I Wonder Why Pyramids Were Built: And Other Questions About Ancient Egypt

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1856973123 ISBN 13: 9781856973120

Publisher: Kingfisher Books Ltd, 1995

Colour artwork and cartoons illustrate a title from the question and answer series I WONDER WHY, with unusual facts, information and amusing anecdotes, in an exploration of all aspects of the ancient Egyptians and the way they lived.

About the Author:

Philip Steele has a passion for writing about history. He is a well-known author of more than one hundred children's books, including Castles, Pirates, Knights, The Best Book of Mummies, The World of Pirates, and The World of Castles. He was a student of medieval French and German literature, and has visited castles in England, France, Germany, Spain, and Poland. He has travelled to the Valley of the Kings and other sites of Ancient Egypt, and has met mummies face to face in the Cairo Museum. Philip now lives near Beaumaris and the other great castles of North Wales.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 4-6-This question-and-answer book on ancient Egypt is sort of interesting, but it doesn't provide enough information for reports. Also, some of the cartoon illustrations and accompanying quips, while entertaining, skirt answering the questions fully, and the humor often misdirects the factual material. Steels explains that other deities besides Sebek were represented by animals, but that "Osiris and Isis were luckier. They were shown as a great king and queen." "Luckier" is the author's (not the Egyptians') take on the matter, but readers might not make this differentiation. These are subtle biases, but ones that make the book better as a supplement to other resources than a stand-alone reference.
Cathryn A. Camper, Minneapolis Public Library
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.