Ancient Egypt Tales of Gods and Pharaohs

 

Ancient Egypt Tales of Gods and Pharaohs written and illustrated by Marcia Williams (Walker Books) PB RRP $17.99 ISBN 978 1 406384031

 Reviewed by Karen Hendriks

 

Marcia Williams is a hugely successful, author/illustrator who has found her niche with retellings of classic stories. She retells history so that it is both informative and entertaining with her comic-strip style illustrations. In this book, Marcia Williams has linked the nine lives of Rami the cat to the retelling of the nine tales of ancient Egypt to capture the early history. The ancient tales are filled with mythology, power struggles, betrayal, and jealousy.

 

In this retelling, we begin with the powerful Ra. He rises from the waters of the Nile and creates the gods of earth, sky and rain. Ra was the first pharaoh of Egypt who ruled with his beloved cat Rami. Each succession of pharaohs highlights Egypt’s many cultural and technological advances along the way with intrigue and mystery and Rami is the storyteller of each tale.

 

This book showcases ancient Egypt in a fun and enjoyable way to inspire young Egyptologists. It is suitable for middle grade children and the back of the book features ten things about ancient Egypt, a glossary, and a hieroglyphs explanation. The voice of Rami the cat is engaging and filled with humour which makes this book child friendly. This well written book gives the facts to a child so that they can easily be understood with fun illustrations.