Customer Reviews

Seeker of Knowledge: The Man Who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs

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Remember the first books you read? How the puzzling out of the symbols was as exciting as the story? This evocative book by James Rumford revisits that experience. He interweaves text and images to let us know how meaning can be discovered. It's a little like reading a mystery story made up of pictographic clues.

In structuring the story this way, Rumford is giving us the chance to do many things: relive our discovery of reading, learn the logic of a unique language, and imagine ourselves in the position of that of the subject of this book, the man who deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs, Jean-Francois Champollion.

Rumford's message is also a layered one, with the moral of the story reinforced by images within it. The moral: be curious, passionate and patient. First, imagine your dream. Then, pursue your dream even if others laugh at you or think you are too young. Eventually your belief in your dream will affect others, too, just as Jean-Francois's brothers were affected. They bought him notebooks for his hieroglyphs and took him to Paris to meet Egyptian scholars.

The structure of the Egyptian language, Rumford reveals, was in a curious combination of sight and sound. His telling of the tale made me wonder at all the steps the young Champollion went through to arrive at his eventual illumination of Egyptian hieroglyphics' meaning. When his powerful patron was discredited, when hours of study still revealed no answer, still he would not give up.

At the end of the book, Rumford's last watercolor illustration (he is both author and artist) is evocative of the story. I could feel the colors of Egypt, and the birds that inspired the symbols used in the language. Rumford's pictures - not only the illustrations but also the pictographs he uses as part of the text - create a sense of what a language made of sights and sounds might suggest.

It's a lovely book, and a book that assumes intelligence and curiosity on the part of the reader. As if he had not already inspired us by the example of Champollion's persistence and passion, Rumford finishes off the book with a "learn more" section that is sure to motivate the reader to delve into the art of the Egyptian language.

This beautifully illustrated children's picture book encourages children to dream and shows that dreams can be realized through hard work. I loved the fact that the hero of this book is a scholar. I think the book captures the essence of this great man's life and is an excellent introduction to Egyptology and the study of hieroglyphs. We need more books like this for children.

This biography is so well done. James Rumford always gives you well-researched books, with clear and interesting illustrations. Most important, Rumford writes books kids LOVE and read again and again.

This book works some hieroglyphs into the text (cool) and along the sidebars (very cool) -- and it closes with a glossary of words with their hieroglyphs and -- get this -- EGYPTIAN PRONUNCIATIONS. Blow me away.

We added this picture book to our sixth grade study of Ancient Egypt. (No, middle-schoolers are not too old for picture books. I'm not even too old for them!) The book is a well-told story of Champollion's childhood passion to decipher hieroglyphics which was fulfilled in his adulthood. There are attractive and thoughtful illustrations. But my daughter's favorite parts of the book are the hieroglyphic symbols scattered throughout the story. For example, one page has a goat with the caption, "There is a free-spirited kid goat in the Egyptian word 'imagine.'" Tidbits like that really made the language seem like a fun puzzle to solve and inspired my daughter to draw the pictographs as we read through the book.

I was looking for a book about someone related to Egypt for a lesson plan! When I found this book I was so excited! It fit perfectally with my hieroglyph lesson! It is wonderfully written with extraordinary illustrations! I not only recommend this book for teachers but for those interested in the subject of Egypt!!

Age Recommendation: 7-11; Children begin to get interested in informational books and past events around first or second grade. The main character is seven years old in the beginning of the novel, which makes it easy for a seven year old to relate to him. He grows to eleven, sixteen and then thirty throughout the book.
Summary: Seeker of Knowledge: The Man who Deciphered Egyptian Hieroglyphs begins with a brief history lesson about the Egyptians. This is an informational picture book about Jean-Francois Champollion, the man who deciphered the Egyptian hieroglyphs and founded Egyptology. He was born in 1790, and with his brother's support he started studying Egypt. When Champollion was sixteen, and graduated from school, he was rejected from joining the scholars studying the Rosetta Stone. He was friendly with Napoleon, which ended up making his life difficult after Napoleon was defeated. In 1822, Champollion was sent a package from his friend in Egypt with the final clue he needed to solve the ancient riddle of the hieroglyphs. He almost killed himself from starvation and neglect while solving this final clue, but ended up being okay. Afterwards, he was sent to Egypt for a few years to uncover more secrets.
Critical Review: Rumford begins with a brief introduction to Egyptian history. This sets the context for hieroglyphs, which were the characters used for writing in ancient Egypt. Additionally, after some of the words (e.g. bird, Thoth) there is a hieroglyph that represents that word. There is a glossary of terms at the conclusion of the book. The picture book jumps to important moments of Jean-Francois Champollion's life, and shows a close relationship with his brother. The illustrations capture and complement the text. For example, when the text is talking about a room full of Egyptian treasures, the illustrations are full of Egyptian treasures. There are random asides with large hieroglyphs, with explanations. These are distracting, but complement the hieroglyphs throughout the text. History is laced throughout the picture book. For example, Napoleon being defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. This will spark the reader's interest, and builds the credibility of the picture book. The story ends abruptly, "He pressed his ear to the stone and listened to the ancient verse." It doesn't mention how Champollion died or anything. The book does an excellent job capturing Champollion's passion, which inspires the reader to dream big.

I heard James Rumford read from one of his other books and I've been a big fan ever since. "Seeker of Knowledge" does not disappoint! What an inspiring story about having a dream and perservering -- it's what I'm giving kids on my gift list these days. Great drawings, too. I love kids' books that have some substance to them, that teach and inspire, and that are interesting to adults, too. This is definitely one of them.

"Seeker of Knowledge" is well written and beautifully illustrated. It's a story of Jean- Francois Champollion who vowed to be the first to decipher Egypt's lost writings (hieroglyphs). With determination and hard work, Champollion finally mastered the strange picture code. This book teaches children of all ages that their dreams and aspirations will come true with knowledge and hard work. Definitely a good buy!

This book is a must read for everyone! As homes schoolers this book brings to light the best in an amazing young scholar. The artwork is delightful, the story is timeless in its message as well as its historical truth. This book brought to life the amazing dedication and direction of a young man. If you only choose one book that explores hieroglyphs, let this be it! It brings to life the mystery that surrounds ancient egypt and empowers young people to acheive their goals. Our 1 and 3 year old enjoyed the pictures and the story, our 8 year old asked if he could see the Rosetta stone and learn to write his name in heiroglyphs! This book draws you in and holds you. This book is fabulous!

Recently I got interested in the ancient world of Egypt and decided to learn how to read hieroglyphs. I was interested in learning a little more about the life of the young man that unlocked the key to Egyptology when he figured out how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs. I knew that this was a children's book and hoped it would be a pleasant read about Champollion's life. Well, the story is very short and without much depth. I was disappointed. I wasn't expecting much from this book, but it didn't even deliver that. I don't think it will be a very inspiring book to children.