The slim titles in this handsome series pack plenty of solid information into concise, clearly written sentences. The narratives provide facts not only about individual gods, but also about their roles in ancient Egyptian society. Each volume introduces the featured god, then discusses Egyptian mythology generally and also ancient Egyptian history, culture, and civilization; gods’ roles are well established within their societies. New vocabulary is set in colored boldfaced type and defined in a glossary without pronunciation guides; some terms, e.g., “BCE,” aren’t defined. The volumes feature eye-catching design: striking covers; boldly colored pages filled with captioned illustrations and photos, mainly portraying featured gods in drawings, statues, buildings, wall paintings/carvings, tombs, etc.; labeled maps and pictorial insets or charts/diagrams. Sidebars provide information that enhances texts. “Explore Online” and “Further Evidence” sidebars include questions students can answer by accessing the accompanying publisher’s websites (though the questions require “yes” or “no” answers only). Note: A dubious feature in each volume is “Primary Source,” which presents a short quote from a (cited) scholarly source, then encourages students, in a follow-up activity entitled “Comparing Texts” or “What’s the Big Idea?” to write about or discuss how the quote does or doesn’t support what students have read about to that point. However, the term “primary source” isn’t defined, nor is its importance to the study of history explained. The quotes are vague, making this an uninventive, impractical, pointless, and potentially frustrating activity, particularly for younger students. VERDICT Recommended for school libraries. Despite the caveat, this is a fine resource for students studying ancient Egyptian and/or world mythology and ancient Egyptian history, culture, civilization, and art.
The very colorful “Egyptian Mythology” series (ABDO) is a fine, fact-filled resource for middle graders.
