Riddle of the Rosetta Stone, Reader Grade 6: Harcourt School Publishers Collections

by James Cross Giblin

Until the Rosetta Stone was finally translated and the decoding of hieroglyphic writing made possible, much of Egyptian history was lost. The author has done a masterful job of distilling information, citing the highlights, and fitting it all together in an interesting and enlightening look at a puzzling subject. —H. "The social and intellectual history here are fascinating. A handsome, inspiring book." —K. Notable Children's Books of 1991 (ALA)Notable 1990 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC)Children's Books of 1990 (Library of Congress)100 Books for Reading and Sharing (NY Public Library)Parenting Honorable Mention, Reading Magic Award

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Egypt, Historical, Ancient History, Language, Childrens

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

James Cross Giblin was an American children's author and editor, known for his award-winning works. He won the Golden Kite Award and the Sibert Medal for his contributions to children's literature. Giblin was born in Cleveland and raised in Painesville, Ohio. He graduated from Western Reserve University and earned a master's in playwriting from Columbia University. After a brief acting career, he entered publishing, founding Clarion Books, a children's imprint later acquired by Houghton Mifflin. At Clarion, he edited works by notable authors like Eileen Christelow and Mary Downing Hahn. Giblin’s works include The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler and Good Brother, Bad Brother.

Reviews

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written at roughly an eighth grade reading level, so it is perfect for students researching reports on the subjects, but it's not dumbed-down and so it is still interesting for adults as well. The author takes you right alongside the thought process of Thomas Young and Jean-Francois Champollion, as well as the false starts of many others, as they solve for the hieroglyphs.

The story is related that when Champollion was eleven, the mathemetician Jean-Baptiste Fourier showed him his copy of the Rosetta Stone, and he announce that he was going to read it when he was big. One can hope that a young Champollion of our generation reads this book, and makes a similar vow for Linear A.

Also I learned that another copy of the decree was found in 1848, and yet another nearly-complete copy in 1887. And since the decree itself states that it is to be set up in each of the "first, second, and third rank temples besides the image of the ever-living king" one can hope that more repurposed stela stones are still yet to be found.

[Patina Malinalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an informative and accurate book about the Rosetta Stone - the rock, not the language program. It was interesting to read about the how they figured out the meanings of dead languages. It sounds like it was an intriguing challenge. Very quick read.

[Tobias Joan Bowers]

I read this book in school and I enjoyed it. I was surprised that Champollion deciphered the Rosetta Stone after several other scholars attempted to do this deed but no one figured it out. This book is absolutely amazing

[Carol Bakker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book on the riddle of the Rosetta Stone. I was familiar with the stone soldiers in Napolean's army discovered, with text in three languages that enabled moderns to decipher hieroglyphs; but I had no idea that it took more than one hundred years and the efforts of many scholars to translate all the writing on the stone.

The photographs, engravings and illustrations help with comprehension, but the clarity of Giblin's writing illuminates both the problem and the solution to the translating project.

[Juliette Montero · Rating 3 out of 5]

informational

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing to read through the books I actually own, I'm basically teaching myself the elementary history lessons that I never learned.

Short and to the point, but not dry, Giblin explains the actual processes that multiple scholars went through over 50+ years to translate the Rosetta Stone after it was unearthed by Napoleon's men at the turn of the 19th century. I appreciated a more in depth explanation of how the idea of hieroglyphs as a pictorial AND phonetic language was reached - basically through trial and error and building on the work of previous attempts to decipher that came before.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This excellent children’s book introduces the history of the Rosetta Stone and the way its discovery has shaped our understanding of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Although the subject matter is complicated, the author does a terrific job of explaining things clearly without ever condescending to his audience. An informative look at history and the methods by which the past is studied. Highly recommended for kids (or adults) who are at all interested in foreign languages, dead language, or ancient Egypt.

[Elsa · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Included in the Alveary ancient history books for grades 5-6. Commercial audiobook not available; is on Learning Ally. Illustrated with many engravings and b&w photos.]

Short but complete and understandable outline of the quest to decipher the Rosetta Stone. Emphasizes the accretion of knowledge and scholarship over time rather than any one scholar's contribution. The in-text diagrams of hieroglyphics, which illustrate how they were translated, are nicely done and contribute greatly to the clarity of the work.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty readable story of the finding and translating of the Rosetta Stone, and includes the translation at the end. It’s aimed at kids, but likely not of immense interest to just any student. I could see someone with an interest in languages or history enjoying this. It’s aimed probably at 7th-12th grade level, the vocabulary is not difficult, but some of the details are a little more in depth than your typical middle school book.

[CPH H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple hundred years ago some people from Europe (England? France?) went down to Egypt and took over multiple cities and while they were there they took some of the writing that was called hieroglyphs and were going to take it back to their country but when they were about to go back another country came and blocked them and took the Rosetta Stone away from them.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Succinct yet provides fascinating insight

[Inez Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick & painless read.

[Shelby Bethke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dry, but seems to cover the facts

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really engaging.

Liked it a lot.

[Sydney Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Better than I thought it would be, which I know is not a fair way to approach a book. 🙃 I was pre-reading for my kids’ history curriculum, but it ended up educating me, too!

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pre-read

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, quick read with a lot of good photos.

[Sybil Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward and easy to read with pictures of the Rosetta Stone and related artifacts

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written for an upper elementary or middle aged readership, this book gives a succinct description surrounding the discovery and translation of the Rosetta Stone. Giblin invokes a sense of wonder at the complexity of ancient languages and attempts to inspire an appreciation of the scope of the translation project through attention to the number of translators in countries all over Europe. He tells their personal stories, some of their reasons for working the way they did, and their triumphs and failures. I thought he did well with the amount of detail included for a younger audience.

[Marcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great non-fiction read that explains the amazing contribution the Rosetta Stone has made in learning the history of ancient Egypt. It is a quick and easy read that packs in a lot of information. It talks in detail of the seemingly impossible task of trying to decipher an unknown language, giving the reader a good understanding of not only the importance of the Rosetta Stone, but also the hard work put in by many to unlock it's secrets. Although it is an informational text, it reads more like a story making it suitable to younger students as well as adults. I believe it's target audience may be older teens and adults, but I think kids as young as fourth or fifth grade could read this book and gain something from it too.

[Debi Cates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intended for "young readers," in just 96 pages, it is a lively recounting of the history of how the Egyptian hieroglyphs were finally understood. It was the perfect bite-sized information I was looking for, with lots of photos, etchings, and graphic examples of hieroglyphic decoding.

When the stone, with three languages of the same text (a decree), was found by Napaleon's invading army 1799, it had been 1400 years since last anyone could read the hieroglyphs!

It took a few more decades, hindered first by the almost universal misunderstanding that the symbols were all symbols (not sounds). The key in the Rosetta stone was found via names (cartouches), specifically Ptolemy. Once it was proven that each symbols was a sound, it was a huge leap for scholars world wide to decode, building a larger and large understanding of the ancient language, including that it was a mixture of sound-based as well as symbolic. Then, suddenly, the world was awash in knowledge of the amazing ancient Egyptian history and culture, where there previously had been a mystery, a blank.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another summer read for my son. This one I really liked - I learned things and was amazed at how informal the book was even from a kids perspective. My son liked it too, although in one of his answers to his reading guide he wrote "it was ok, but I would not have read this if I had a choice" so fresh ;-).

I have a feeling he doesn't yet realize how lucky he is to have read this book. He will remember this information in the future and will be that much smarter because of it.

[Megan Everitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I teach 6th grade SS and this is one portion of ancient civilizations we discuss - I saw the book on the library shelf and wanted to know more so that I could share information with my students next year... It was a great read. Very informative and interesting. I thought it was extremely cool to be able to actually read the translation of the actual Rosetta Stone!

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice timeline for finding the rosetta stone, and then the key persons who built the translation of the hieroglyphs and other Egyptian writing. Very interesting. Only problem was the pictures sometimes broke up the reading mid-sentence.

[Natajia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read about the Rosetta Stone with a very clear timeline dedicated to the history of who had a hand in deciphering it. Great for anyone that has children wanting to learn more about ancient Egypt.

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada]

A very good summary of the events surrounding the discovery of Rosetta Stone and the subsequent attempts at interpreting hieroglyphics. Useful if you have a child studying Egypt or the Pyramids. If you have a child reading the 39 Clues have them read this book with the Egypt title.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, clear read. A good explanation for kids about the Rosetta Stone and the process of deciphering it. I especially liked how photographs of statues were included that had the symbols explained on the page so the reader could see that it said Ptolemy on an actual artifact.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, this is a YA book, but I still couldn't help that I enjoyed the little overview it provided. Nice, concise summary about the background of how the Rosetta Stone was decoded. Places you right in the history with nice accompanying photos. Only takes about a 1/2 hour of your time. Fun!

[Bear · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this shortly after reading "The Linguist and the Emperor" by Daniel Meyerson. They include much of the same information, but Meyerson, of course, has more detail on the people involved in the excavation of the Rosetta Stone than this much simpler book did.

[Analee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It solved the Riddle for me. Very informative, I read it in a half hour. I love this stuff!