Saturday, February 25, 2012

Egypt Game, By Zilpha Keatly Snyder


Title:   Egypt Game
Author:  Zilpha Keatley Snyder
Publisher: Antheneum Books for Young Readers    Year: 2009, c 1967, 1995
ISBN:  978-1-4169-9051-2
Genre: Fiction/Realistic
This book is for Ages: 8-12
Awards:  Newbery Honor, ALA Notable Book
AR Points: 7.0          
Subjects/Themes: Egypt/Mystery/Make Believe

Plot Summary:  11-year-old April Hall has just moved from Hollywood to Northern California to live with her grandmother while her mother and singer Dorthea Dawn is on tour.  She meets Melanie and her younger brother, Marshall who live downstairs.  Together they start the Egypt Game, an intricate game with rituals to honor ancient Egyptian gods, in the back lot of the Professor’s A-Z Antique Shop.   Soon they are joined in the game by Elizabeth, Toby and Ken.  When a young girl is murderer from their neighborhood, April and the other children must be on guard.  Lots of people are wondering who the murderer is.  Could it be the Professor?  Soon strange things are happening in the game.  Will the police capture the murderer before another child is killed?

Review:  This book is especially good for sixth graders in California studying ancient Egypt.   April has a hard time trusting the new people in her life.  She desperately wants to believe that her mother is going to bring her back to Hollywood. But she is able to escape those concerns in the Egypt game.  The Egypt game reminds me that imagination, books, movies, television and games are all quick escapes for our daily worries.

If you like this book you may also like: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson

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