Overview
The civilization of ancient Egypt disappeared two thousand years ago, yet we still marvel at the wonders it left behind. This engaging primer for young readers introduces the land, people, and culture of Egypt, including the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and mummification.
In his signature style of creating three-dimensional illustrations, Bruce Strachan brings to life the monuments and everyday customs of an enthralling society for children just beginning their discovery of ancient Egypt.
Synopsis
The civilization of ancient Egypt disappeared two thousand years ago, yet we still marvel at the wonders it left behind. This engaging primer for young readers introduces the land, people, and culture of Egypt, including the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, and mummification.
In his signature style of creating three-dimensional illustrations, Bruce Strachan brings to life the monuments and everyday customs of an enthralling society for children just beginning their discovery of ancient Egypt.
Children's Literature
The civilization of ancient Egypt seems to have endless fascination. Strachan brings it to life anew in a series of double-page spreads, each with a simply written text explaining a different subject. Text and illustration are framed and placed on a papyrus-like background. The Nile River, the Pharaoh, the Pyramids and their construction, the steps in the preparation of a mummy for burial, the Sphinx, Queen Hatshepsut, and King Tutankhamen's tomb are some of the topics discussed. Using clay, wood, and oil paint combined with large-format photography, Strachan has created three-dimensional dioramas, mostly melodramatically designed. Half-naked men drag a block of granite up a ramp under a brilliant sun; the dead pharaoh being mummified is in a gloomy room lit only by a small lamp glowing red. There is a stiffness to the characters suggesting the paintings in the tombs, although the style is naturalistic. There are decorative hieroglyphic-like sketches and source notes. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Editorials
Children's Literature -
The civilization of ancient Egypt seems to have endless fascination. Strachan brings it to life anew in a series of double-page spreads, each with a simply written text explaining a different subject. Text and illustration are framed and placed on a papyrus-like background. The Nile River, the Pharaoh, the Pyramids and their construction, the steps in the preparation of a mummy for burial, the Sphinx, Queen Hatshepsut, and King Tutankhamen's tomb are some of the topics discussed. Using clay, wood, and oil paint combined with large-format photography, Strachan has created three-dimensional dioramas, mostly melodramatically designed. Half-naked men drag a block of granite up a ramp under a brilliant sun; the dead pharaoh being mummified is in a gloomy room lit only by a small lamp glowing red. There is a stiffness to the characters suggesting the paintings in the tombs, although the style is naturalistic. There are decorative hieroglyphic-like sketches and source notes. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
Gr 2-4
More a showcase for Strachan's art than a primer for students of ancient Egypt, this survey pairs brief explanatory comments with photos of 3-D clay and wood tableaux illuminated by dim, filtered light. After an opening that is addressed to adults, the present-tense text covers one topic per spread, from "The Nile River" through "Pyramids," "Mummification," and related spreads introducing Hatshepsut, Ramses the Great, and King Tut's tomb. The spread labeled "Book of the Dead" neither mentions nor depicts said book, presenting instead a gallery of gods. Though the toylike, generally bare-chested figures of humans and gods are rendered with a fair degree of realism in credible settings, the pyramids at Giza are seen in a distant, aerial view that doesn't capture their scale, and the nearby Sphinx sports an oddly new-looking head atop a crumbling body. There is no map, and the five-item source list is as perfunctory as the text. Consider this a supplementary purchase at best, as George Hart's Ancient Egypt (DK, 2003) is but one of many more informative and visually enticing introductions to the subject.-John Peters, New York Public Library