A Place in the Sun

by Jill Rubalcaba

In ancient Egypt, the gifted young son of a sculptor is taken into slavery when he attempts to save his father's life, and is himself almost killed before his exceptional talent leads Pharaoh to name him Royal Sculptor. Reprint.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Ancient History, Fiction, Childrens, Egypt, Middle Grade, Juvenile

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Jill Rubalcaba is an American writer.
She was born in Boston in 1953, and attended the University of Vermont. She obtained a degree in mathematics and intended to become a teacher. However, teaching jobs were scarce, so she worked as a model for a year to pay rent. She landed a teaching job a year later.
She says that she writes because of her endless curiosity about the world.

Reviews

[Josh Barker · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Book not worth a second of your time
By Josh Evan Barker

In the early ancient world the largest civilization was Egypt. It is one of the oldest civilizations and it is still around today. Among many books about Ancient Egypt I read a very confusing book called, A Place in the Sun. I would not recommend this book to anyone. It is so confusing and does not give enough background. There are two stories going on in the book. One about Pharaoh Ramses II and his son. His son, who is Merneptah dreams of being Pharaoh, but during a time when the plague is spreading he gets very sick and almost dies.

The other story is where a boy named Sunmut's father is bitten by a snake and becomes unconscious. Being a wicked generation and superstitious Sunmut thought the only way to cure his father was to build a small statue of one of the immoral gods of the Egyptian culture. He accidentally kills a dove while putting his mallet down, which is a crime worthy of death. A doctor somehow sees the whole thing happen pleads on Sunmut's case. Instead of death the boy is to work in a gold mine. He meats a friend who slips away through the desert and sees him later at the Governor's Office. Sunmut's I'm guessing steals gold and builds the statue again that got him in trouble and guards find out. He is getting ready to be burned the governor somehow hears about it from 200 miles away. He says in the book “Bring me the boy from the goldmine 200 miles away.” He somehow stops the burning and gets Sunmut out of trouble somehow and Sunmut somehow ends up at the palace of King Ramses where the two stories meet.

At the end Sunmet holds the statue over Merneptah's face so the gods will free him from his sleep. It is not indicated weather Merneptah was dead or asleep, but the reaction of him waking is so big it seems like he had died. And Merneptah wakes up and everyone is so happy. He meets Sunmet and lets him be an apprentice to the Royal Sculptor.

This story has so many lose ends where you just guess of what's happening or what happened. The author is Jill Rubalcaba and if I can help it I will read no more of her books. The two stories don't come together well either because Sunmet is escorted by soldiers home. The chapter then ends and the next chapter begins with Sunmet at The Pharaoh's palace. I want to clearly state that if you have not yet read the book, don't waist your time and instead read The Cat of Bubastes, A Tale of Ancient Egypt by G.A. Henty. This book is worth not one second of your time. If you read, enjoy ;-).

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for one of my kids’ homeschool classes. The plot is decently fast-paced (good thing, since I didn’t have much warning to get it from the library, and had to binge read the whole thing to him this afternoon). I had to give him some context about ancient Egyptian religion and the real historic figures mentioned, namely Ramses II. But it held both of my sons’ interest (ages 9 and 7) for the length of the book. They thought the punishments were very harsh, especially for a child, but they overall liked it. The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me. (And the kindergartener loudly and repeatedly declared it “so boring”.)

[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not that great of a story.

[Sara Jones · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book out loud to my kids bc it was recommended to supplement their writing and history curriculum. It is a disjointed account of idol worship in Ancient Egypt. I almost gave it 2 stars bc it did give us a better understanding of life in Ancient Egypt and their belief in many gods and an afterlife. We were able to have simple discussions as to the differences and similarities to our faith. However, it was painful to read out loud to my children. I skipped over the prayers and worship to idols and statues. I would not recommend this book.

[Susan Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Expression of the Divine

Very nicely done, moving and quite accurate in its details. It's nice to see Ramses II portrayed as a person with human feelings, for a change. I realize that this book doesn't have an overt message, but it certainly has a pervasive subtext: love is more important than anything else, in all ages. Who is to say that the love an artist puts into their work makes that piece less an expression of the divine because it portrays a god we don't recognize?

[Holly Folkening · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read for middle graders on Ancient/Egyptian history. My daughter will read this for a class this year. The premise is the Sumnet goes from cursing to blessing, rags to fame, student to professor, in a matter of 75 pages. I was trying to follow all the Egyptian gods, and what role each plays in the story. The plot however was clear.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great historical fiction book about Ancient Egypt.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

i can not always under stand what part it is at or who is speaking

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved this story which helped my kids and I really feel how Egyptian life was. However, the writing wasn’t the best. It was kind of a choppy read aloud.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ready this aloud with my children, who were interested in Ancient Egypt. I felt the setting could have been more vivid and the characters lacked depth.

[Laurie Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting historical fiction book for children, that is set in context of the culture of Ancient Egypt. My kids and I read this in our homeschool history studies.

[Karen O · Rating 2 out of 5]

ok book, set over 300 years ago.

[Vanesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recuerdo que me impactó mucho esta historia cuando la leí de adolescente.

[DeNae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this aloud with my 11 year old, and we both commented on how much was missing from the story. It was fast-paced to the point of frenetic and missing some key information and closure.

[Hannah of the Sky · Rating 1 out of 5]

An interesting story set in ancient Egypt. Plot moved quickly but was disjointed at times, and the prose often felt clunky. Lack of character motivation made the story feel aimless and the ending unsatisfying.

[Miss Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

gr 3-6 77pgs


Ancient Egypt. Senmut wants to be a famous sculptor like his father one day. When his father falls ill from a cobra's bite, Senmut decides to make a statue Sekhmet to honor the goddess so that she would heal his father. Instead, Senmut's chisel accidentally kills a dove and he is condemned to the gold mines. Senmut is determined to survive and find a way to return home.

Good story!

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A taste of Egyptian culture with a decent plot line. This book will help older children cement Egyptian culture into their minds much more easily than memorizing text book facts. Parents should be prepared to deal with the heavy influence of Egyptian polytheism when reading this with their children.

[Adrianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book - served it's purpose of providing some insights to living in ancient Egypt. Wasn't anything earth shattering, nonetheless, my girls enjoyed this book as part of their homeschool program using the IEW writing program.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Place in the Sun by Jill Rubalcaba (1998)

[May · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was pretty good