What comes to mind when you think about Ancient Egypt? Maybe it’s Queen Cleopatra, The Great Pyramids of Giza, hieroglyphs, mummies or something else. Whether you love history or not, you can’t deny that Ancient Egypt fascinates pretty much anyone. Why? Because it’s both a unique and complex civilisation we don’t know enough about.
If you are a young reader or an adult who is intimidated by chunky history books about Ancient Egypt, give Awesome Egyptian a try, a nonfiction children’s book co-authored by Terry Deary and Peter Hepplewhite and illustrated by Martin Brown. This short book comprises of an introduction, a brief timeline that includes the most important events of each ruling dynasty (from The Old Kingdom to the arrival of the Arabs), surprising information about the Pharaohs, the enigmatic pyramids, the frightening mummies, grave robbers, the Nile, Egyptian deities, life of ordinary people and many more facts you probably didn’t know.
Though the 3000 years of Ancient Egyptian history seem like a daunting read, the authors of this book know how to intertwine facts with games, jokes and stories that will make the learning experience enjoyable. Awesome Egyptians gripped me from the start and I refused to put it down until I finished it. My favourite chapter was the one about mummies, the mummification process and the afterlife. I know that the subject of mummification is a bit gruesome, but it’s still interesting to read about it because the Egyptians paid a lot of attention and meticulously prepared their rulers for the afterlife.
“Egyptians believed that one day the world would end. When it did they would move on to their afterlife. To make that long journey they would need their earthly body. If their body was allowed to rot then they wouldn’t be able to go.” (The Awesome Egyptians, Loc. 437)
In the end, Awesome Egyptians, as well as the other Horrible Histories books, makes history easier to learn in a fun and interactive way for readers of all ages.