The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs

by Tamara Bower

This story is based on one found on a papyrus scroll of hieroglyphs from the nineteenth century B.C., Egypt. It tells the tale of a voyage on the Red Sea to a mysterious and enchanted land of riches located south of Egypt. On his way to the King's gold mines, a sailor is shipwrecked on a magic island, the Island of the Soul. Not long after he arrives, a gigantic serpent with scales of gold appears and reveals to the sailor that he is the Prince of Punt, and is also a lone survivor. The two become good friends, but one day a ship comes to rescue the sailor. Bearing gifts from the Prince, the sailor returns to Egypt with full hands, and a full heart. This is a tale of the surprising (and fortuitous) bonds that unite us, and of the good that comes to us when we least expect it. Tamara Bower's lush illustrations are rendered in Egyptian style, and phrases from the story appear in hieroglyphs with their literal translations.

Genres: Picture Books, Egypt, History, Childrens, Mythology, Nonfiction, Historical

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun story with room for imagination (is the serpent a dragon? a dinosaur? how did it learn human language?). I liked that unlike many later tales, as in th ancient Lugalbanda there is no assumption that "monstrous" creatures are necessarily bad -- I guess that trope hadn't been established yet. The serpent seemed interesting to talk to; definitely better than being shipwrecked solo!

The illustrations were really good. I liked how the hieroglyphs and surmised pronunciation were worked into a decorative frame, so one could get a sense of the rhythm of the prose.

Also, excellent historical notes in the back, especially if you are interested in ships/navy/travel. I had not known, or forgot, that Egyptian ships had to be disassembled, so the sailors had to know how to put them back together after portaging the pieces. No nails, just pegwork! And they were marked to show what went where. Definitely look at this afterward if you have a construction-minded kid.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tamara Bower, an archaeological illustrator who trained at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, here presents a picture-book adaptation of the story of 'The Shipwrecked Sailor,' originally found in an Ancient Egyptian hieratic scroll from the 19th century BC. Setting out on a voyage down the Red Sea, the sailor's ship sinks in a storm, and he himself washes up on the Island of the Soul. Here he is befriended by a massive serpent, the Prince of Punt, who aids him during the course of his four months on the island. Eventually he is rescued by another Egyptian ship, and carries home many rich gifts for Pharaoh...

The original full story of the shipwrecked sailor can be found both in Miriam Lichtheim's Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdoms , as well as John L. Foster's Ancient Egyptian Literature: An Anthology . Bower's presentation is engaging, pairing her retelling with illustrations done in an Egyptian style. Every other page or so, a phrase in hieroglyphs is shown, with a literal translation. The back matter includes a note about the story, an explanation of the symbolism embedded in the illustrations, a note about hieroglyphs, and a list of further reading. All in all, this was a lovely children's version of an ancient story, one not well known in the modern world. Reading it made me want to pick up a larger anthology of ancient Egyptian writing - perhaps one of the two mentioned above. It also made me aware of the dearth of good children's books on the subject. I see that Bower herself has penned two others - How the Amazon Queen Fought the Prince of Egypt and The Mummy Makers of Egypt - I will have to see about tracking those down as well.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An Egyptian tale based on a story found on an ancient papyrus scroll from the 19 century B.C. Includes hieroglyphics as well as colorful illustrations. My daughter found the facts at the back to be more interesting than the story itself.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story, taken from ancient scrolls, reads like a myth or fairy tale. The illustrations are made to look like ancient Egyptian art. The story is short and fantastic, and each page has one sentence highlighted in English. That sentence is shown in the original hieroglyphs with an exact translation into the English either on the top or bottom of the page. The end of the book contains a short explanation of why the sailors would be going on that particular trip, how long it would take, and the dangers they likely would have faced. There’s also explanations of the symbols in the illustrations, and about hieroglyphs as well. The book is colorful and interesting, appropriate for a range of students, maybe 2nd-6th grade.

[Lewis Wilkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun accessible books offers:

- one of the oldest written stories (2000 BCE, Egyptian Middle Kingdom, hieratic)

- one English paragraph, one hieroglyphic sentence glossed for easy comprehension, and beautiful illustrations on every page

- Simple, short, heart-warming adventure narrative that influenced other spiritual adventure castaway tales like Homer’s Odyssey, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Jules Verne's Mysterious Island, Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Shipwrecked Sailor, and the film Castaway

For the thrill of reading hieroglyphs in a classic text, find this book at DC or Gail Borden libraries but not currently at Barnes and Noble.

[Josie Newbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is based on an actual Egyptian story from the 19th Century BCE. The Egyptian legend tells of a sailor who was traveling on the Red Sea and gets shipwrecked on the Island of Soul where he meets a gigantic serpent. This serpent, the Prince of Punt, and the lone survivor of his people befriends the sailor and when the time comes for the sailor to return home, he is given many gifts to present to the Pharaoh.

[Anna Mock · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a read-aloud for ancient Egyptian history. It was pretty short and honestly, the best part of the book was the "Note About the Story" at the end. This book is really about learning how hieroglyphs worked. I think the notes about the hieroglyphs and the symbols would have been more useful if they had been at the beginning of the book.

[Dorrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, intriguing and authentic glimpse into the world of Ancient Egypt based on an ancient text and illustrated with hieroglyphs in such an appealing and absorbing way throughout. A absolute must-read for budding Egyptologists everywhere. Enchanting.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the bits with direct translation. Also all the notes at the end.

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool that it was an ancient story from a papyrus.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for children! I love that hieroglyphs and their meanings wee included, showing how this ancient story originally looked and was translated.

[Ordinary Alien]

For the best experience, I recommend reading the endnotes first.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on an actual Egyptian text, and illustrated with some real hieroglyphs. Excellent for the whole family.

[Kiddo · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is just fine in my opinion, but kido has been asking for it over and over. The illustrations are unique in that they are in the 2-D Egyptian style. My favorite thing about this book is the hieroglyphs on each page. One sentence from the text of each page is highlighted and translated into hieroglyphs. Another nice thing is the map at the end of the story.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taken from an actual ancient tale written on a papyrus scroll.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the hieroglyphs that accompanied the story. Excellent illustrations. I want to read more from this author!

[Cameron Townsend · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interesting little tale about a man who meets a serpent-god. Not very long, but entertaining nonetheless.

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is based on a story found in an ancient papyrus scroll dating back to the 19 century B.C.

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting quick Egyptian tale to read when covering Ancient Egypt, hieroglyphics, or just for fun.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love

[Rani · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shipwrecked sailor finds friend and hope in this adventure tale. Illustrated with glorious hieroglyphs, this is a great book.

[Bode · Rating 4 out of 5]

Si eres valiente
Y te autocontrolas,
Entonces llenaras tus abrazos con tus hijos,
Besaras a tu mujer
Y verás tu casa.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Nice pictures, interesting story, loved the historical connection. Yay!

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I know this book took a lot of research and time to create . . . but I just didn't like it.