17) The Egypt Game by Zilpha Snyder

Snyder, Zilpha. The Egypt Game. Illustrated by Alton Raible. Atheneum, 2009. 215 pages. ISBN: 9781416990512.

 

Genre/Subject: Fantasy, Mystery, History, Friendship

Ages: 8-12

Plot:

April Hall, an eleven-year-old girl, and her friend Melaine Ross both love historical information about countries. April wants to be an anthropologist one day. April and Melanie share a common interest, the country Egypt, and they are both worried about their first day of school. A Professor in a small shop sells antique items,  and the girls use the empty lot of land to begin the Egypt game, in his storage yard. As April and Melanie play the Egypt game, they dress up in costumes, create an alter, a temple, and an alter to Set, an imaginary evil being. They pretend to practice rituals, sacrifices to practice being part of Egyptian history. As they us their imagination to play the Egyptian game they gather more information about Egypt through research. The word gets out about their Egypt game, and more children become involved. Different cultures of children join in to play the game. April uses Hieroglyphics to write and they have a ceremony for the dead. Strange things start happening to each player in the Egyptian game. After April is attacked by a man at night, and everyone believes it is the Professor. The children plan to unravel the mystery of a murder together.

Review:

This book is similar to Bridge to Terabithia because it is the story of a group of six children who use their imaginations to tell stories about Egypt. The idea that two girls can seek historical information because they have creative minds is a positive subject. The book moves from fantasy, fun, and games to serious and mysterious.  The children really believe in the rituals they are performing, and the game is taken very seriously. When a child is murdered, the killer is still on the loose, and the Professor appears to be the primary suspect. The story has a range of elements that should be entertaining for all readers--fantasy, mystery and crime all wrapped into on story.

Awards: Newberry Honor Award.