Family read picked by Mallory
It’s hard to know where to set expectations and judgements for a book aimed at a younger audience, but you can definitely say some books feel ageless or timeless. This book is neither really, but it’s not bad at all. Marshall is such a cutie, the characters are generally sweet and sometimes endearing and surprisingly conflict free. Often you know exactly what is going to happen, just as often really expected things to happen just don’t happen. A deeper dive into characters or themes was something to be missed yet it is true that life as a kid revolves around play and everything else in the face of a super fun game can be background that becomes relevant only in relation to the game. I rate this book 5 or 6/10, but that still translates to a 4/5 on here and I would rate this higher had I read it in elementary. The names of the chapters bothered me, the pictures were fun, the transitions were random, some useless things over explained while important plot driving things under explained, some lightly problematic areas. I think the Egypt game would be fun.

Title: The Egypt Game Author: Zilpha Keatley Snyder Rating:

I thought this book was AMAZING!! It was so detailed and each page unlocked a different story. My favorite part is at the end when the Professor gives the kids a key back into Egypt. I also liked when they started the oracle. My favorite character is Marshall because he is very smart, and he was loyal to the Egypt gang when they had to keep secrets.

Read on openlibrary.org for Children's Books group Newbery Club; copying my comments:

Starting now, and loving the details immediately. The first time we meet some of the characters, we learn that the little boy, Marshall, has a large stuffed *octopus* of all things, named, naturally, "Security."

This is a book I remember enjoying before. Not sure when... more likely when my older boys were the right age to read it, and not from my childhood. What I don't remember is anything that made it Newbery worthy....

Ok done.

Snyder's book isn't completely engaging; I kept taking little breaks from it. And I'm not sure it coheres; it's seems like there are two themes, one of what it means to use one's imagination so deeply, and another about knowing, not judging, other people....

It ends with a scene much like the climactic one in Konigsberg's, that we read last month, with older people explaining themselves to the children, and wrapping up the mysteries in the course of their tales. Hm....

Another middle grade re-read (I purposely decided to go with the two "games:" Westing and Egypt back to back - what can I say?) This one definitely feels a little more aged than some of the other classics, but it still holds a lot of its charm. It brings back memories of childhood play, and the infinite possibilities for imagination and learning, and doing a little bit of growing up too. I'm hoping my daughter will pick this one up and read it as well, to see what a kid from the YouTube age thinks of the story.

Many of us have childhood games that we look back on with fondness, but we know they were just games. The Egypt Game was anything but just a game.
I loved this book when I was younger, and I was worried about rereading it and spoiling the good memories. There have been many books I loved as a kid and couldn’t stand when I reread them as an older kid. Luckily for me, this was not one of those books. I think I actually appreciated it more now that I’m older, and I was able to notice lots of easter eggs and nuances I didn’t notice before. I think this is a really fun book that most everyone can enjoy at any age. I would especially recommend it to anyone interested in Egyptian mythology!

I chose this book for the Heather and Peter Book Club of Two because Peter read (and loved) The Westing Game based on my recommendation and most book sites recommend this title if you dug that book. I liked the idea of both of us reading a book for the first time. His mom had read it and gave her approval, so we were off to the races.

On the plus side, the children's relationships are REALLY well-drawn here. Snyder handles well the notion of loving a friend but being embarrassed by them, or wanting/needing to fit in at school to get by, or mob mentality, or doing stuff that you think is kind of boring because your best friend is into it, or being scared, or being brave, and so on. I liked that most of the kids were a little hard to love (well, Melanie is pretty much just awesome all around, but that's understandable). I liked, too, that there was a great emphasis on research-based imagination. It makes the idea that these kids are making up "Egyptian" rituals (some of which are, I'm sure, highly insulting and a bit racist) a little easier to stomach. They're not just getting their notion of Ancient Egypt from, like, watching The Mummy. They're reading history books and THEN making stuff up on their own. I accept.

(Side note: I dug up some readers' guides to The Egypt Game online so I could target some of my questions to Peter in the letter I wrote him. One classroom plan involved WATCHING THE MUMMY TO TEACH YOUR STUDENTS ABOUT ANCIENT EGYPT. Oh god.)

On the minus side, the story leaves a little to be desired, structurally. There are rather convenient jumps in time, and the central conflict (there is A SERIAL MURDERER who is killing kids in the town so our band of imagination gamers is not allowed outside for a while) comes a bit late in the book and feels quite manufactured and strange. That said, I did like that the kids don't just return to their gameplay after some more adults know about it. This is, I think, a bit central to the way kid brains work, and I found it refreshing that Snyder clued into that.

A good read for imaginative kids, for sure.

This book was one of only three books I remember reading in 6th grade. Instead of reading many books that year, I read the same three (The Egypt Game, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and The Pistachio Prescription) over and over and over. The Egypt Game is a little outdated now, but the heart of the story is still the same. It's about kids using their minds for play instead of electronics or TV. Those were my favorite games when I was young... getting caught up in my own imagination with my brother and my friends. I also have always been fascinated with Egypt, and this book probably played a big part in that. It's a kids' story, but there is darkness too, so it's not babyish. Rereading it after many years still brought me the same excited feelings. It's still one of my favorites.

There's something about being one of few people to know about something that makes it so much more special... that's how it is with secrets, hidden treasures, etc.

This is the sort of book I imagine that most young people these days would pass by without a second glance, like an old dusty curio shop nestled among much gaudier, brightly coloured stores. It starts off slow, and in many ways it is as archaic as the Egyptian culture it focuses on, but that is part of the charm of it.

This book, while no doubt wildly popular when it first came out, now feels like the statue of Nephertiti in the old abandoned junkyard... old junk to those who don't stop for a closer look, but truly a priceless treasure.

I don't want to go on extolling this book too greatly because there's something about it that makes me want to keep it all to myself, not know anyone else who appreciates it...

There's something about hidden treasure that makes you want to keep it hidden.

But, to avoid being selfish, I'll share this brief but heartful message about this book: This is truly a lovely book... a treasure.

This held up enormously well from reading and loving it as a kid.

The fact that this book keeps showing up on "banned books" lists boggles the mind. This is a book that every child MUST read. I mean think about it: the book is about a group of bored city-kids who start their own game that involves imagination and *gasp* going to the library to do research! The book actually made me want to learn more about an ancient civilization.

"Banned books". Boggles the mind...

Title / Author / Publication Date: The Egypt Game/Zilpha Keatley Snyder/1967

Format: Paperback

Genre: Mystery/Suspense

Plot Summary:
Considerations or precautions for readers advisory: For any kid who has ever found a dusty attic and made it a castle, or a part of the backyard and made it a fairyland, The Egypt Game is for them. The story revolves around two young girls who share a mutual love of hieroglyphics, pyramids, and Egyptology. While walking home one day they discover a loose plank in a fence and beyond that, an empty space behind an old antique shop with various busts of Nefertiti, an Egyptian goddess. The two take over the space, filling it with candles, and scarves, and other objects to add an air of mystery. Soon other kids are invited to join the club, and the children set about making their own version of Egypt come to life. Each child has a role, one is a pharaoh, the other a priestess. One boy brings an old stuffed owl to the space and proclaims him a oracle. Soon they begin to leave written questions to the owl and in the morning, return to find answers. The games come to a halt when a young girl is murdered. Late one night one of the young girls returns to the yard because she forgot her schoolbook. She hears screams and calls for help, but the killer escapes. Later at the police station she helps identify the killer and also confirms the innocence of the police's main suspect, the elderly owner of the antique shop behind which the Egypt game is played. In return for her help, the owner bequeaths the young girl with a key to the backyard, telling her to continue to use the space with her friends whenever she likes.

Review citation: N/A

Section source used to find the material: Children's Core Collection, Most Highly Recommended

Recommended age: 8 and up