ISBN-13: 9781787081543
Author: Claire Saunders, illustrated by Ruth Hickson
Price: £12.99
The latest in Button Books series (other titles include Viking, Roman etc), this runs seperately from their factology series. In other words you may see that there is a factology book on Ancient Egypt but this is not just a slimmer volume (56 pages) but a standalone book that can be enjoyed alongside the other volume.
Inside the covers you will find find how how they dressed or as pictured below a typical day for a young boy. We see at different parts of the book how a typical boy named Dedu spends his time.
Throughout there are some simple exercises such as making a board game, since these were very popular in those days. There is also a necklace that can be made and even some bread from a recipe in the shape of a nile crocodile!
We see how much religion played a part in the daily life, with shrines inside dwellings and the massive temple complexes with only priests allowed into certain parts. Gods and the afterlife is a strong section.
One of the strangest things is that there were no pillows but instead a headrest that was used and we also see that many went barefoot (think of all the snakebites!). Both men and women (who could afford it) would wear make up.
The importance of the Nile and the enormous time span of the different periods from old to new are introduced. Writing is covered although we learn that only 1% could read and write and thus how important scribes were. Hieroglyphs and the more widely used Hieratic writing are shown and there is a drawing of the rosetta stone which was the key to deciphering this long dead language. Go and see it in the British Museum.
One important question is raised at the end. Could you have lived in a socierty where only a few went to school and there was bartering instead of money, and eating the same food every day. So it might seem exotic but it would be tough.