(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).
(This review may contain spoilers).
My niece was really excited about reading this book, due to having been learning about Egypt at school.
There were some really good aspects of this book. It was good to see the different pronunciations of various words, though I did feel that some of those weren’t needed, such as the Nile River.
My niece did enjoy reading this book and we were able to notice a particular dish that her mother (now a vegetarian) might have liked to eat… even if it wasn’t something that I personally would have enjoyed.
The formula of this book was the same as the others in this series, which I thought was a good idea. And it was also nice to have the opportunity to learn a few of the words in the Egyptian language, in particular the words for Mum, Dad, Granddad, Grandma… I did feel that the sesame seed butter treat sounded like a good thing to try, but I couldn’t help thinking about how unhealthy it probably was.
I thought it was good to see the position of Egypt on a globe… and whereabouts Cairo was in relation to the rest of Egypt… but my niece didn’t seem that interested by it, especially since she already knew where the country and capitol were.
I did notice some proofreading errors in this book… so I did feel it could have done with an editor looking through it.
The illustrations in this book were done really well and it was nice to be able to look at them with my niece. It was also really good to learn about some of the main areas in Egypt that people who lived there might be likely to visit.
I did feel that the book could have been made a bit longer, since there was a lot more information that could be imparted, even to a child like my niece, who tends to be more active. It was good on a personal level to learn more about the games children might play, even though my niece already knew one of them… and although I knew most of the foods mentioned in the book, it was interesting to see what people in Egypt are more likely to eat in comparison to what people in the UK are likely to eat.
Ink of Blood 