Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide [Paperback]

Marian Broida (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Want to speak Hittite? Hold out a glass and ask for “wa-tar.” This unique activity book for children ages nine and up shows what life was like among the Nubians, Mesopotamians, Hittites, and their neighbors the Egyptians from around 3100 B.C., when Upper and Lower Egypt became one kingdom, to the death of Queen Cleopatra under the Romans, in 30 B.C. Projects such as building a Nubian irrigation machine, creating a Mesopotamian cylinder seal out of clay, making kilts like those worn by Egyptian boys and men, and writing in Hittite cuneiform help young readers to connect with these ancient cultures and see how profoundly they have influenced our own.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-The well-written text, adequate illustrations and reproductions, and manageable projects are reason enough to purchase this title. However, the truly unusual aspect of the book is that it includes the Mesopotamians, Nubians, and Hittites-generally not covered in books on Egypt. Broida provides a broad overview of the ancient Near East that allows readers to compare the different societies. Each chapter focuses on a different civilization and gives brief information on and activities related to its history, geography, architecture, clothing, writing, work, food, and religious beliefs. There are instructions for making models, costumes, and jewelry as well as recipes and writing and math activities. An outstanding time line that compares all four groups provides a visual understanding of the relationships and differences among the cultures. Finally, the far-reaching bibliography is excellent. It is rare to find this much information packed into a single volume.
Betsy Barnett, Eads School District, CO
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The ancient cultures and civilizations of the Egyptians, Nubians, Hittites, and Mesopotamians are vividly brought to life in this excellent resource book. The fascinating history of these peoples is presented in a lively text, interspersed with instructions for approximately 40 projects about the clothing, architecture, writing, food, and other cultural aspects of the times. Easily obtained materials such as pillowcases, clay, styrofoam, and paper-towel tubes are used, and instructions are presented for making such things as Hittite shoes, a Nubian tomb, Egyptian sailboats, a Mesopotamian queen's headdress, and an Assyrian feast. Other activities include doing math, Sumerian style; reading Egyptian hieroglphs; and playing games that illustrate travel of the times. The book will add excitement to ancient history units. Helen Rosenberg

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press; 1st edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556523602
• ISBN-13: 978-1556523601
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #90 in Books > Children's Books > History > Ancient

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fills in gaps in our study of ancient history, February 15, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (Paperback)

So much more interesting than a textbook for our homeschool study of ancient history! This book covers not only the familiar Egyptian civilization but also several lesser-known yet equally important ones to whom we owe a great deal. For example, the Babylonians gave us our first written laws; the Sumerians gave us writing and the first real cities; the fierce Hittites discovered how to work iron. Children will remember what they learn in this book because the text is accompanied by recipes, crafts, and other activities. I recommend the Hittite Hummus myself.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars children will learn while having fun, August 17, 2000

By 

Francesca Jourdan (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (Paperback)

This book introduces four cultures : the Egyptians, the Mesopotamians, the Nubians and the Hittites. The author accurately presents aspects of these civilizations such as history, geography, architecture, clothing, food, religion, writing and labor. Children will enjoy themselves and become part of these ancient worlds by easily following the instructions of the activities. These include constructing a boat, cooking ancient food, creating clothes, and writing on clay. All in all, it is a fun and informative book for children ages 9 to 12.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fun book!, March 22, 2005

By 

HomeschoolingMom8 (CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide (Paperback)

We use "Our Young Folks' Josephus" as our primary history spine which mentions all these cultures as they relate to Israel. What I like best about this book is that it covers cultures that are often not well represented in other books of this type, particularly the Nubians, Mesopotamians and Hittites. There are many craft activity guides available for Egypt, but nothing that I know of for these other cultures. The crafts are really well thought out and a lot of fun to do. They also have a lot of real learning value and are not just play. Our family highly recommends this book for the study of Ancient cultures.