Pyramid [Hardcover]

David Macaulay (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Through concise text and richly detailed black and white illustrations we come to know the philosophy of life and death in ancient Egypt.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

When children catch their first glimpse of a pyramid, a sea of questions inevitably tumbles forth. "Why are they shaped like that?" "How were they made?" "Who made them?" "What were they used for?" Perplexed adults can sigh with relief now that David Macaulay has found a way to thoroughly answer all those deserving questions. His exquisitely crosshatched pen-and-ink illustrations frame the engaging fictional story of an ancient pharaoh who commissions a pyramid to be built for him. With great patience and respect for minute detail (not unlike the creators of the early pyramids), Macaulay explains the sometimes backbreaking tasks of planning, hauling, chiseling, digging, and hoisting that went into the construction of this awe-inspiring monument. Just when the narrative teeters on the edge of textbook doldrums, Macaulay brings us back to the engaging human drama of death and superstition. This respectful blending of architecture, history, and mysticism will certainly satiate pyramid-passionate children as well as their obliging parents. ALA Notable Book. (Ages 9 and older) --Gail Hudson

Review

"David Macaulay's brilliant Pyramid shows, detail by detail, how the great pharaohs' burial places were conceived and constructed . . . His draftsmanship is unexcelled, and his book is pharaonic in opulence and design." Time Magazine

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; First Edition edition (September 10, 1975)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395214076
• ISBN-13: 978-0395214077
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #50 in Books > Children's Books > History > Africa

More About the Author

David Macaulay is an award-winning author and illustrator whose books have sold millions of copies in the United States alone, and his work has been translated into a dozen languages. Macaulay has garnered numerous awards including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards, the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, the Christopher Award, an American Institute of Architects Medal, and the Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award. In 2006, he was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, given "to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations." Superb design, magnificent illustrations, and clearly presented information distinguish all of his books. David Macaulay lives with his family in Vermont.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did this guy learn to draw?, August 31, 2001

By 

Charles Flemming (Fort Worth) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pyramid (Paperback)

Who hasn't wondered how the Great Pyramids came to be? In this stunningly illustrated, richly detailed book, David Macaulay skillfully shows one way they could have been built. I had ordered the book for our family's study of ancient Egypt, based on a recommendation in The Greenleaf Guide to Ancient Egypt, which raved about it. I was not disappointed. In fact, I was stunned at the detail and care of the drawings and fascinated by the accounts. Although the long descriptions were daunting for my then-first grader, the illustrations caught her eye, and her older siblings dug into it with enthusiasm.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read on a deep topic, July 20, 1999

By 

J. Moore "Creosis" (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pyramid (Paperback)

This is a fabulous book for anyone looking to learn more about the pyramids of Ancient Egypt without the burden of scholar-like vocabulary and disturbing depth. But at the same time the book conveys the mysteries of the pyramids with a keen intellect of the topic. The author knows his topic but writes his book so anyone can enjoy the knowledge and enlightenment a deeper understanding of the past can provide.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Egyptian Pyramids, August 6, 2001

By 

Cletus F. Wallace (Coatesville, PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pyramid (Hardcover)

David MacAulty's book discusses and illustrates "one method" by which the pyramids of Egypt may have been built, and follows the construction step by step. His pen and ink drawings are excellent. The book may have been written for children (ages 9 and older) but, I enjoyed the book. I highly recommend it for adults and children with an interest in the pyramids. My eight year old son was fascinated by the book. Hopefully, his interest in Egyptology has been sparked by this fine book. I tend to disagree with the author when he refers to the pyramids as tombs. No bodies have been found within the pyramids. Its more likely the pyramids were used as structures for initiation ceremonies. Although, not specifically stated the entire book, except for a brief discussion of the Queen's pyramid and the mummification process, is devoted to the Great Pyramid of Khufu. The brief discussion of the mummification process is just the right amount of information for a child's book.