Product Description

Some of the most interesting and entertaining myths and legends from Ancient Egypt are given a lively re-telling by Joyce Tyldesley. These include stories about the gods, such as ‘The Creation of the World’, ‘Hathor and the Red Beer’, and the myths about Osiris, Isis and Horus. Fairy stories and incredible adventures are represented by ‘The Story of the Shipwrecked Sailor’, ‘The Adventures of Sinuhe’ and ‘The Prince, the Dog, the Snake and the Crocodile’, while good and bad behaviour are to be found in ‘Three Magical Stories’ and ‘The Story of Truth and Falsehood’. King Ramesses II himself tells us about ‘The Battle of Kadesh’.

The book is illustrated with imaginative and amusing line-drawings by Julian Heath, and each of the stories has a question and answer section for budding young Egyptologists.

STORIES FROM ANCIENT EGYPT is aimed at children between the ages of 7-11, but this book is an entertaining and informative introduction to the literature of Ancient Egypt for all ages.

Joyce Tyldesley and Julian Heath both teach in the School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology at Liverpool University.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10367 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-05
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 107 pages

Customer Reviews

Excellent starter for Primary age children
I am a teacher who has long been looking for a simplified version of the Egyptian myths. This book fits the bill exactly! I loved the questions and extra info at the end of each story and the answers at the back!! This is a great book for me to use with the children or for Key Stage 2 children to read by themselves. Little touches, such as the hieroglyphic name plate and the animated scribe, make it very child-friendly. Truly excellent value for money!!

A,B,C of Egyptian Myths
I bought this book to introduce my children to some of the Egyptian Myths and put a few ghosts to bed. Unfortunately, some of the characters such as Osiris, Seth and Isis appear to have been hijacked by various computer games, trading cards and cartoon characters and the original ethos lost. The book is interactive and allows the younger Egyptologist to take on ownership by writing their name in Hieroglyphs within a Cartouche. This then leads the reader into a map of the ancient world where the Egyptian Empire was powerful and larger than most people realise. Joyce has done an excellent job of targeting the younger audience by selecting stories of interest, using words with kid-appeal and tailoring the tales to a manageable length. To reinforce the legends Joyce has provided questions and answers at the end of each story and this helps adults using the book for bed time story telling! The author has also selected to tell the story of the battle of Kadesh that is based on historical fact. Ramess II fought the Hittite army there and then appears to have put his spin doctors to work in providing a version of the battle for public consumption-no change there then!
Each epic has supporting illustrations by Julian Heath that helps to emphasise key points and introduce young minds to the 2-dimensional representations of a complex Egyptian World! There is an added bonus that the corners of the book have a scribe and a mummy that write and walk when the pages are flicked- a main talking point for children! I would recommend this book for any younger readers interested in Egyptology especially if they want to better understand the creation myth and the gods associated with it. Joyce has done her homework well in providing children with a book that can kick-start them into a fascinating world where Gods and Men shared the same land.

Very Useful stories
Very difficult to find Ancient Egytian stories so this book was a real find. Used it with a Year 3 class. They loved the stories, particularly Osiris and Isis. Great if studying Ancient Egypt.