The egyp game

It didn't seem to bother my kids, and the kids in the book mostly shrug it off as well. Otherwise, the major issue you'll run into with this as an "old" book is whether the central concept of playing Egypt is a kind of cultural appropriation. Which I can't decide whether it's silly or not. After all, they're kids playing dress-up and pretend and playing Egypt is a whole lot better than playing cowboys or pirates or police all the other pretend games that are actually rooted in some really awful stuff.

Snyder's cast of characters are racially mixed, though the two white kids are also the most outspoken ones. There is a bit of typical exoticism that will occasionally show up when Snyder describes Beth, who is Asian-American, it's your garden variety stuff around facial descriptions but I still noted it. And unfortunately Beth is a shy and quiet character who fulfills the Asian girl stereotype and who drifts almost entirely to the background by the end. It's not perfect, but I think it should be acceptable for most parents, which certainly cannot be said for other books of the time.

And hopefully my notes here are helpful to figure out which kind of parent you are. Feb 28, jess rated it really liked it Shelves: yaf , I loved this book as a kid. I recently learned there's a sequel, so I decided to re-read the Egypt Game before I read the sequel. I was worried that it wouldn't hold up to my childhood memories. I was especially concerned that the way the kids treat different cultures might come across as flat or awkward or, frankly, xenophobic or bigoted.

I'm a lot more sensitive about that stuff these days. And the group of kids themselves are pretty diverse, right? Anyway, things I love about this book: 1.

I'm so glad I re-read it. I think the magic survived the test of time. Oct 02, Orinoco Womble tidy bag and all rated it really liked it Shelves: children , good-summer-read. It's nice when a childhood favourite holds up decades later. I read this book several times in elementary school when it first came out, and when I started seventh grade I was thrilled to see a huge section of books on Egypt in the highschool library. I proceeded to read a lot of them! Coming back to this book 4 decades later, I noticed a whole plot thread that had zipped over my innocent little head back then.

How did I miss the whole serial-child-killer scare that keeps the kids indoors for wee It's nice when a childhood favourite holds up decades later. How did I miss the whole serial-child-killer scare that keeps the kids indoors for weeks? Maybe I was more caught up in their imagination games. In a time when two year olds can handle their parents' tablets and smartphones to watch cartoons or play Angry Birds, I wonder if today's kids could create their own worlds like this, with only an empty lot to play in.

No, I'm not being snarky; I'm curious. Snyder repeats a motif from many of her books: the desire of children to have a secret hideout where they can be by themselves with no interference, and play imagining games. I just learned this book is banned in several places. And yet they let their kids watch TV or go online and find much worse stuff.

It was interesting how the kids created their own ceremonies etc. I bet that's how the original Egyptians got started, on a different level. Yeah, let's try that. Sep 02, Megan Baxter rated it liked it. The Egypt Game is a perfectly fine book for older kids or young adults.

It's fun, it moves along nicely, it has an amazingly multicultural cast that isn't belabored, and there are a few real scares in the book. On the other hand, reading it as an adult, it isn't a lot more. It's a very straightforward story, and most of the ending could have been predicted within the first thirty pages, as long as you also looked at the cover. That is not the end of the world. It merely means it's a good, fun bo The Egypt Game is a perfectly fine book for older kids or young adults.

It merely means it's a good, fun book for kids instead of a classic that I can see adults returning to again and again. Or is it just me who does that? Note: The rest of this review has been withdrawn due to the changes in Goodreads policy and enforcement. You can read why I came to this decision here. In the meantime, you can read the entire review at Smorgasbook This is another Newberry Honor book that my son and I are reading together.

I enjoyed it and thought it was a fun story. It starts out with two girls and their little 4 year old brother that love "Egyptology" so they create their own imaginative game to play in secret.

As they bring new kids with new ideas, into their club including even a couple of boys, The Egypt Game evolves and takes on a life of its own. The book highlights that its ok for kids of different races to intermix; that boys and g This is another Newberry Honor book that my son and I are reading together.

The book highlights that its ok for kids of different races to intermix; that boys and girls can also learn and have fun together at the same time without being ridiculed; and that you shouldn't judge people that you don't know, based on rumors, hearsay, looks etc.

My son hasn't finished reading yet so I don't have his thoughts on the book yet but I'll update later Oct 17, Josiah rated it it was ok. I was happy with this book. Zilpha Keatley Snyder shows herself to be a writer of the first rank, meting out humor, suspense, and some genuine drama at a nicely maintained pace. The Egypt Game rings with kid-friendly dialogue and characters, effectively camouflaging the author's presence. A good story often seems as though it wasn't written at all, but actually happened, magically appearing on the page as the events occurred.

The Egypt Game is one such book. I enjoyed this novel, and would recom I was happy with this book. I enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it with a solid two and a half stars. Jan 14, Bren fall in love with the sea. Another great one from childhood. I have to do a reread as details are foggy. I did not love it as much as The Velvet room and The Changeling but it was still a great little book..

Nov 22, Nany rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Stephanie, but she already read it! When I started reading it, which was on my summer vacations, I liked it so much, I couldn't stop reading it. I think I read it in two days. It's so fantastic, how April, Melanie, Marshal, and then Elizabeth, and the two boys Toby and Ken create a society, which grows and grows. This book felt so magic. I spent like 15 min.

It's magic how the author can combine styles and topics, and make an "epic" book, counting that the kid's society was about Ancient Egypt, which really interests me. It's great how the author makes such a mysterious character called "The Professor" by the kids, and then he presents his character as a mature adult that has a truly sad story, but he learns how to go in front by watching little kids play such a beautiful and creative game.

I also loved the end, when April, my favorite character asks Melanie, who is also such a great character, if she wants to learn about something else. I just love this book, and I gave it 5 stars because it's the best book I've ever read.

Apr 07, Shelli rated it it was ok Shelves: childrens , fiction , checkouts-library , mystery-thriller-suspense. Dec 18, Megan rated it really liked it Shelves: books-that-made-me-think , magical-books , , egyptian. This book brought back to me all the games I played in my youth. I practically belonged inside this book.

It was good to remember how great your imagination is as a child. Dec 05, Carleigh rated it liked it Shelves: read Shelves: imaginative-play , california , childrens-fiction , newbery , sweet-youth , intercommunity-friendship. A few years ago I undertook to read Zilpha Keatley Snyder's entire body of work, motivated in part by the fact that although she is an extraordinarily talented and prolific author, I had only read two of her books as a child.

One of these was The Changeling , a book that has relentlessly haunted me from the time I first read it. This was the other.

Snyder's fourth book - which won a Newbery Honor - follows the story of two young girls, April and Melanie, whose unlikely friendship leads to the A few years ago I undertook to read Zilpha Keatley Snyder's entire body of work, motivated in part by the fact that although she is an extraordinarily talented and prolific author, I had only read two of her books as a child.

Snyder's fourth book - which won a Newbery Honor - follows the story of two young girls, April and Melanie, whose unlikely friendship leads to the revelation that they are both fascinated by ancient Egypt, and to the creation of "the Egypt Game.

When eerie things begin to happen, the friends find themselves wondering if it is a game at all I can remember racing through this novel as a child, completely ensnared by Snyder's suspenseful plot; hoping, in fact, for a more supernatural explanation than the one eventually given.

I could not have articulated then just why this book and The Changeling exercised such a powerful effect upon me. Reading as an adult however, I recognize Snyder's keen understanding of the role of the imagination in the lives of children - the games they create, the "daydreams" that give meaning to their lives.

She understands the power of the child's inner life, and is never condescending towards "childish" things. I think I must also have found it refreshing to read a story with such a matter-of-fact interracial friendship, in which race itself was not the predominant concern. Zilpha Keatley Snyder is a master of mood, as anyone who's read the evocative and sharp The Witches of Worm can tell you. The Egypt Game has mood going for it in spades; it's just not clear to me what else it has, I'm afraid.

This book is a very slow burn, building on its mood gradually to It doesn't help that the resolution to a particular mystery is effective Zilpha Keatley Snyder is a master of mood, as anyone who's read the evocative and sharp The Witches of Worm can tell you. It doesn't help that the resolution to a particular mystery is effectively given away in the first few chapters view spoiler [and on the book's cover hide spoiler ]. It's also guilty of my constant complaint, TME - too much epilogue.

So why 3 out of 5? Because the characters are beautifully sketched, even those who don't get much screen time, and the story is so believable. The Egypt Game, itself, is so true to life, and so true to kids, and that's true of the book in general - I recognize these kids, they're believable and real, and the book does such a wonderful job of capturing the excitement of being a child and getting away with something.

And it captures the main characters pain at being a discarded child with both sting and grace. It's worth reading for no other reason than for April and her friends and their bond together. Once upon a time when I was just a wee little El, I spent a lot of time in the school library. It was, not surprisingly, my favorite place to be. And I tried to encourage all my wee little friends to join me in the library, tried to make my own little book club, in fact.

It was just going to be me and Lenora because she said she liked to read, but we were ten years old, just about to turn eleven, and already she had more important things to think about.

Like boys. In one last ditch effort I found Once upon a time when I was just a wee little El, I spent a lot of time in the school library. In one last ditch effort I found the school library had two copies of a book by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. I truly don't remember which title it was, but I remember going through a "phase" with her books around that time. I thought. Two copies - one for me, one for Lenora. I had her come with me to the library one day so we could each check out a copy, and the idea was we were going to read in all our spare time and then talk about it together.

Guess what never actually happened. But I did my part. I took my copy to the playground each day at recess. I was committed. I was probably on the outs from the group I normally hung out with for something I probably didn't understand, so no one bothered me for being antisocial.

Our playground had these "trees" which were actually utility poles stuck into the ground and then tires nailed into the sides of the pole, creating this No one ever spent any time on them so it was a perfect place for me. I climbed to the top of one and rested my book on the upper end of the pole. And that's where I sat, on my tire ledge, using the top of the pole as a desk to hold my book. I read all recess, the sound of the other children disappearing into the world below me, only the breeze in my hair.

Seriously, it's one of my favorite reading memories ever. After reading the book and being sad that Lenora actually read her copy , I must have somehow become friends with my group again because I don't remember any other occasions when I took a book into that "tree" like that.

This would have totally been right up my alley, however. A highly imaginative young girl, April, befriends another highly imaginative young girl, Melanie, and together they create this game they call "The Egypt Game. Based on their shared interest in ancient Egypt, they fill the storage shed in the yard with what they imagine to be Egyptian paraphernalia, read books about hieroglyphics, and create an entire world for themselves.

There's nothing quite like building an imaginary world at that age - I could see myself doing exactly that, if only I had friends who would cooperate. I tried to get little Chad and Travis to play ThunderCats with me at other times during recess, but they turned that down.

But, actually, that was the way with all of the Egypt Game. Nobody ever planned it ahead, at least, not very far. Ideas began and grew and afterwards it was hard to remember just how. That was one of the mysterious and fascinating things about it. The plot is predictable but it doesn't make it any less fun to read. These kids have real-kid issues, whether it's an over-attachment to a stuffed animal to the feeling of being abandoned by one's mother by being sent into the world to stay with someone else - and they express real-kid emotions.

An important plot point is that there is a murder of a child that happens off-page, an event that causes all the parents in the neighborhood to be on high alert and to set curfews for the children. This causes issues for the children who have come to depend on their game as a way of escape and growth. I was impressed and surprised that something so unsavory as "murder" is discussed in this book for younger readers, but again, this is something that can leave an indelible mark on children at this age, whether they fully understand the events or not.

I was also excited to read the diversity of characters. I remember even at that age race still coming up back in my day, and that was already a little over twenty years after this book was published. Somehow, in Snyder's neighborhood, none of that was an issue and that was damn refreshing to read.

They all go home feeling worried. In school next day Toby talks with April and Melanie. He confesses that he wrote the answers going back to the yard at night. He says that he saw someone in the alley behind the yard, but had run away from him. Of course, Toby doesn't know where the octopus is and they discuss what answer he should give. April will say that Security has gone on a trip and will be back soon.

When April starts the ceremony, she sees that there is an answer written on the question paper - she doesn't need to say the answer about the trip. The answer says that the octopus is under the throne. The others believe that Toby had written the answer, but he denies this hotly.

Marshall says that the god Set had put the octopus under the altar. Ken again thinks that everyone is going crazy. They then all go home. Back in the yard they can't agree if they should ask another question. They ask themselves again and again how the octopus got below the altar. They worry that their game may have actually brought the power of the gods back to life. One evening April babysits Marshall while Melanie and her parents are out. After playing with Marshall, April wants to do her homework.

But she can't find her math book. She realizes that she probably left it at the yard. She wants to go there alone, but Marshall insists on going with her. The alley is dark and is full of frightening shapes. April pushes the board to open a hole in the yard fence, but in a different way that makes a loud noise. April finds her math book and goes out through the hole in the fence.

Suddenly someone in the alley grabs her and presses his hand over her mouth. April holds on to the board in the fence to stop being pulled away.

At that moment someone shouts for help from inside the yard. People hear the shout and run into the alley. April's attacker lets her go and disappears. April goes to the police station and tells what happened.

Marshall is there too and April asks him questions about her attacker. In another room is the Professor. Marshall says that the Professor is not the attacker, but also says that the Professor has always watched their games from his window.

He was the one who cried for help. Marshall identifies the attacker as a man who works at a toy store. April's grandmother, Caroline, comes to take them home. Next day they go to the police station to identify the red-haired attacker.

He is mentally sick and is the killer of the dead children. Marshall becomes well-known as a hero in his neighborhood , and finally does not need to have his security octopus with him all the time. Toby sees that someone has fixed the fence to the yard. The game is over, and the children are sad. April goes to talk to the Professor. The shop is cleaner, has many customers, and Elizabeth's mother now works there.

April thanks the Professor for saving her life and he gives her a piece of stone with some hieroglyphics on it. She is too nervous to ask to for all the things they had brought to his yard. When she returns home there is a letter from her mother inviting her to a Christmas trip. Melanie writes a reply that she is going to stay with her grandmother and Melanie. Carline gets a call from the Professor inviting the Egypt gang to go and see her.

They all arrive at Caroline's house. The Professor starts to tell a story about how he met his wife, Anne, when he was teaching anthropology at university. He talks about their travels together and setting up a store to sell the things they found in different places. He tells the sad news that Anne was killed in one of the dangerous places they visited. After her death he neglected the store and himself.

The Professor then says how he always watched as the children played in the yard. He moved Marshall's octopus and wrote the oracle's answer. He tells about the night of the attack on April; how broke the window to cry for help. The Professor then gives them each a key that will let them into Egypt the yard. The children plan their next visit. The Professor says he will now look after his store and bring in new things for it. On Christmas day April and Melanie decide that the Egypt game is finished.

April has an idea for their next game! The Professor's shop is full of antiques , such as furniture, lamps, mirrors, etc. Nobody has cleaned the antiques in the shop for a long time so they are very dusty. After the story starts with the children climbing through the hole in the fence, the writer flashes back to one month before and tells us why April has come to live in this place. April is fascinated by the antiques in the Professor's shop. April likes to wear false eyelashes to make her seem old and sophisticated.

April is fascinated by ancient civilizations and wants to be an archaeologist when she grows up. Melanie is astonished by April's appearance, especially her false eyelashes. Before they can play the Egypt game, the children need to tidy the yard.

The children pretend to sacrifice Marshall to the evil god Set. Marshall pretends to be a young pharaoh in the Egypt game they play. April doesn't see Melanie picking up April's false eyelashes from the dresser. Melanie is a go-between between April and the other students at the school - helping each to understand the other. Thanks to Melanie acting as a go-between, the other students start to appreciate April and her special personality.

A common rite in the Christian religion is the lighting of candles. An example of an Ancient Egyptian ceremony was a procession through the streets carrying statues of the gods. The children write secret messages to each other in hieroglyphics. Marshall is young but he is very mature.

He thinks and acts like an older child. The children pretend to put Elizabeth and Marshall in a dungeon under the yard. The news of the murder of a child makes the children very somber. The rumor that the Professor is the murderer of the dead child is believed by many in the town, but it is not correct.

The Egyptian gods were very mighty in the eyes of the people. Trick-or-treating started in Britain and has become popular in other countries too, particularly the USA. April wants to sneak away from the trick-or-treaters, but Melanie says it is too dangerous as the killer has still not been caught. In Ancient Egypt priestesses were important to perform the ceremonies of sacrifice to the gods. The two young children have to recite the summons they pretend to have received from the gods.

Elizabeth and Marshall have a summons to appear before the gods. The children see a shooting star and think it is a sign from the gods. Diplomacy : discussions that lead to an agreement in opposite opinions. The boys want to tell everyone of the children's secret game, but using clever diplomacy Elizabeth is able to get the boys interested in playing themselves.

Toby's Halloween costume was damaged when he tried to get through the hole in the fence. April is pessimistic that the boys will be serious about the game, and thinks they might even tell the secret to others. April was pessimistic about the boy's playing the game, but they watch the ceremonies respectfully. The children write their messages in hieroglyphic code so that code no-one else can understand them.

The other boys at school are suspicious about what Toby and Ken are doing after school instead of playing sport like they usually do. Toby enjoys the Egypt game and plays enthusiastically , but Ken is a little embarrassed by it.

The children talk about how they can make a mummy out of the dead parrot's body. Before you can make a mummy out of a dead body, you have to take out the guts. Part of the mummification of a dead body is taking out its guts. In Ancient Egypt people believed that oracles really could say what would happen in the future. In Ancient Egypt the priests and priestesses worked in a temple and prayed to their gods. It is getting dark in the yard and the game becomes a little spooky.

Marshall calls his octopus Security because he doesn't feel safe without it. The children put their written messages in the Throth's beak. Toby confesses that it was he who wrote the answer to the question.

The alley behind the yard where the children play the game is a dark, scary place at night. The children build thrones for the gods from boxes and pieces of wood. The children place their presents to the gods on an altar they have made from things found in the yard. Fiction Novels. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram Whatsapp.

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