Be a Scribe! Working for a Better Life in Ancient Egypt, by Miahael Joffen, Christian Casey, and Jen Thum (Callaway, $24.99, ages 8-14, 96pp, grades 3-7) Review by Skye Anderson
Wow, this book has everything! Starting with the cover of 12 possible occupations of the 18 illustrated (and with text) in this book about ancient Egypt, Be a Scribe! has magnetic appeal: a father is taking his son to a scribe school far away to learn reading and 'riting so that he may qualify for a good job rather than a labor-intensive, back-breaking job like the 12 depicted on the cover or the 18 with two-page spreads inside. Those occupations may experience unemployment and hard physical labor while scribes live at the royal court.
Being a Scribe, The Best Occupation
This is actually a true story! On the journey, the father tells his son all about other occupations plus a little about maps and hieroglyphs. On the way, the father also imparts some words of wisdom in the way of mind your manners, don't blab, follow orders, don't play hooky, control yourself and be gumptious.
The book starts with an introduction (maps, hieroglyphs, etc.) then starts the journey, illustrates the different occupations (with words, too) in a two-page spread each, and ends with words of wisdom the father imparts to his son - all well-organized. We also liked the final 10 pages with details of all the items illustrated.
On Hieroglyphs
If your young reader likes codes and mysteries, he or she may just soak up the information about hieroglyphs and learn to write like an Egyptian! For me, it was too hard though.
Final Question
Do you think it really is best to become a scribe if you lived in old Egypt?
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