20 Books Every Child Should Read About Egypt

calendar_today Jul 04, 2022
comment 0 comments

Egypt is one of the earliest civilizations in the world, with a rich history and heritage. It is always fascinating reading about it. We thought it would be great to compile a list of great children's books about Egypt for parents, teachers and children who love this wonderful country.

Feel free to check out our booklists on children's books from Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, and Bilingual African children's books.

	Casting the Gods Adrift Casting the Gods Adrift is thriller set in ancient Egypt between 1351-1354 BC. Tutmose and Ibrim's father, the animal dealer, is commanded by the new pharaoh Akhenaten, to bring him animals - lots of animals - for his new capital city. The boys' father is delighted. But he has no idea what the pharaoh's strange new religion will mean for all of them... Recommended Age: 8 - 12 years
	Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile is written in a diary-style format, this work presents the experiences and feelings of the young queen-to-be while providing informative facts about her homelife, family and royal enviroment. 90,000 first printing. Recommended Age: 9years +
	Fatima the Spinner and the Tent Fatima the Spinner and the Tent - Fatima is a young woman whose life seems beset by one disaster after another. Setting forth on a journey from her home in the West, she is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone near Alexandria, Egypt. Adopted by a local family of weavers, and beginning to prosper in her new life, she is captured and forced to work making masts for ships. While undertaking a journey to sell the masts, she finds herself shipwrecked once again – this time off the coast of China, where she finally realizes that what seemed to be disasters were really essential steps toward her eventual fulfillment. Recommended Age: 8 - 12 years
	Hiding Baby Moses Hiding Baby Moses - A baby boy is hidden in a basket floating on the Nile. A fearful mother sings a song of protection. And a brave big sister seeks a chance to save her brother. Meet the family of baby Moses in this lyrical retelling, and see how God's faithfulness can be revealed through one small person who takes a big risk for someone she loves. Recommended Age: 4 - 8 years
	Hieroglyphs Hieroglyphs - Ancient Egypt is a subject of never-ending fascination for primary grade kids. Here they learn all about hieroglyphs, the beautiful pictogram writing that appears on mummy cases, papyrus scrolls, tomb walls, etc. What do the different symbols mean? How did we learn to decipher hieroglyphs? What was school and learning to read and write like for children of ancient Egypt? The information is accessible and fascinating, plus kids have the fun of creating hieroglyph messages and "works of art" using the accompanying stencil. Recommended Age: 7 - 10 years
	Imhotep of Ancient Kemet Imhotep of Ancient Kemet will take readers back 5,000 years in time to a period when the land in Egypt was greener and life was simpler. Readers will be introduced to a multi-talented genius named Imhotep who changed history forever. Recommended Age: 4 - 12 years
	Miriam and Pharoah's Daughter Miriam and Pharoah's Daughter - to save baby Moses, Miriam and her mother place him in a basket and set him adrift on the river. As Miriam watches from the reeds, she hopes that someone will find and rescue him. And someone does--Pharaoh's daughter! Recommended Age: 3 - 5 years
	Mummy Cat Mummy Cat prowls his pyramid home, longing for his beloved owner. As he roams the tomb, lavish murals above his head display scenes of the cat with his young Egyptian queen, creating a story-within-a-story about the events of centuries past. Hidden hieroglyphs deepen the tale and are explained in an informative author’s note. Recommended Age: 6 - 9 years
	Of Numbers and Stars Of Numbers and Stars - Presents the life of a Egyptian woman who lived in fifth century Alexandria and became a respected scholar in mathematics and philosophy. Recommended Age: 4 - 8 years
	Pepi and the Secret Names Pepi and the Secret Names - When his father is commissioned to paint the Egyptian prince Dhutmose's tomb, young Pepi is determined to help and begins a dangerous quest to find real-life models of mythological creatures. Recommended Age: 6 - 8 years
	Secrets Of A Sun King Secrets Of A Sun King - When Lilian Kaye finds a parcel on her grandad's doorstep, she is shocked to see who sent it: a famous Egyptologist, found dead that very morning, according to every newspaper in England! The mysterious package holds the key to a story . . . about a king whose tomb archaeologists are desperately hunting for. Lil and her friends must embark on an incredible journey - to return the package to its resting place, to protect those they love, and to break the deadly pharaoh's curse . . . Recommended Age: 9 - 12 years
	Temple Cat Temple Cat - "This endearing tale is sure to find favor wherever cat stories are in demand. Worshipped as a god with servants to coddle him, a temple cat in ancient Egypt yearns for the freedom to live as a normal feline . . ." Recommended Age: 4 - 7 years
	The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story The Arabic Quilt: An Immigrant Story - Kanzi's family has moved from Egypt to America, and on her first day in a new school, what she wants more than anything is to fit in. Maybe that's why she forgets to take the kofta sandwich her mother has made for her lunch, but that backfires when Mama shows up at school with the sandwich. Mama wears a hijab and calls her daughter Habibti (dear one). When she leaves, the teasing starts. That night, Kanzi wraps herself in the beautiful Arabic quilt her teita (grandma) in Cairo gave her and writes a poem in Arabic about the quilt. Next day her teacher sees the poem and gets the entire class excited about creating a "quilt" (a paper collage) of student names in Arabic. In the end, Kanzi's most treasured reminder of her old home provides a pathway for acceptance in her new one. Recommended Age: 6 - 8 years
	The Egyptian Cinderella The Egyptian Cinderella -This Egyptian spin on the classic Cinderella tale was initially recorded in the first century by a Roman historian and is retold here by folklorist Shirley Climo. Poor Rhodopis! She has nothing—no mother or father, and no friends. She is a slave, from the far-off country of Greece. Only the beautiful rose-red slippers her master gives her can make Rhodopis smile. So when a falcon swoops down and snatches one of the slippers away, Rhodopis is heartbroken. For how is she to know that the slipper will land in the lap of the great Pharaoh himself? And who would ever guess that the Pharaoh has promised to find the slipper’s owner and make her queen of all Egypt? Recommended Age: 4 - 8 years
	The Mummy Makers of Egypt The Mummy Makers of Egypt - life in ancient Egypt are told through the eyes of Ipy, whose father is embalmer to the King. Yuya, father of the Queen, has died and Ipy must help his father in the mummification process. Yuya is an actual mummy and the discovery of his tomb is an entertaining story in itself, with the archaeologist Theodore Davis fainting at the sight of so much gold, and the portly Gaston Maspero getting stuck while trying to climb into the tomb. Yuya's tomb was a spectacular discovery in the Valley of the Kings that was later overshadowed only by the discovery of King Tut, Yuya's great-grandson. Recommended Age: 7 - 10 years
	The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs - 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. Recommended Age: 7 - 10 years
	The Time-Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess The Time-Travelling Cat and the Egyptian Goddess - Topher and his father are trying to get over the death of Topher's mother, an Egyptologist, when they take in a stray cat. The cat bears an uncanny resemblance to a cat ornament given to Topher by his mother, so they name it "Ka," meaning "double." Topher becomes attached to Ka and is puzzled by her mysterious absences. One day, when he is playing an Egyptian-themed computer game, Ka jumps on the keys and spells out Bubastis—the center of cat worship in Ancient Egypt. Could Ka be leading a double life? What is she trying to tell Topher? Recommended Age: 9 - 11 years
	The Tomb Robber and King Tut The Tomb Robber and King Tut - Young Hassan wants nothing more than to help with the search. But Hassan’s father is concerned. Their family is descended from ‘tomb robbers’. Despite being honest farmers now, they’re not fully trusted. Hassan could get into serious trouble. But Hassan is determined. Soon, he is working long, hard days filling baskets with sand, and baring the brunt of others who are suspicious of him. Just when Hassan is most discouraged, he spots something glittering where he’s been working. And no one else has seen it yet. What should he do? Recommended Age: 5 - 8 years
	Tutankhamen's Gift Tutankhamen's Gift - Small and frail, Tutankhamen was an all but ignored member of the royal family of the great Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. At the school of the menoi, or tutors, he did not excel at physical activities with the other royal princes. Keeping to himself, he observed and admired the work of his father's craftsmen, who built glorious temples to Egypt's many gods. Someday he too would find a gift for those gods. Then Amenhotep III died and the unpopular reign of Tutankhamen's brother ended in mystery. Who now would be pharaoh? Could it be a boy of only ten? Recommended Age: 6 - 9 years
	We’re Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey through Egypt We’re Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey through Egypt - Set sail along the mighty Nile River to experience the wonders of Egypt. The lilting, rhyming story text is followed by eleven pages full of educational information about ancient Egypt, gods and goddesses, a helpful map, and much more. Recommended Age: 5 - 8 years