We are a family of travelers, and I can’t resist a book that has to do with other cultures, places around the world or provides a story about a time in the past. Meet the Ancient Egyptians immediately appealed to me before I even turned to the first page. The cover invites you to learn about life in ancient Egypt.
The book is a non-fictional account of various aspects of life in ancient Egypt. The cover has colorful illustrations that immediately draw you in. This is also part of series of non-fiction books that are illustrated by Simon Abbott.
This book takes different aspects of ancient Egyptian life and dissects it into fun, manageable parts. It starts off by allowing you to “Enter Ancient Egypt…” It clearly shows you where Egypt is located and gives you a basic primer on ancient Egypt. Some pages also include a list of “fun facts” or a list of “did you know?” that are not only informative but appealing to children (and adults!).
Each page is devoted to a different part of life for ancient Egyptians. For example it covers life in the army, how the pharaohs lived, and facts of daily life that are very relatable to today. It also covers Egyptian topics that children may have already heard of, such as mummies is and how the pyramids came into existence. I particularly enjoyed the sections on what home life was like and what was considered a full day’s work.
It ends with a list of ancient Egyptian facts that my son found fascinating. A couple of examples that my 7-year-old repeated to others over the next couple of days were that both men and women wore makeup and that they invented the toothbrush. My son still says it is the ancient Egyptians fault that he has to brush his teeth! An added bonus is the inside cover with a list of ancient Egyptian words and a website address for additional facts.
Meet the Ancient Egyptians is a fun, colorful and informative book for children. It was a quick read for my 7-year-old and he gave it two thumbs up. My 2-year-old enjoyed thumbing through it to look at the colorful pictures.
This whimsical book got a full five stars in this household. It does an excellent job of breaking down a period of history into small, relatable parts for a child to understand and remember. I would not only recommend this volume but also be attracted to others in the series (they range from the solar system, dinosaurs, and things that move).
Meet the Ancient Egyptians (The Wonderful World of Simon Abbott)
By John Malam
Illustrated by Simon Abbott
Published by Ticktock
MSRP: $8.99
www.ticktockextra.com
• Easy to Read: 5
• Quality of Illustrations: 5
• Appealed to both boys and girls: 5
• Kept my child(ren)’s interest: 5
• I would purchase this for my family: Yes
• I would purchase this as a gift: Yes
• I found information in this book helpful: 5
• Overall rating: 5
All ratings on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being highest.
Meet the Reviewer!
Christine Rowe is seriously addicted to children’s books. Her family may actually accuse her of having a problem as they find them in the strangest places (yes, recently her 2-year-old son decided it would be great to put one in the dishwasher). Christine has lived in the Northern Virginia area for over eight years, is married, and has two sons (7 and 2), a dog, a cat, a snake, several fish and a job as a director of human resources for a local training company.
