History Smashers: Ancient Egypt

History Smashers #11

by Kate Messner

Myths! Lies! Secret mummy curses? Grab your head lamp, the award-winning History Smashers are headed to Ancient Egypt to dig up the truth about this incredible early civilization—and the many myths that will be buried once and for all.

In 1922, explorers opened King Tut's tomb and a nasty hex was placed on everyone present. RIGHT? Not so much. Okay, but aliens did soar in on a space craft and build the Pyramids, right? WRONG!

The discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb taught historians a lot about ancient Egyptian culture. But no one incurred the wrath of a mummy. And this early civilization had the money, power, and smarts to build the Pyramids--along with a host of other impressive structures! 

Join the History Smashers team to bust history's biggest misconceptions around the ancient Egyptians and decipher the truth behind this innovative civilization that spanned thousands of years!

Ready to bust new myths? Check out more titles in the History Smashers
History The MayflowerHistory The TitanicHistory Pearl HarborHistory Plagues and Pandemics

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Childrens, Historical, Egypt

208 pages, Library Binding

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com

Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner

...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the History Smashers series that I have read, I have loved, to a certain degree, whether I agree with everything said there. The author is very careful to explain how things have changed since whatever is being discussed in the book, was first discussed. In this case, there is a lot of history that has been written.

The first thing to understand is that not only was Ancient Egypt’s history lost to the modern world, but during the time of Ancient Egypt, if a new king didn’t like the former king, he would go around trying to remove any mention of him, smashing statues, scratching out his name, revising history.

This makes it hard for people from about the Regency era, on, to figure out what is going on. And the author admits that some stuff is conjecture, and guessing. And what the author does best is to bring up myths, and explain why they don't’ work. There is a common story, for example, that Napoleon was responsible for breaking the nose off the Sphinx. However, there is evidence that the nose has been missing at least 80 years before that time, and is even mentioned as missing several hundred years before that.

The author not only goes over what is known and unknown about the history, but also the artifacts that were stolen from Egypt in modern times, and where they are, such as the bust of Nefertiti being in Berlin, and the Rosetta stone being in the UK.

For those who want to know about Ancient Egypt, this is a very comprehensive book to use. There is even a timeline of dates to get you to see just how long the kingdom lasted, and also the dates of when things were rediscovered.

I would recommend this for kids who want to know, and for adults as well. There are even little asides, throughout the book, such as how people thought aliens built the pyramids, and how we underestimate the ancient Egyptians by thinking that.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out the 7th of October 2025.

[Shilo Quetchenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent mythbusting overview of Ancient Egypt. Kiddo (11) and I were greatly entertained by this book. It's very funny and written in a way that really makes it engaging. We both learned a lot about Ancient Egypt and its history and discovery.

It also tackles the questionable ethics of the people who took all the artifacts out of Egypt (and refuse to give them back), which is a very important topic that often gets glossed over in books about archeological discovery.

The text is divided into sections which are easily digestible and break up the information to keep it from becoming overwhelming. Kiddo would have had no problem reading it on his own, but he still enjoys being read to at bedtime, and this was perfect for that purpose. (We did on a few nights stay up later than we meant to because we were both so invested we forgot to stop reading.)

The History Smashers books are great in general, and this is an excellent addition to the series.

*Thanks to Random House Books for Young Readers for providing an early copy for review.

[Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely the exact type of book that adds fun and information to my 6th Grade Social Studies classes.

The illustrations, graphics and writing are all perfectly engaging for 11-12 year olds who want to know a little bit more about what their good ole teacher is talking about. Now I need a book on Mesopotamia, Ancient China and Ancient India.

Thank you Random House, Kate Messner and NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher

Even more packed with information than previous volumes. A frenetic mix of text, graphic novel style panels, asides, and more.

For coverage of King Tut, I do highly recommend Fleming's Curse of the Mummy.

[June Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Egypt is a favorite topic and I love this series, so a win-win for me. Kate Messner manages to squeeze in lots of information and frequently with humor. Given the huge stretch of time Ancient Egypt falls into, there's lots of information, too, as well as fact-checking, so to speak. Her light touch makes it an easy, enjoyable read and there are lots and lots of pictures. It's divided into sections, giving you a sense of where you are in history as you read and, quite frankly, helping not overwhelm us with too much at one time. Obviously there is some overlap, such as in the evolution of pyramid building, starting with Imhotep's first pyramid way back in, well, you'll get all that info as you read, which is a good thing since I didn't write down the date. I did note that the Great Pyramid used over 23 million blocks weighing about a ton each, so my attention to detail was obviously scattered.

In any case, my scarcity of notes aside, you'll learn a great deal about Egyptian history, not to mention the ancient mythology which I've always found fascinating. Mummies? Of courses there is info on them. I found the discussion of the taking, okay, theft, of some of Egypt's wonder artifacts by various other countries quite pertinent in light of current chatter about a valuable painting stolen by the Nazis being discovered recently. Another timely subject might be that in the time of Ancient Egypt rulers tended to try to erase the accomplishments or even existence of prior kings by destroying as much evidence of their rule as possible, whether it be by re-engraving their own name in stone (literally) as a claim to accomplishments or simple having them destroyed. And, of, much, much more. All done with a deft hand and frequently light touch.

Bottom line, this book would be an excellent addition to any social studies teacher or library, not to mention your own. There's a handy timeline, too, to help you sort out the multitude of info you can pick up from this fun offering. The whimsical cover is an excellent preview of the tone light, even whimsical tone of much this full-of-facts work, making it an easy read. The Ancient Egypt Yearbook spoof near the end is a hoot and includes things like misuse of ancient musical instruments and, well, mummies themselves. I won't tell you some of the things they were used for. Read the book. As noted, lots to learn here, even if it may make you cringe more than once. The humorous illustrations of ways our culture has been influenced by all things Egypt is fun, too, from architecture and Vegas to actor-author-comedian-musician Steve "King Tut" Martin, albeit I didn't see his name mentioned. Just knew immediately what was being referenced, again showing the power of the connection. Thanks #RandomHouseChildrensBooks and #NetGalley for allowing me an early peek at this fun book.

[The Unschoolers · Rating 4 out of 5]

We just finished this one as we wrapped up our homeschool learning of Ancient Egypt (for now... ha). We are huge fans of the History Smashers series by Kate Messner and own many of the books- this will definitely be another purchase for our collection!

I will say that there is a LOT of material to cover around Ancient Egypt and so this book definitely has more going on than some of the other History Smashers that cover a specific event (like the Titanic, for example). My just-turned 8yo had a harder time keeping track of everything so I would definitely stick with the suggested age of around 4th grade for this one (we are just wrapping up second, so a little younger than the target audience). I will say that Messner does a good job of giving a good overview of Ancient Egypt and there was lots of overlap with other things we've learned but also plenty of new information to keep us engaged.

As with all the History Smashers series, there was a good balance of text, illustrations, and comic style to keep us reading and illustrate points. Always highly recommend these as a good introduction to non-fiction chapter books because Messner just makes the topics SO engaging.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this one! Looking forward to more in the History Smashers series in the future!

[YSBR · Rating 4 out of 5]

The History Smashers series never disappoints and this one is sure to be a hit with young readers because young history buffs are perpetually fascinated by ancient Egypt.  This expository nonfiction book has several appealing avenues for sharing information including comprehensive chapters, graphic novel-style panels, photographs, and drawings. All illustrations and photographs are black and white. Readers will enjoy the factual content, often written with humor. This book incorporates text features that will make it accessible, including a bibliography and index. The author’s note is warm and personal, detailing Messner’s childhood fascination with ancient Egypt, and her own experiences seeing Tutankhamun’s funeral mask.

My two favorite aspects of this book are the fact snippets sprinkled throughout on shaded scrolls. I found many of them incredibly interesting, especially one titled “Whoopsers!” about embalmers making mistakes when mummifying people. I also enjoyed the very clever “Ancient Egypt Yearbook” at the end. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Charessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the eGalley to review!

The History Smashers series does it again and I can tell you right now that this is going to be a BIG hit for kids in their Ancient Egypt phase!

As someone who had that phase and is still into Egyptology, I also really loved this book. It shed light on so many things that have been mysterious or muddled by years of misinterpretation or half truths, setting the record straight on many things pertaining Ancient Egypt. Not everything that could possibly be the subject of an obscure history trivia night is in here, but the most important things are and that's what matters. It also advocates for the better treatment of Egyptian national treasures (such as those still housed outside of the country) and provides a marvelous bibliography and additional reading list in the back of the book.

If you could have one book on Ancient Egypt as a whole in your nonfiction, make it this one.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I love the History Smashers series, and the kid in me that grew up wanting to be an Egyptologist/archaeologist would have absolutely loved to have had this book in school. It’s a very basic overview of a ton of information, but she does it in an easy to follow way peppered with interesting facts and stories. I think she could’ve made it a tad bit longer to include a bit more, but overall, I think it’s a good length for the intended audience. The illustrations and images were well done and well-curated to keep student interest engaged. I do feel like the book very abruptly ended with the fall of Cleopatra and could have used a bit more information to bring things to a close, but, again, I think it is fine for the intended audience and will hopefully pique further study. Overall, well done and very interesting!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

HISTORY SMASHERS: ANCIENT EGYPT is another fascinating and informative installment of this nonfiction series by Kate Messner. Using text, photographs, and graphic novel style panels, readers learn about the history of ancient Egypt, including the kings (and queens), mythology, mummies, and awe-inspiring structures that we’ve come to associate with the topic. As in the other titles in the series, the book addresses some of the common misinformation about ancient Egypt, reframing the falsehoods using well-researched information from reliable sources. The book also discusses ethical issues around Egyptian artifacts, many of which were taken from Egypt and are now displayed in other parts of the world. This will be welcomed by fans of the series and will also be a great book for middle grade fans of ancient Egypt and history in general.

[Amber Wessies Owrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading a few fictional books set in Ancient Egypt or Egpyt-like settings, it was helpful and interesting to learn more about the actual history of Egypt. Messner writes about things that would be most interesting to younger children and helps debunk some rumors about Ancient Egypt. I appreciated that she also covers the current situation of Egyptian artifacts and how they were acquired.
This will be great in color with real photographs in the final version as well.
I would recommend this to elementary students wanting to learn more about Ancient Egypt or for context of fiction books set in a similar place and time.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the eARC.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's so much in this one! I'm a big fan of the History Smashers series but this one adds another level because it's a time period that I know less about than some of the others. Of course, dribs and drabs like the "mummy's curse" that Fleming wrote about as the British explorers pillaged the tombs of the pharoah's without giving a second thought or name dropping certain leaders as Ancient Egypt developed. Messner touches on the Rosetta Stone and hieroglyphs but also agriculture and mummification.

Absolutely enthralled by this next installment.

[Kelly {SpaceOnTheBookcase] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back with another edition of History Smashers, author Kate Messner is diving into all things Ancient Egypt. From the pyramids to the pharaohs and everything in between, History Smashers: Ancient Egypt brings both humor and wit in delivering what is real and what is myth. Entertained from start to finish, I really loved how these books are structures with illustrations, break out blurbs and bodies of text. Easy to read, but also easy to reference, I love this series for middle grade nonfiction.

Thank you Random House Kids for the gifted copy.

[Abigail Pankau · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good mid-grade history book covering Ancient Egypt, including its history, its writing systems, the pyramids, mummification, and why so many artifacts are no longer in Egypt. It also corrects some misconceptions including alien builders, the Sphinx’s lost nose, and cursed tombs. It also discusses how there are gaps in what is known either because it wasn’t written down, or it was erased, or they have conflicting accounts. It’s a good overall explainer for kids or even for adults who just want to learn the basics.

[Amanda Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastically eye-opening and informative. I've always been as charmed by Egyptian art and history as the next girl. But I'm embarrassed to say that I did not know what the Rosetta Stone was before I read this book. There are many other shocking and interesting facts to be uncovered as well. I couldn't count how many times I said, "huh!" out loud while reading it.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read up on the history of Egypt on my way to visit the pyramids… it was cool to learn more about King Tut, hieroglyphs, mummies, and so many other Egyptian facts - and myths! Super cool middle grade series, but this one was even perfect for this grown-up reader. :-)

[A B Rhoads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love everything about Egypt and Egyptian history, so this was the perfect book for me.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book about ancient Egypt for kids. I like that she discussed the fact that many countries took artifacts from Egypt and still have not returned them.

[Bradley Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this for my daughter’s 7th birthday to read to her. She is a huge fan of King Tut. I wasn’t familiar with his work, until now.

Give Egypt its dang artifacts back!

[Mandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

History Smashers does it again, Ancient Egypt style! This book is fascinating from page one to the very end exploring what you think you know about the Ancient Egyptians and informing you of what life was really like. This book was riveting.

This e-ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review. #Netgalley