Tales of Ancient Egypt: Myths & Adventures from the Land of the Pyramids

by Hugo D. Cook, Neon Squid, Sona Avedikian (illustrator)

Discover amazing true stories and breathtaking myths from ancient Egypt in this book by TikTok Egyptologist Hugo D. Cook, featuring stunning illustrations from Sona Avedikian.

Everyone knows the story of Tutankhamun, but the ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for more than 3,000 years—which means there are loads more amazing tales to be told! Egyptologist and TikTok star Hugo D. Cook (aka Hugo the Egyptologist) has scoured ancient texts and translated hieroglyphs to bring readers stories of love, betrayal, and royal scandal featuring pharaohs, priests, gods, and goddesses.

The book combines historical stories, including the time Cleopatra hid in a sack to be smuggled into a palace to meet Julius Caesar, with rip-roaring myths, like the Cinderella story of a peasant girl who married the pharaoh when he found her slipper. Readers will also be awed by incredible lesser-known stories such

• How Ramses the Great dealt with a horde of mysterious pirates
• The real story of a queen's cunning plot to assassinate the king
• The shapeshifting wizard-king who defended Egypt with magic boats

Told with great fun and impeccably researched, readers will slip into a tomb at night with a band of mischievous tomb robbers and witness epic battles featuring elephants and ostriches. Interspersed through the stories are pages explaining the history of ancient Egypt on the banks of the Nile, from how pyramids were built to a step-by-step guide to wrapping a mummy.

With a beautiful cloth-textured cover featuring shiny foil, Tales of Ancient Egypt is the perfect gift for kids interested in ancient Egypt.

Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2024

Reviews

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

This introduction to Ancient Egyptian myths and culture is perfect for younger readers, especially since most of what we learn in school focuses on Greek mythology. I highly recommend it to kids who are interested in myths and history. It was really interesting to learn about the rediscovery of hieroglyphs in particular.

That being said, I know (as an adult) I’m not the target audience, but this wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I was hoping for an easy introduction to the myths I didn’t experience as a kid, but I felt like I didn’t learn enough about the "personalities" and roles of the major gods to get a real sense of the pantheon. There were more true stories and facts, which is where the “and adventures” part of the title comes in. It jumps between characters and topics a lot which I think makes retention more difficult. It’s a great intro for kids, but not quite what I was hoping for.

[Jeanne Charbonneau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not the target audience for this book, as it is written for young YA readers, but I picked it up largely because we're planning an (eventual) trip to Egypt and the mythology is inherently interesting. I enjoyed the book and particularly the explanation of how the understanding of hieroglyphics was lost, and then rediscovered, thanks to the work of very careful archeologists. Some of the stories many will know, but there are enough that aren't common knowledge that it was, as I suspected, an inherently interesting, informative book. I'd recommend this a gift for any 3rd to 7th grade student.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the information that spanned the 3,000 years of ancient Egypt's history. I enjoyed the mythology as well as the stories about the lives of people living in ancient Egypt. I did sometimes have trouble understanding where within the 3,000 year period the different stories were taking place.

I thought the music and audio effects were really well done.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic to read some stories that have never been translated or published for the public before. They were full of wonder and excitement - definitely a must-read for any young Egyptologists.