Product Description: There is so much in store on this incredible journey enormous statues and temples, the legendary Sphinx, tombs and mummies, and of course the Great Pyramids. With seven exciting destinations, a god or goddess on each page, and informative notes at the end, you will be an Egypt expert in no time!
A good introduction to some of Egypt's best know sites The book follows a group of children traveling the Nile River, north from Abu Simbel up to Cairo, the route taken by most river cruises. They stop at some of the best known sites in Egypt: the temples at Abu Simbel, Aswan, Kitchener's Island, the Valley of the Kings, Al-Faiyum Oasis, Cairo and the Cairo Museum, before ending their trip at the Giza plateau.
The main text of the book is simple enough to keep the attention of younger readers. Like the other books by this author, there is a repeating refrain throughout, in this case "Climb aboard the river boat! We're sailing down the Nile. We'll be in ______ in just a little while," that will encourage the participation of those who are familiar with the text. For older readers (even adults) this book, like many published by Barefoot Books, has endnotes that further explain things. In this book's endnotes, the first section is devoted to additional information about each of the sites visited. There are also sections with information about the gods and goddesses shown on each page, the different periods of ancient Egyptian history, life in ancient Egypt, the role of the Nile in Egyptian life, mummies, tombs, and hieroglyphs. While the information is more in depth than the main text of the book, do not be worried that it is too academic or dry. The author presents the information in a way that simplifies complex concepts and makes the easy-to-read paragraphs approachable for children.
The artwork is colorful and attractive; it is a bit stylized though. Most readers will be familiar with the appearance of the Pyramids and Sphinx at Giza, however other sites such as Abu Simbel and the temple on Kitchener's Island are not as well known. Because of the style of illustrations, some readers might become frustrated with the lack of realism in the illustrations (although with the internet those who want to should be able to search for actual pictures of sites described in the book).
All in all, this is a good introduction to the geography and sites of Egypt. Most kids (and adults to be honest) are fascinated with the culture of ancient Egypt and would like the opportunity to visit these famous sites. While this book is not the same as an actual visit to Egypt, it will certainly help to feed the interest
Fun book and great for learning about the Nile and ancient Egypt I bought this book as a gift because I was so impressed with how much fun the book is and how educational the book manages to be at the same time. I have recently come back from a trip to Egypt and I took a cruise down the Nile River. This book although superficial in details(clearly because of the age range) does cover the key points of the trip from Aswan up the Nile River as well as plenty of background material on Ancient Egyptian history in the back. I have always felt it is critical that kids are exposed to history and cultures through their reading and this book does that well. On top of being educational it is very colorful and very much a fun book.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
