Maia of Thebes, 1463 B.C. - Hardcover

Turner, Ann

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0439652235 ISBN 13: 9780439652230

Publisher: Scholastic Inc., 2005

Synopsis

Leap into the ancient world in renowned author Ann Turner's exciting addition to the Life and Times series. Maia's story is filled with action, adventure, and all the drama of life in ancient Egypt.

The intrigue and mysticism of ancient Egypt comes to life in Ann Turner's spectacular addition to The Life and Times series. In the time of the Pharoah Hatshepsut's rule, the Egyptian days could pass as slowly as the Nile's lazy waters, or as quickly as the Nile's rising floodwaters.

Maia and her brother are orphaned and living with a cold, judgmental aunt and uncle in Thebes. Searching for a way out of their house, Maia pleads with her brother, Sethnet, who is learning to be a scribe, to teach her how to write. He agrees, and this is to be her saving skill.

About this title

From Booklist:

Gr. 4-6. Thirteen-year-old Maia and her brother live with their aunt and their uncle, a temple priest, in ancient Thebes during the reign of Hatshepsut. Maia, whose brother is secretly teaching her to read and write, is inspired by the voices that only she can hear to ask a question in the temple implying her uncle has been stealing its grain. With her safety in jeopardy, Maia relies on her friends, her wits, and her skills as a scribe to survive. Eventually, her fate is decided by Queen Hatshepsut herself. The violence of the times is evident when Maia casts a fishing net into the Nile and draws up a severed hand, and readers are told that losing a hand for thievery may be her uncle's punishment. Other elements of ancient Egyptian society, religion, and law are incorporated into the story in less-sensational ways. Though the plot relies on coincidence, readers will want to follow Maia's story to the end. A historical novel from the publisher's Life and Times series. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About this edition

• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0439652235
• ISBN 13: 9780439652230
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 176