Bloomsbury Education, 9781801995047

As I have often said before when blogging, I have been an avid lover of all things Egyptian since I was a small child.  That passion has not abated over the years and I am delighted to say that the subject is also loved by millions of others, including small children.  Part of this is due to the inclusion of the subject in to the National Curriculum and hence there are a considerable number of information books published each year.  However in order to really get a feel for the subject it is important that good fiction stories are available.  Over the past few years we have seen quite a few such books, often to connect with the centenary of finding Tutankhamun’s tomb, but Terry Deary was writing about the subject 20 years ago.

This book is actually a compilation of four stories that were originally published in 2004.  They include stories about building the pyramids, stealing from Tutankhamun’s tomb, embalming mummies and finding buried treasure.  All of the stories are exciting and have a real sense that the author has done his research about the Egyptian culture.  At the end of each story there is a section which invites the reader to think about what they have read and to perhaps ask some questions.  There are also facts about real life characters, which helps to round out the stories.  The stories are aimed at the newly confident reader and the short length of each story also makes them very suitable for reading in class.  I particularly enjoy the fact that the stories are all so different, so we get a feel for different periods of history, together with jobs, status and the continuity of life within Ancient Egypt.

Although these stories are now 20 years old, they have stood the test of time and are just as exciting and enjoyable today as they were when first written.  This is definitely a book that will be a great hit for the top of KS1 and those at the beginning of KS2; not only can children just enjoy the story, but it can also serve as a springboard into learning about the subject in more detail.

The author   Terry Deary

Terry Deary is the author of over 300 fiction and non-fiction books, which have been published in 40 languages. His Horrible Histories series celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023, having sold over 30 million copies worldwide and been adapted as a movie, a television series, theatre tours and museum exhibitions. Terry’s non-fiction has been consistently on the bestseller lists since 1994, and he was voted ‘Outstanding children’s non-fiction author of the 20th Century’ by Books for Keeps magazine.