Hot on the Trail in Ancient Egypt by Linda Bailey, illustrated by Bill Slavin, 56 pages. NON-FICTION/GRAPHIC NOVEL. Kids Can Press, 2018. $12 (paperback).
Language: G; Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.
BUYING ADVISORY: EL – ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
A mix between The Magic Tree House series and Nathan Hales’ Hazardous Tales, this book begins with a magical travel book that takes Josh and his sisters Emma and Libby to ancient Egypt. The only way back is to read the entire guide book, which they do amid numerous adventures, including sailing the Nile, dancing and feasting at a banquet in a temple, and helping build a pyramid.
The fictional story is told and illustrated in the graphic novel format, while the nonfiction passages are written in a casual expository style within sidebars at the bottom of most pages, and at the end. The children get chased and are threatened with bodily harm (thus the PG for violence) and the illustrations show bare bums in two or three scenes, mostly of children (PG for mature content). It also includes a Further Exploration section and index at the end. Kids love all things graphic novel-style, and ancient Egypt is also a big hit, so this one is sure to be popular. The facts correlate with the action of the story, and are substantial enough to support student projects.
Reviewed by P.K. Foster, teacher-librarian
Reviewed by P.K. Foster, teacher-librarian
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