Ancient Egypt: Tales of Gods and Pharaohs [Hardcover]

Marcia Williams (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: September 13, 2011 | Age Range: 6 - 9 years | Lexile Measure: 730L (What's this?)

With compelling comic-style illustrations, a colossus's worth of facts, and dramatic fold-out spreads, Marcia Williams brings Egyptian myths to life.

The stories of the Egyptian pharaohs and their ancient gods are full of mystery and adventure. In this retelling of nine tales of ancient Egypt, Marcia Williams uses her signature comic-strip style to capture the rich mythology and early history of this great civilization. Beginning with powerful Ra rising from the waters of the Nile to create the gods of the earth, sky, and rain, Ancient Egypt takes readers through the curse of King Tut's tomb and the rise of Cleopatra-- with Rami, Ra's beloved cat, highlighting Egypt's many cultural and technological advances along the way. An instantly engaging, accessible introduction to an ancient civilization, this collection of stories is sure to fascinate and inspire young Egyptologists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Several stories from ancient Egypt are exuberantly retold in this picture book for older readers...Williams infuses her retellings with a great deal of humor, and nearly every page includes an array of subtle jokes that are delightfully extended in her entertaining, often cheeky illustrations, which blend two distinct but compatible styles, those of comic books and Egyptian tomb paintings.
—Booklist

About the Author

Marcia Williams has written and illustrated many books in her highly successful and entertaining comic strip style. Among her many retellings are CHAUCER'S CANTERBURY TALES, CHARLES DICKENS AND FRIENDS, MORE TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. Marcia Williams lives in London.

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 9 years
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (September 13, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076365308X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763653088
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,361 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #5 in Books > Children's Books > History > Africa
  • #20 in Books > Children's Books > History > Ancient
  • #63 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Social Science

More About the Author

Marcia Williams is famous for her retellings of classic stories. From Shakespeare and Dickens to the Canterbury Tales and Greek Myths, her humorous comic-strip illustration is hugely popular all over the globe. She lives in London.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Unmatched October 4, 2011

By M. Heiss

Format:Hardcover

We have gotten so much information and enjoyment from Marcia Williams' signature style; this book is no exception.

This overview of the mythology of Ancient Egypt also includes the reigns of some of the more important Pharoahs -- your children will have a more complete understanding of ancient Egyptian culture after reading this book.

"Ancient Egypt:Tales of Gods and Pharoahs" is so entertaining, you may even forget it's educational.

Beautiful illustrations, including a 4-page foldout and a 2-page foldout. Marcia Williams has an oddball sense of humor that we find very appealing.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Brilliant Comic Strip Mythology by Williams October 1, 2011

By Nicola Manning TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Reason for Reading: I love mythology, Egyptian Mythology, and this series of books by Marcia Williams.

Typical of Marcia Williams' books this is set up in a comic strip format with the narrative told underneath the strips and funny, comical asides coming from the characters depicted in the cartoons. The most popular tales are told here in a fairly linear order so that one story leads onto the next with the exception of jumping many years to Cleopatra at the end. The book begins with the mythology of Ra, Isis, Thoth, etc and goes on to tell the tales of famous pharaohs Hatsheput, Thutmose, Tut, Cleopatra, etc. So the book isn't entirely mythology, though myths do surround some of the Pharaohs. Williams' artwork is beautiful as usual and the book includes two spreads where the pages unfold outwards to create large panoramic scenes. One thing that is missing, from her other books, is the usual detailed framed artwork around each page; here she has simply framed each piece with what look like papyrus plants. An added plus though, is along the bottom of each page is a continuous ticker where a cat tells a running commentary on interesting facts about Egyptian life: the role of cats (of course), agriculture, mummies, inventions, etc. A gorgeous book when all said and done; the tales are a good selection for an introduction to Egyptian mythology and pharaohs.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for kids November 2, 2011

By V. Chitu

Format:Hardcover

Both me and my 7 years old daughter enjoyed this book tremendously. The illustrations are beautiful and organized such way that one can follow three sides of the same story in one reading: the main narrative, the dialogues between protagonists of the main story and, at the bottom of each page humorous comments of the sacred cat......... My kid has fun and learns without realizing it and that is great!