titles to be included.  Join me again for part two of this collection.

 

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Darwin’s Dragon by Lindsay Galvin and Gordy Wright

Since the bicentenary of his birth in 1809 there has been a great deal written about the naturalist Charles Darwin.  Many of the books focus on his major work “On the Origin of Species”, or they are biographies which cover his whole life.  this new book by Lindsay Galvin takes a slightly different tack and covers the period of his time on HMS Beagle from 1831-36.  Darwin himself is not even the main character in the story, that honour goes to the young cabin boy Syms Covington, who in real life was promoted to become Darwin’s assistant during the five year voyage.

The story mainly takes place in the Galapagos Islands, a place that still seems somewhat magical, even today, but in those days it was virtually unknown and full of new and fascinating wildlife.  When returning from an expedition to an island, Darwin and Syms are caught in a storm and Syms is thrown overboard from the small dingy they are in.  When he wakes up he is on a strange island, with no ship in sight.There is an active volcano that threatens Syms, but he is aided by a small lizard that he names Farthing and before long he finds himself running for his life as he experiences something that should not exist outside of myths and legends, a real dragon and it is not happy.  Syms eventually escapes from the island and the many dangers he has faced and is picked up, together with Farthing and some eggs he has collected,  by the Beagle and the voyage continues.  The second part of the story is about what happens when the eggs hatch and a group of lizards are returned to England, where they are handed over to a young Queen Victoria.  What eventually becomes obvious to Syms is that they are actually young dragons and they go through the same sort of metamorphosis that creatures such as butterflies and frogs go through.  The conditions that they are kept in is not suitable and Syms wants to release them, but the Queen will not agree, even though one of the young dies in captivity.  We definitely start cheering when our young hero manages to release the dragons and we hope that they survive.  In order to escape the wrath of the Queen, Darwin helps his young assistant to travel to Australia, where he settles and has a family.  The final section of the story is set twenty five years later when Syms takes his young daughter on a trip to the Galapagos.  She has been brought up on the stories her father tells of his adventures, but does not believe them, until she is suddenly presented with a huge dragon, that greets her father; Farthing has not forgotten the friend that set him free.  We then have the final image of all the other dragons flying free in the sky above their island.

This is a stunning mix of true story with a hint of the mythical.  It is full of action and adventure but it also has additional layers that make us think about the way that we treat creatures.  In the book, Darwin and other naturalists see the animals as subjects for experimentation and investigation.  Whilst they are frustrated when something happens to the creatures, it is just an inconvenience and there is little sense that they have any empathy for the animals they have captured.  Luckily Darwin seems to have altered his views somewhat as he grew older and Lindsay Galvin has quoted him as saying “All animals feel wonder and may exhibit curiosity” and also “There is no fundamental difference between man and animals in their ability to feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery”, both taken from “The Descent of Man” .  This story can be read at several different levels and I particularly like all the information at the back of the book, which will encourage young people to read more about the period and the discoveries that were being made.  the discussion with the author gives a brilliant insight into how she created the book and what caught her interest at the very beginning.  The illustrations are a lovely addition and blend extremely well, but it is the actual cover and the inside covers which are a real ‘Tour de Force’; they are absolutely stunning and make this a very special addition to anyone’s bookshelf.

 

I have to say that this makes a really stunning start to 2021 and I just hope that all the others books this year manage to meet this very high standard.  As always ‘Chicken House’ has found yet another winner; I look forward to reading more by this author.

The Author Lindsay Galvin

“Lindsay was lucky enough to be raised in a house of stories, music, and love of the sea. She left part of her heart underwater after living and working in Thailand where she spent hundreds of blissful hours scuba diving. Forced now to surface for breath, she lives in sight of the chillier Sussex sea with her husband and two sons. When she is not writing, she can be found reading, running or practicing yoga. She has a degree in English Language and Literature, is fascinated by psychology and the natural world, and teaches Science. Lindsay hadn’t written creatively since childhood until the idea for her debut novel The Secret Deep splashed into her mind, and she now she’s hooked.”  from Chicken House website, with thanks.