Egypt (First Reports)

Children's Literature

The photo of Egyptian pita bread just coming out of the oven is appealing; we read that Egyptian children enjoy a fast food sandwich made with lamb just as American children eat hamburgers. However, lamb is food for the well-off in Egypt, not at all comparable to the universal American hamburger. Unfortunately, missed details and facts abound in this small book intended to introduce children to the life of different countries. The Nile does not flood every spring any longer thanks to the Aswan Dam. The President, not the Prime Minister, is the head of government. Although there are photos of the very modern-looking cities of Cairo and Alexandria, there are no pictures of the many children who live in those cities wearing modern clothes or listening to modern music. The Compass Point "First Reports" titles cover Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, England, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Russia and South Africa. While each book has university-level reading and content advisors, no expert about each country is cited. Such expertise could have corrected mistakes in advance and provided glimpses of modern life with which young American readers could truly identify. The book does include fast facts and additional resources as well as a simple index and timeline, which would be useful for youngsters doing their first reports. 2002, Compass Point Books, $21.26. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Karen Leggett AGES: 7 8 9 10