posted on 17 May 2023

The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch by Karen McCombie

When it comes to school, Seth’s levels of concentration aren’t exactly top of the class. Even when he has a pretty good teacher and a subject – Ancient Egypt – that ought to interest him, somehow he just can’t stick with it. As is common with a lot of children who find themselves bored or baffled by lessons, Seth comes up with his own ways of making the school day fun. However, this time his prank – dressing up as a mummy and disrupting the school assembly – has landed him in hot water.

As he sits awaiting his inevitable punishment in Mr Ali’s office, Seth picks up a small Egyptian amulet that’s sitting on the teacher’s desk and finds himself magically transported back in time – and up to his neck in the River Nile.

He is found and helped by a local girl, Mery who assumes that Seth is someone who has travelled from afar and doesn’t understand the rules of normal Egyptian life during the time of the great Pharaoh Akhenaten – who was the father of that most famous of Pharoah’s, Tutankhamun. She takes him back to the family home and Seth is in for some shocks and a rapid education in the ways of the Ancient Egyptians.

Mery has a pet hyena, Giggler, who also takes a shine to Seth and the two of them strike up quite a friendship. Seth also discovers that living by the river brings with it the ever-present danger of attack from the crocodiles who are always waiting to pounce on an unsuspecting swimmer.

Seth is starting to despair of ever getting home again. Although he still has the amulet, he can’t figure out how to activate it and return to his own time. And he’s in for another shock. There’s to be a visit to the settlement by Pharoah Akhenaten himself, which is a great event that the village plans to mark by putting on a feast and the main dish is going to be ……..Giggler! Rather than let his new pal become the Pharoah’s lunch, Seth decides to try and set the animal free and the two run away together. The hyena finds his wild family but Seth drops his amulet in the river and plunges in after it – only to wake again back in his own time in Mr Ali’s office.

Unsure whether it was all a dream, Seth decides it's time to confess to his teacher that the reason he’s so restless in class is because he’s having trouble with reading and understanding – it seems probable that he has dyslexia and its gone undiagnosed. Now, maybe something can be done and things will change.

But was this all just a dream? Maybe Seth’s soaking wet feet and the smell of the river on what’s left of his mummy costume will give you the answer…..

Illustrated by Anneli Bray, the book ends with some useful factual notes about Ancient Egypt and also about dyslexia. It’s another winner from Barrington Stoke, a publisher dedicated to providing books for reluctant readers.

Available now and if your local independent bookshop doesn’t have a copy, they can order it for you. Alternatively, go directly to the Barrington Stoke website and order a copy there.

 

Terry Potter

May 2023