The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (2009-07-07)

The plot of the novel, “The Egypt Game” all starts in a neighborhood. The neighborhood is in a large university town in California. The neighborhood an antique store owned by an old man know as the Professor. The Professor has a backyard that he hasn’t been infiltrated in a very long time. The antique store has a dusty old window that can be seen through to look at the backyard. His backyard has a hole in one of it’s fences that is big enough for a person to fit though. The Professor’s backyard is filled with tons of weed all over the place. The Professor’s backyard may also be referred as Egypt. The Professor’s backyard is basically where the whole novel takes place

From my perspective, The Egypt Game was a very good novel with twists and fascinating facts about Ancient Egypt. I would highly recommend this novel for people that like learning about Ancient Egypt. If your someone that doesn't know anything about Ancient Egypt, I would suggest giving this novel a try. The novel briefly explains the mummification process and what a pharaoh is. the book has twists that you won't be expecting. The book could be has some scary scenes as well. I loved how the author uses dialogue. The author explains the characters’ expressions good through using dialogue. The author can improve the novel by adding some comedy to it. It was definitely worth reading this novel and I would highly suggest people of any age reading it!

I first read this in perhaps third grade and still remember it, five years later, as one of my favorite books of all time. (Yes, I have reread it since then, on numerous occasions.) I've read a lot of books, many of which were easily forgettable, but The Egypt Game was really one that stayed with me. I could always come back to it when I was out of luck at the library; I never grew out of the story or the characters because I related to all of it. I discovered, when I read this, that I was almost exactly like April and Melanie; I even played a game very similar to the paper families.

The game itself was something I'd love to play, and was the kind of thing that had always engaged me. I was pleased to find that others did the same things and thought the same ways I did; that is one of the things I look for in a book. It inspired a period of interest in ancient Egypt, and I acquired a new respect for history which I'd previously thought of as boring. I didn't learn a lot from the book, but it did make me want to learn, which I think is actually more important. (After all, you can only get so much from one book. It's one thing to be entertained and educated by a single novel, and quite another to be made to want to know more.)

Apart from Egypt, this also made me fascinated by ancient history in general. I think it is mostly this book's influence that has made me feel real interest in history. In fifth grade, I liked the Percy Jackson series, and a combination of said series and The Egypt Game gave my friends and I the idea to start our own Greece Game. We didn't play it, as it turned out, but we did set up a Greek-themed clubhouse in the shed in my backyard and I read a book of Greek myths because of it.

The vital difference: I outgrew the Percy Jackson books (I apologize for any indignation this may evoke), but The Egypt Game has remained in a special place on my bookshelf.

I'm very lucky that I read this before my sixth grade teacher made it into the dreaded required reading. That has always ruined books for me. If you had to read this for school and hated it, please allow yourself another try without the negative bias school unintentionally gives it.

If you know any imaginative kids, I'd really recommend for you to buy this for them. I have always felt it was a special book, and I believe more people should be introduced to it. This is one of those books I can always remember fondly and read again without my first impression of it being spoiled. You can, I think, love it at any age.

This seems to fit well into the young adult/fantasy genre that’s been really popular for the past couple of years. After picking the book up, I realized this was not a new book at all. Written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, this book was first published in 1967. In this year she also won the Newbury Award. This book has long been a must-have for teachers,parents, and school libraries. There seems to have been renewed interest as this genre has become so popular, it’s amazing that this book is still popular over forty years after it was originally published!

The story focuses on two young girls who first meet during the summer, when April has come to visit her grandmother. Melanie, whose family lives in the same apartment building as April’s grandmother, is thrilled to have someone her own age around. April isn’t exactly happy to be there; her mother is an actress who seems always too busy to be a part of her life. What April doesn’t know in the beginning of the book is that she going to spend a lot more time at her grandmother’s house than she expected. These two girls, along with Melanie’s 4 year old brother, begin spending time behind a store that’s just around the corner from their apartment building. The store is owned by an aspiring archaeologist/historian who has many of his collected artifacts on display. Behind the store is some of the bigger items that are too big for display in the store. This is where the Egypt game begins.

As the game grows, more people join, and it becomes more elaborate, including costumes, role-playing, an oracle, and even at one point they experiment with mummification. One of the young girls who get involved with the game, Elizabeth, offers up her pet parakeet for the experiment.

“The appearance of the mummy-to-be when he was removed from his brine bath, on the following afternoon, was something of a shock to everybody. His wet feathers stuck to his tiny body and he was covered with a thick white salty scum. When Toby lifted him gingerly out of the brine by one claw, everybody felt a little queasy, and Elizabeth’s eyes became suspiciously liquid.”

During the summer when the game first begins there was a child murdered in the neighborhood, which forces the children inside, and away from Egypt. The owner of the store, whom they call “The Professor” is a potential suspect. Of course the fear is felt by the parents, and the murder investigation just adds a level of ingrigue and interest for the children. As the game becomes more elaborate, especially through the communication with the oracle, things start to get a bit strange. It’s an important lesson for these children (and hopefully for those children who read the book) to set limits, and avoid getting involved in risky behavior, even when their friends are doing something they shouldn’t.

Egypt Game is incredibly imaginitive, and incredible in that it has the ability to draw in young readers even all these years later. Would something like this happen today? Can children unplug, get outside, and use their imaginations? I believe they still can, and this book can serve as an inspiration!

Eleven-year-old April Hall, who often calls herself April Dawn, is sent by her actress-singer mother Dorothea, to live with her grandmother, Caroline Hall, in a California university town. In the same old California-Spanish apartment house called the Casa Rosada lives the family of Melanie Ross, who is April's age. Melanie has a four-year-old brother Marshall. April and Melanie end up going to the same sixth-grade class at Wilson School and find that they share a love of all things related to ancient Egypt. In their neighborhood, they come across a deserted storage yard behind the A-Z Antiques store run by an elderly man usually known simply as "The Professor" in which they see some items which they use to begin playing "The Egypt Game," in which they wear costumes, hold ceremonies, and work on a secret code. Marshall is brought along too.

Over the next several months, "The Egypt Game" comes to include Elizabeth Chung, a nine-year-old girl whose family also moves into the Casa Rosada, and Toby Alvillar and Ken Kamata, two boys in April and Melanie's sixth-grade class. However, a couple of terrible murders happen in the neighborhood, one a little boy, and the other a little girl. Sometimes "the Egyptians" feel as if someone is watching them. And then some strange things begin to occur when the children are playing their game. Has "The Egypt Game" gone too far? Will something bad happen to them? Who is responsible for the murders? The Egypt Game, which was a Newbery Honor Book in 1968, is not a book that one would choose to accompany a study of ancient Egypt, like The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw or Shadow Hawk by Andre Norton, but it is a neat story about some children who use their imaginations and have a lot of fun together.

I found it interesting that I had just read Hope Was There, in which a girl named Hope was dumped by her mother on her Aunt Addie, and now in this book April is dumped by her mother on her Grandmother Caroline. It is almost as if there was an epidemic in Newbery Honor Books of mothers abandoning their children. Otherwise, there is not much objectionable. A few common euphemisms (heck, gee, darn) occur, and April utters a couple of "words that Melanie wasn't allowed to say," but they are indicated simply by blanks. The children do disobey their parents a few times when they are not supposed to go out but do so to play their game. A belief in the possibility of reincarnation is stated at one point, and the names of some Egyptian idols are found. Parents of small children or children who are especially sensitive and may have bad dreams from seeing or hearing frightening things will want to know that one scene in particular is rather scary and intense, but for most young people it should be no problem. Overall, I felt that it was a worthwhile book.

"The Egypt Game", what do you think about when you first hear it? Well, I thought it obviously if some kind of a game, and a game that had to do with Egypt. Turns out, that not only this book has quite a level of information to go through regarding Egypt, but also surrounding friendship and some advises about daily life. Not only this book was fun to read by me, it will be as enjoyable to you as well, if you are middle school student or younger.

The book holds a third-person author view to the readers, allowing them to go through views of number of peoples from time to time, giving you a general idea what each character thinks and responds to certain things (personality). However, the author doesn't always go to a character's view, but rather enjoys having it left on a third person to let the environment sink in.

The two main characters of the book are as follows: April Dawn, and Melanie Ross. Though they might not have anything in common, they make the solid constitution on the Egypt Game. As they become as close to as ever can as friends, a new girl for the school joins in with the Egypt Game, and although there is quite of an age difference, they accept each other's situation and fast bonds into the game itself. Of course, what is a book without an ultimate challenge? Boys! At Halloween, they were actually sidetracked all the way to the place where they play the Egypt Game by Tobby and Ken (school boys they were having trouble at the time). Surprisingly, when confronted with the option to actually play the game with them, they awkwardly agree, and that was the full Egypt crew for the rest of the story.

At the end, everything works out well, and though there are couples of main stuffs not mentioned in the review of mine, but I don't think it is necessary to tell all and spoil whole bunch of the story. I really enjoyed the book, and I recommend it, and am willing to read the next one: the Gypsy Game.

The plot of was two completely different girls(April Hall and Melanie Ross) and a little boy(Marshall Ross) start reading about Egypt and soon became intrigued in the fascinating land. Soon they sneak into a back yard and find that it looks like Egypt. They start up a game called the Egypt Game. They also come across a new girl that moves into the building(Elizabeth Chung) and two boys at school(Ken Kamata and Toby Alvillar) which soon join the game .Mysterious things soon start to happen and nobody has a explanation for it.

My favorite part was at the end when the professor comes to talk to them. I liked this part because he trusted them so much to share a deep secret that was very sad and he could have been mad at them for sneaking into his backyard but instead he chose to be calm and nice and gave them keys so they could finish playing there game. This part also shows how a little kindness can't hurt to be used once in awhile. I think that the author(Zilpha Keatley Snyder) could have changed the book by leaving everything up to the reader so they could draw their own conclusion. I also think she could have given us a little bit more clues to who did it all and who the murderer was.

By MI

The Egypt Game is about a new girl named April Hall. She lives in the Casa Rosada, the pink house with her grandmother. Melanie one of the other girls living in the apartment (roughly the same age as April) then goes up to April’s apartment to greet April. Melanie meets April and thinks to herself that they have nothing in common. They soon find out that they both love Egypt and everything to do with it. They soon have 6 members to play the game with them. They play the ‘Egypt Game’ game in a suspected murderer’s shop’s yard, they call him Professor. When a child is murdered the Professor is suspected. After that strange things start to happen in Egypt and it’s players. What has become of the ‘Egypt Game?’
The Egypt Game is a book where you have to read for detail. The book is very suspenseful and descriptive. It contains some language (it is blank). Also, The Egypt Game has a sequel. I would recommend the book if you love short mysteries and love ancient Egypt. In the end it reveals who the culprit is, so you do not have to infer. This could be good or bad. Overall The Egypt Game is a good book. It could be improved by taking out the blank lines that were intended for foul language. Also, by giving more background on some of the characters.

By A.P.

The egypt game is a thought to be private game. There are six Egyptians. The Egyptians are Toby, Ken, Marshall, April, Elizabeth, and Melanie. They work with their imaginative minds to play an Egypt game. April and Melanie decide to play the Egypt game together. Marshall plays because Melanie is his older sister. Then, Elizabeth, a new kid in the neighborhood joins the game. Finally, the four are caught by Ken and Toby. Elizabeth decides to let them join the Egypt game so they don’t tell on the crew. And now the six play the game. But then something goes wrong! Has the Egypt game become more than a game? Read the book to find the answer.

This book is an amazing book. It has many mysterious mysteries and one of them is yet to be solved.It is also filled with red herrings and a cliff hanger. I really loved this book. And I as famous as I am approve of this newbery book to be titled best book of the year. This book of Snyders is very exciting I just can’t wait to read “The Gypsy Game” I give this book a 5/5.

The book The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder is a mystery novel. It is about six kids how are part of the Egypt game that takes place in the professor's storage yard that is locked up. The kids do many ceremonies and rituals, they use Egyptian costumes, thrones and hieroglyphics during the ceremonies. They do all of these things until weird and strange things happen to the children.

Think that this book was good, my favorite part is when they do all of the ceremonies and use hieroglyphics. I like the hieroglyphics because the symbols they used and the way they communicated were very interesting. I liked the ceremonies because they described egyptian egyptian ways and culture very well and they were very intriguing. I think some thing the author could do to make this story better is to have you draw your own conclusion. I think this would make it better because in my opinion cliffhangers are great and you could find out the mystery yourself. In conclusion The Egypt Game is a great book.

By BB

The book The Egypt Game is a book about three diverse, imaginative kids playing a game about Egypt. They build all different statutes and alters. They have different gods and oracles and different ceremonies, like the ceremony of the dead. They made their own Hieroglyphic alphabet. But the setting of Egypt is in the backyard of an old antique shop. But what they don’t know is that the owner of the store is watching them and he ends up saving one of the Egyptians life.
In my opinion, this book is mediocre. There were some parts I found especially intriguing but others were not really all that interesting. One of my favorite parts (I won’t say a lot, so I won’t spoil the part) was when April was surprised. One part I could change would be the word, “Terribly.” This word is used several times in the story, I don’t know why but I just don’t like the word “Terribly.”

of some very imaginative kids. At first meeting, it seems that self-professed Hollywood glamor girl April and down-to-earth Melanie have little in common, but they soon find that they share a love of imaginative play and of all things Egyptian, which they see at the museum. Accompanied by Melanie's serious little brother, Marshall, they set up their own version of Egypt in back of an old junk shop and play at being kings and queens of the Nile. The game is almost ruined when some boys at school discover it, but the boys think it's so neat that they end up asking to join in the game. The group devises all sorts of rituals, costumes, and even a secret code of hieroglyphics to communicate with each other.

But unbeknownst to the Egypt gang, a shadowy figure is watching their every move. Could it be the child predator who is reportedly on the loose? The ending is suspenseful and I won't give it away except to say that if you've read "To Kill a Mockingbird", you'll understand what I mean when I say there's a Boo Radley situation in the works.

I read this book at about age 11 and really enjoyed it, partly because I could see it involved "controversial" topics that all adults didn't wholeheartedly bless. The child murderer storyline is fairly graphic for a children's book, with at least one child ending up dead and another escaping by a hair's breadth. I found it exciting as an 11-year-old reader, but it might not be appropriate for young children under 10 or for sensitive readers.

Also, the Egypt game itself includes pretend rituals worshipping Egyptian gods. The children research these rituals and are concerned with performing them properly, but the rituals are clearly presented as play, i.e. the characters don't run around professing actual belief in the gods and are a bit freaked out when their "oracle" actually appears to answer an important question. Nevertheless, I think my Christian mother would have had some issues if I'd suddenly started burning incense to an idol, even just for fun (as I'm sure she would have had issues if I had similarly imitated Snyder's other books involving kids practicing witchcraft or exorcising demons from their pet cat). The thing about the Egypt Game is that it's very definitely a kid's own world, and adults, even nice adults, are excluded. To have an adult show up in Egypt, as the end of the book indicates, pretty much means game over. The same with the book - I loved it as a kid but it was not the sort of book I wanted to share or discuss with the adults in my life (same for all of Snyder's books). I just wanted to absorb it on my own.

One more nice thing about this book, that's not so pronounced now but definitely stood out at the time, is that the children in the book are multicultural and multiracial. April is white with blonde hair, Melanie and Marshall are African-American, and one of the boys appears to be Asian. At the time this book was first out, in the 60s and early 70s, there were not that many children's books showing racial mixing unless something like school integration or the Civil War was a big theme of the book. In Egypt, you have children of races and cultures coming together in harmony, and it's never discussed. When in Egypt, all the kids are "Egyptian". I thought that was nice when I first read the book and I still think it's nice today. Five stars.

This is a lighthearted, whimsical book. It really doesn't go into enough detail about Egypt to be fully satisfying. It's almost like a commercial for doing your own Egypt research. I think kids who are patient and appreciate stories that require the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks will appreciate it. I thought the characters and dialogue were particularly well done with a lot of humor. Readers expecting a lot of action throughout will be disappointed. It's meant to be more of a mystery that is solved gradually.

THis book is truly unique! Zilpha Keatley Snyder has done it again! This book is about a young girl who is left to live with her Grandmother because her celebrity mother doesn't have time for her. The girl, April needs to adjust to her new enviroment, when she meets a girl, Melanie, who lives next door.Together they find they share the same passion, reading, mainly about Egyptoligy. Together, they find an abondened lean-to garden shack behind an old proffeser's house, and turn it into "The Land of Egypt". Melanies little brother, Marshall, 2 boys from school, and the girls other neighbor, Elizabeth accompany the girls and turn into the inhabetints of "Egypt". They perform rituals they create, make altars for Set and Nerfertitti, and create their own heiroglyphs, when strange things start happening. A murderer is on the loose in the neighborhood, and the "Egyptians" are confined to their homes. Will this be the end of "Egypt"? Read this book,I guarentee,it's teriffic! I am a 6th grader from california,I'm in honors English, and I am a book worm! I am very picky about what literature I read, and this is part of my list!!!

This mysterious book is about a snobby show-business daughter, April Hall, who goes to live with her grandmother in a town where she thought she would never want to live. It ends up that underneath the fox collar fur and fake eyelashes is a girl who loves books, history, and is always ready for adventure. April becomes the greatest of friends with a neighbor Melanie, and they begin to create a whole new world, full of fantasy, history, tradition, and their world is all hidden. Will anyone find out about their secret game and destroy it, or will April and Melanie get caught and find themselves in danger?

Egypt Game is a playful mystery book that has the characters use their imaginations to enter the game, and the game gives everyone a chance to be who they really are. This book uses creativity instead of scariness to create the mystery. For example, when the kids hold a ceremony they write letters to "God" and it ends up that they get a vague reply that they do not expect. If you want to read a mystery, but don't want to get nightmares, this is a perfect book for you.

Sophie Asuncion, PARAGUAY

The Egypt Game is a good novel that reflects an enormous change in the main character, April's life. It is perfect for people that read realistic fiction. April, an eleven-year-old girl that is full of imagination and ideas but acts as a show off. She comes from Hollywood and moves to an ordinary community. April is experiencing a new neighborhood and finding new friends, although it will be a little difficult because of the ridiculous fake eyelashes and the fuzzy clothes she wears. I think that almost always a new kid in school is teased and the way that they react is acting show off and like knowing it all. That's what happened to April with Toby and Ken when they teased her with February. If you like adventure then you should like The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder who is a specialist in children's books.

The Egypt Game reflects how a person can be so selfish but over time with friendship it all changes. I recommend this book to six graders that like mystery and adventure. The message of this story is to demonstrate that not everyone is what he or she looks like and that's why the professor turns out to be innocent and not guilty. The name of the book is really ideal because in the plot there is this invented game from April's, Melanie's, Marshal's and Elisabeth's imaginations. Then after some time Toby and Ken discovered the game so they became part of the group too. If you want to find out more about The Egypt Game go ahead and discover the marvelous experience of this story.

Do you like Egypt or books about crimes? The Egypt Game, written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, would then be the book for you. The Egypt Game is about a new girl from Hollywood named April who meets her neighbors, Melanie and Marshall, and starts a game about Egypt in the backyard of a strange clerk while there's a murderer on the loose, who has already killed two kids. The clerk is thought to be the murderer by a lot of people; however, the only one who thinks he's innocent is April.
The Egypt Game is a good book. Most people would've thought this book is just about Egypt, but it is cool because the author puts in the part about the murderer. The plot is pretty exciting, and all the characters act differently. By looking at the author's writing style, it seems that he or she likes to keep the book interesting throughout the story. The Egypt Game is a good book for ages ten and up, or it could just be for anyone who likes Egypt and crime stories.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatly Snyder is about a group of kids pretending they are in Egypt. Someone is murdered and it puts the Egypt gang in great danger. People think the owner of the yard the kids use is guilty. The Egypt game may be over but is it?

The Egypt Game is a great book. I like it because it shows the traditions of ancient Egypt. I also like it because there are many mysteries in the book. I don't really like the beginning though, and I think it could use some changes. I don't really like all the backround knowledge about the Professor's store. The book should start off with the kids playing the game. That's just my opinion. You should read the book and post your opinion too.

April and Melanie became fast friends the first time they met--they both had irrepressible imaginations and the desire to put those imaginations to use. Quite by accident, they found a way into an overgrown, fenced in storage yard behind it that obviously wasn't being used by it's owner, the local curio shop. April and Melanie knew instantly that it would be the perfect place to play pretend and set about making it inhabitable. Doing so, they discover a somewhat beat-up, but still beautiful, bust of Nefertiti. Add that to their imagination and the Egypt Game was born.
With Melanie's baby brother as the Boy Pharaoh and themselves as priestess to both Isis and Set (they took turns being the bad priestess), they created elaborate ceremonies and scenarios. Much reading was done at the local library and as their Egyptian knowledge grew, their interest in the game stayed fast. Eventually there are six in the Egypt Game, using their imaginations and their research skills.
Things take an odd turn as the "unexplained" makes an appearance. The six "Egyptians" start to wonder if the game has gone too far, crossed a line that they didn't know could be crossed. I won't spoil it be explaining, but will say that all turns out as it should.
I found this a good book for children on several levels. One was the relationship of April to her mother and to her grandmother. April idolized her mom, who was trying to make it big in Hollywood. April was sent to her grandmother's to stay for a while, just until her mom sorted things out in Hollywood. Seeing April mature and soften under the love of her steadfast grandmother is a good image for anyone.
The other thing I particularly liked about the Egypt Game was the obvious--the encouragement of both imagination and research. So many kids today don't play pretend. There are too many other distractions with TV, Internet and game systems. This book showed the magic of using the imagination, and the importance of doing a bit of research to know the subject. I liked that aspect immensely.

The Egypt Game is basicaly a game about Egyptians. In the book there are six main characters and they are: April Hall she is an eccentric eleven year old. Her and Melanie started the Egypt game. Then there's Melanie Ross she is a very responsible eleven year old.April and her started the Egypt game. Then there's Marshall Ross he is Melanies little brother. He is very respnsible for his age. There is only one problem with him, you see he always carries a stuffed octupus named Security. Elizabeth Chung is a very sensitive nine year old. She sobs for almost everything. Toby Alvilar is a cocky eleven year old. He is a bit smug, unlike his friend Ken who is very smug yet shy at the same time. These are the six children who play the Egypt game. April and Melanie started the game bacause of their interest in Egypt. They began to go to the library and read every single book that the library had. They got a nickname in there,it was the Egypt Girls. Then they stumbled upon an old storage yard in a few days they turn it into Egypt.Along the way the other children are found and begin to play.Read all about their adventures together.

This book The Egypt Game is really interesting. At the beginning you get bored, but don't stop reading because later this book will get really good. April is a girl who moved with her grandma for some reasons. She meets a girl and her brother and they discover a very funny game. One day something occurs and they cannot go out to play out for a long time. It wasn't a day or two it was more than a week. Before they were three members who are in the game and at the end they are six. During the time they were in Egypt strange things begin to happen when they get back to play.

I liked the book, it was fine. I would recommend it to people who like mysteries. People like you can read this book or else you wouldn't be reading this review. At the end of the story things get much better for everyone, but April gets a big idea, which gets funny if you read the whole book.

This book was absolutely fabulous. It talks about a young girl named April who comes to live in a town in CA while her mom is touring around the country. She meets a girl name Melanie and her younger brother named Marshall. Melanie and April are fascinated with Egyptian history and love everything to do with Egypt. Soon they find an old storage yard behind an old antique shop. This is now called Egypt. This is where the Egypt Game takes place. Soon there comes three more kids who come to join the Egypt Game. The Egyptians do many ceremonies to the gods,( including a ceremony for the dead which is basically a funeral for one of the girl's dead parakeet). Soon there is a homicide and everyone is forced to stay indoors, but a few weeks later the kids are allowed to play outside again. ...
This book combines a great story of suspense, some of the Egyptian rituals, and so on. The author really lets you get to know the characters of this book. I highly recommend this book!!!

This is a wonderful book filled with fun facts, suspense, and even some drama. This is one of my favorite books and I read it every year. For example when there's a murderer on the loose will the kids be able to make it back to their wonderful world of Egypt?

In this book a girl, April, is awestruck by anything about Egypt, and even wants to be an Egyptologist. But then, while going through an alley, she sees a loose board in a fence. Looking through she spies an old run down back yard. But with her imagination, and help from her friends she turns it into ancient Egypt. But when a child is killed has the Egypt Game come to a close?

I would recommend this book for people who are interested in Egypt or people who like adventure books. Every time I read this book I learn something new.

When Melanie and April meet for the first time they are not sure that they will like each other. Soon thay find out that they both like Egypt. They find a deserted yard and set up a club with six people. One day one of the players wrote a question on a peice of paper. The next day, they found an answer! One night when April was walking to the club area, someone attacked her.The "professor" saved her and told her that he wrote the answer to the question! The next day, the club area was boarded up and locked, so no one went in.
I think that this book is very fun to read. It is interesting how the "professor" sneaks in the story and saves one of the characters. I think that this book has good descrption. I can almost feel the characters' heat coming from them when they try to know who wrote the answer. This book is like my life. Like Melanie, I didn't the "new girl" in the school will be my friend.
My favorite part of the story is when the "professor" to April that he wrote the answer. I never guessed that is was him. They believed that is was the gods that did that. I never guessed that it was him. At first, I thought that one of the club members did it as a joke. I still can't believe that "professor" did it!

There is about four children one boy and about four girls. There is about five kids April, Melanie ,Toby, Ken, Elizabeath. There was a girl that moved from Hollywood. Now she lives with her grandmother. Then she meant a girl that lived there for two or three years. She had some fake eyelashes and wanted to wear them to school. One of her firends didn't want her to wear them.Then a couple months later it was Halloween! The climax is were tody had got hurt really bad . Then after that happen they had found out that girl had gotting murder too! They go to a fenced in yard and it is right beside the porfesser's store he sping on them . They fix the place up like new! They think they are getting spied on , but they don't know htat they are really getting spied on. At the end they have to answer some question are about getting an after school job. And the porfesser had giving them.Then they start to sing Chrietmas songs.
Well, this story is ok! If someone likesaction this book is not the bok for you !iguess the book was ok . It wasn't all that exiciting , but it was ok I'd tell a firend that the book has lots of imagination.

The author of this book is Zilpha Keatley Snyder who is also the author of The Gypsy Game, The Unseen, and many others. The title of this book is The Egypt Game. Zilpha Keatley Snyder got her ideas from her made up Egypt Game when she was in the fifth grade, when she was teaching in Berkeley, California, and also her daughter's good ideas. The six main characters came from people who were in her class one year. This story type is fiction.
In this book a new girl named April Hall comes to live on Orchard Avenue in a California-Spanish apartment with her grandmother Caroline from Hollywood. A few days after she moves in she meets Melanie and Marshall Ross. April and Melanie are both so interested in Egypt that they checked out books on it, learned every possible thing about Egypt, and soon started the Egypt Game in the backyard of someone's store near an alley. They soon meet a new girl named Elizabeth who had just moved to the Casa Rosada, the California-Spanish apartment. They told her all about the Egypt Game and let her join. Soon after, someone murdered a child and was never caught. Children were not allowed to go outside and play for a while. Melanie, April, and Elizabeth let two boys in the game reluctantly. The reason they had to let them join was if they did not then the boys might have told the secret of the Egypt Game. All six of them made an oracle, which is something that answers questions asked by the community, and on the last question asked, someone not in the game answered the question. The last few questions were answered by someone in the game, but not this time. One day April forgot her math book and went back to 'Egypt' to get it with Marshall. When she was leaving, someone came up behind her out of the alley and choked her. Marshall saw someone in the store, the backyard of which they play the Egypt Game. That person in the store broke a glass window and yelled, "Help!"
My impression of this book is that it is a very good book. It was not the best book and at the same time not the worst book. This book would probably be a good book for a very adventurous person. This book would also probably be a good book for a person who loves mystery and suspense. On a scale from one to ten I would rate this as a six, which is good.

Like another ordinary day where every kid goes to school the 1st day. it's the 1st day of school and girl named Melanie doesn't that she'll make any friends until she meets April and Elizabeth. They noticed they had something in common which was they all like Egyptian related things. One day Melanie finds a shed in back of the professors shop. After finding the fort behind the shop they decide to create a club because nobody uses the shed. Then Elizabeth, April and Melanie they go to the shed the next day and find out that Elizabeth's brother Marshall sneaks one them and try to scare them. The girls think somebody's trying to come in. And then they see Marshall and yells at him for scaring them. They keep on visiting the shed and then Halloween comes. So they all plan on to play The Egypt Game on Halloween, but there's a problem where they're going with their parents so they have to sneak away from them to play the game. When they reach the shed there's two boys named Toby and Ken who want to join the club. When they start playing the game they make their own symbols and pretend to be mummies and stuff and call out the spirits. From there there's someone watching them from the professors shop but they don know who. The genre of this book is Fantasy.
This book is boring because it mostly talked about what they did in the fort. I would not recommend this book because nothing really is exciting in this book and all they do the whole time is talk about the game. Yes, it was hard to concentrate on the story because it didn't grab my attention and also because I had so many question about the book. I didn't really connect to any character in the book because there wasn't anything in common between me and the book that happened. I didn't enjoy this book but I do like this genre. What made me not like this genre in this book is that there was really no meaning to the book. I didn't hook you onto reading more unlike other stories I have read. I would recommend this book to 9 or 8 year olds because in this book the characters mostly pretend.

I had an exciting time reading The Egypt Game. It starts out fairly slow, but about halfway through the book it gets really interesting. Its style of writing is very captivating, and the book grips you reading until you are finished.

Essentially, the book is about two girls, April and Melanie, who start a game where they perform Egyptian ceremonies. More and more players join and the game develops into an extravaganza. Then strange things start to happen, like when their fake oracle starts to give answers to the questions they pose. Is someone pulling a prank, or are mysterious forces at work?

The plot is well developed. For example, take Marshall, Melanie's brother. From the beginning of the book, it is crystal clear that he is a young child who is very sophisticated for his age except that he insists on lugging around a plush octopus. Although it starts out as just a stuffed animal the octopus becomes very crucial to the plot. The level of detail is so incredible. In some chapters you read about the characters just twiddling their thumbs as they waited to have a turn doing a ritual or ceremony. I also liked the good descriptions of the setting. The book takes place in California, primarily in the storage yard of a mysterious old man they call "the Professor." I found these aspects of the book quite enjoyable.

I found my time reading this novel to be quite enjoyable. I cannot wait to read the exciting sequel, The Gypsy Game.

The Egypt Game is an exciting book. In the beginning of the story is boring. After you read on it gets better. The story has six main characters, April, Melanie, Marshall, Toby, and Ken. April is Friends with Melanie. Melanie has a brother named Marshall. Toby and Ken join later in the game. They're like any other boys, but at times they're a real handful. Ken always says,"Sheesh", Marshall always takes an octopus with were ever he goes, and April also moved to live with her grandmother Caroline. There's also a Professor who has a store called: A-Z Antiques Curious Used Merchandise, but no one knows what A-Z means so is it a real mystery after all? solve the puzzle by reading The
Egypt Game!

I wouldn't be surprised if readers finish this book and don't turn back to the TV, but instead put together make-believe worlds of their own--not necessarily Egyptian ones.
This book may not have transported me back to the real Ancient Egypt, but it did take me into the kind of world only a child's imagination can create. It contains makeshift altars and special names, made-up rituals and homemade costumes, "modified" hieroglyphics and even a new way to walk. Anyone who has ever invented his or her own special world, out of fascination or out of boredom, will understand the appeal of "The Egypt Game".
While reading, I often thought that Zilpha Keatley Snyder had more fun writing about the made-up rituals than the characters had performing them. Not only are they fun, they are more or less well-researched, which is only right, as two of her characters are enthusiastic readers who pay attention to details. Throughout the story, Snyder's sense of humor shines through, whether she is making one character sprinkle ashes into his hair or making two other characters refrain from doing so, "because to a girl even the death of a pharaoh isn't worth a dirty head."
Except for April Hall and Melanie Ross--and the Professor, of course--the characters are not very complex. They become part of Egypt not because they have something vital to add to the plot, but because they make the game more fun. Only a few of them go through a change that is apparent at the end of the story. However, their personalities are varied enough to contribute to the small conflicts in each chapter (this is a semi-episodic novel), and to let readers have different favorite characters.
The book has its darker parts, however. Part of the story involves the murder of some small children, and the murderer remains at large for most of the novel. (Even I found this extreme. The story could have been just as fun and mysterious without it.) Also, the idol worship and divination aspects of some of the games may be disturbing because they are very realistic and taken very seriously by the children. As for the Professor, his role in the story is so ambiguous at the beginning that only experienced readers will be able to tell, by the third chapter, whether the Professor is spooky or friendly, a bad guy or one of the good guys.
In spite of the drawbacks, I found "The Egypt Game" truly enjoyable and fun to read. I only wish that children had more books that stress the wonder of discovery, imagination, and good, old-fashioned play.

The Egypt Game

Wajhiea Ahmed ISBN 0-440-42225-6

It's the first time Melanie Ross meets April Hall, but she doesn't think they have anything in common. But later on they both discovered that they both love anything that has to do with Ancient Egypt. One day they both find a storage where nobody had come to. It was behind the A-Z Antiques and Curio shop of the professors. Melanie and April both decided it's a great place to start their club for the Egypt Game. After a while they had more people who joined their club and had a club of six Egyptians instead of only two. After school and on the weekends all of the kids meet up to wear costumes on Halloween. There they held ceremonies and worked on making their secret code for their club. When everybody in the club start playing the Egypt Game weird things begin to happen to them. Someone was watching them from the professor's shop. Did the Egypt Game go to far for them? The genre of this book would be fantasy because of some unrealistic things.

This book I would say as my own opinion wasn't really interesting to me because the whole story just took place like in one setting which was the storage they found in the back of the professors house. This book wasn't a really good page turner for me because the book is unpredictable with the humor and the way the author writes in a way that is cliffhanging. I mostly connect with the characters in the book when they all joked around together. I connected to that part in the book because I love to joke around which most people like too. I also don't like if the books aren't just a little funny. If you probably like other books of Zilpha Keatley Snyder you will also probably like this one. And to end with I would recommend this book to 10-12 year olds because they might like the suspense and humor in this story. But don't take my advise for this book you might like it!

The Egypt Game starts when eleven-year-old April Hall moves to Orchard Avenue to live with her grandmother. She used to live in Los Angeles, and when she goes to meet Melanie Ross, also eleven, who lives in the same building, she pretends to be rich and fancy. But Melanie knows that she isn't, and soon the two girls become friends, mainly because of their shared interests, especially for Ancient Egypt. April and Melanie make up a game that they play in an old deserted storeyard, in which they pretend that they're Ancient Egyptians. They let Melanie's four-year-old brother, Marshall, play too, and soon Elizabeth Chung joins them, as well as two boys from April and Melanie's class, Ken and Toby. At first the game is just fun, but then some strange things start happening to the Egyptians. Should they leave Egypt and their game or keep on playing despite the dangers there seem to be there?

A recent thread on rec.arts.books covered people's favorite children's books. I hadn't heard of this one, and the title intrigued me (I'm a sucker for games), so I went out hunting. April Dawn (not her real name) is the daughter of a Hollywood wannabe who comes to the small town of the story to live with her grandmother. She makes friends with the girl down the hall. Sound a little boring? Well, it's not, because Snyder has a touch of authenticity rare in children's books. Most of the ones that I like tend to exaggerate the adults or the children's experiences, such as the recently read James and the Giant Peach or classics like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Snyder's world is wonderfully real and alive. The children are sweet and cruel to each other and adults; the adults are understanding and sick. Why, there's even a "serial" killer in this book. Frightening? Yes, but because we see this through the eyes of children, the scary aspect quickly changes to the drudgery of not being allowed as free a rein to play.
And play is what the Egypt Game is about. April and her friend Melanie are imagineers of the first stripe. Their game is drawn from their mutual fascination for things Egyptian and the convenient vacant junk lot behind the A-Z store. The game is perfectly portrayed--how children can make and follow their rules, but also how they stop in the midst of the game to redefine or add new rules as well.
I prefer children's books with a little magic in them (or, in the case of Narnia, a lot of magic), so I was delighted to read one in which the magic was of the commonplace sort rather than otherworldly.

A young "Hollywood star" named April is dumped by her single mother at Grandma's house, since she isn't doing a good job looking after her. April is used to moving around a lot, and instead of making new friends she usually just play pretends alone, acting as a movie star or whatever else she can dream up. She is elated to find a friend in Melanie Ross; however, whose imagination rolls along just as wild as hers. They begin to play "The Egypt Game" when they find an unused backyard, doing special ceremonies and playing as the priestesses of the Egyptian Gods. They always drag Melanie's four year old brother and his Stuffed octopus, Security, along. Soon other kids join in and they become immersed in Egyptian culture, doing research at the library and learning to speak to oracles.
Their game stops when a murder of a young girl happens in the small town and the children's parents don't let them play outside for a while. Everyone suspects the old professor who sells antiques, who also happens to be the owner of the yard they use for their games. When the children finally begin to play the game again, they begin to wonder if they are not alone. When April forgets her math book at the play site, she realizes that she will have to go back in the dark to go get it. But the murderer has not been caught, and she risks her life to do homework.
When I read the back cover of this book, I thought it was going to like one of those books where kids play around with some magical item and then accidentally summon some mummy or fall into a time warp. I was surprised to find out, however, that the magic is in the story itself, not in the special powers of magical items. The power of imagination is used very well, and anyone reading this book will have good memories of their childhood, and will be open to new avenues of thought. April and her friends prove that all one needs to have fun is to decide to.

Title: The Egypt Game
By: Snyder, Zilpha Keatley
Reviewed By: L. ...
Period: 1
The Egypt Game is about a group of kids playing a made-up game. Those interesting kids are April, Toby, Elizabeth, Marshall, Melonie, and Ken. They made secret codes, had ceremonies, and a great adventure together. Many great mysteries occur that has something to do with the Egypt game, but at the end there were explanations.
There was one thing I didn't really like about this story. When April got attacked by a clerk, it was a little off topic. "The redheaded man had admitted everything." A stockboy, also described as a redheaded man, attacking a kid had nothing to do with the Egypt game! Well, there were also some good parts in The Egypt Game.
I liked this book because of all the mysteries, and how all of the answers to those were completely different from my predictions. "There were accusations and counteraccusations, but no one would admit to writing the mysterious and puzzling words that straggled across the back of Ken's question." My predictions were something about a mysterious Egypt spirit. The real answer was that the Professer had been writing all those. It was really fascinating.
My favorite part of the story was all in the ending. That was the part where the author revealed all the solutions to the mysteries. It was very fun to find out about the things I was questioning about. If you love reading about great adventures and mysteries, The Egypt Game is the right book for you.

The Egypt Game is a book about kids, Melanie, Marshall, April, Elizabeth, Ken, and Toby who make ancient Egypt out of the backyard of a curio shop. The Egypt that they created has pharoahs, mummies, and royal thrones. They had robes and headdresses for everyone and they all loved Egypt. But when weird things start to happen to the Egyptians they get curious, like when a little girl's body is found dead near the dock, or when the Egyptians get a sign from the "gods." All the Egyptians get scared. Has the Egypt game gone to far? I really liked this book because of all the imaginative things that the kids come up with. I hope you do too!

Six children create an imaginative game in which they become pharoahs, priests and priestesses of Egypt in a forgotten yard that they have transformed into their own version of that ancient land. The game becomes their cherished secret, forming a bond between them. Soon, the ugliness of reality intrudes and threatens to destroy their shared fantasy.

My only quarrel with this book is that author Zilpha Keatly Snyder does not fully exploit the mysterious atmosphere of her story. At times, the narrative is very strong as it evokes the power of childhood imagination, flirting with the possibility that such power could actually cause things to happen in the real world. I didn't need her to change her story into a horror novel, but it seems to me that the arrival of the mysterious child killer could have been tied more securely to this other major thread of the narrative, thereby heightening the suspense. At any rate, the children are well-written and events unfold at a brisk pace.

The Egypt Game. When I first looked at this book, it looked kind of creepy, so I read it. When I was reading, it was creepy! The author used great words that make the book scary, but also fun to read. An Exciting, mysterious game that started with a bunch of kids who were bored with the same old neighborhood games. They were having fun playing Egypt in the storage yard of an old store, until the town had a crisis. There had been a murder, so none of the kids could play outside because their parents didn't want their kids to risk being murdered. Will the Egypt gang ever get to play in Egypt again? Find out in this awesome, page turning book, The Egypt Game. I recommend this book to all readers who like a little bit of fright in your reading.

The Egypt Game. When I first looked at this book, it looked kind of creepy, so I read it. When I was reading, it was creepy! The author used great words that make the book scary, but also fun to read. An Exciting, mysterious game that started with a bunch of kids who were bored with the same old neighborhood games. They were having fun playing Egypt in the storage yard of an old store, until the town had a crisis. There had been a murder, so none of the kids could play outside because their parents didn't want their kids to risk being murdered. Will the Egypt gang ever get to play in Egypt again? Find out in this awesome, page turning book, The Egypt Game. I recommend this book to all readers who like a little bit of fright in your reading.

This book is terrific. I think that the best books for kids, are the ones that are filled with interesting characters, magic and imaginative play. In this book, six children come together and begin the fascinating game of Egypt, where the ordinary becomes extrordinary, where the kids become high priests and priestesses who guard the secrets of egypt! Interwoven are the kid's individual struggles, and how they overcome them. This book is wonderful because it encourages kids to explore the amazing world of creative play themselves, and also (in opposition to one of the reviews) can enrich a class that is learning about Egypt, because who cares about the facts of Egypt, its all about the magic, which these kids are so fascinated with. A must read for kids and anyone who enjoys great kids literature.

I like this book because of all its exploring.All the people in this book were very close to being friends.The best part of this book was when they found out who was putting all those messages in the bucket.The main character in the story the most was the old man who ran an antique shop.
At the end they found out who was putting all those messages in the bucket. Since some people don't know about the ending the ending was very exciting the found out who was putting all those messages in there. It was the little girl of the group who was putting them in there.She was a sneaky little girl.

This book reminds us that back in 1967, children played games that expanded their imaginations and sent them voluntarily to the library to seek information. Computers and the internet now make the information search so much easier, but sadly, many children don't take their eyes away from the television screen, X-Box game or Game Boy long enough to realize what they are missing.

This story tells of a group of six children from different cultures and backgrounds who are drawn together by a common interest in Egyptian mythology. They stumble upon an unused lot of land adjoining the local antique dealer/junk shop where they create their own replica of ancient Egypt, complete with statuary and hieroglyphics and perform the most necessary rites and rituals with due pomp and ceremony.

To make things even more interesting, there are elements of danger and mystery, and the author even manages to include different types of family situations and how the children react to their various circumstances.

A simple book that introduces children to the vast and often untapped worlds of their imagination.

Amanda Richards, February 19, 2006

This book is not only adventurous, but it shows that if you use your imagination anything is possible. When the characters stick up for each other, show friendship, or find a way to make both ideas fit into the game. When someone else wants to play they find a way to let them into the game. This book shows that even though something may go wrong, there's always a way to fix it or make it work. I would suggest this book to anyone who likes adventure, mysteries, and Egypt.

PARENTS BEWARE!! -- This book has a surprise Murder of a child & one of the main character's (a Girl) -- is Attacked in a vacant lot by the Murderer, barely escaping death. The police in the story tell the girl, "well, it's all better now .." ** Suffice to say -- the beautiful narrative the book contains, of showing children how to develop pretend games with entire worlds they can construct (Egypt & their gods) -- is sort of -- well -- Ruined, when you read the last few chapters -- They are supposed to be a climax -- instead -- you wind up trying to explain to your 8 year old -- that they really are safe from predators -- Despite how the book totally throws the girl character to the mercy of the murderer. This book is not a vague reference to murders in the world -- or stranger danger -- but rather -- actually has the main character attacked & grabbed by the throat of the actual child murderer -- who also happens to be mentally unstable! Wow. That murder aspect, adds nothing to the plot -- but rather -- is a cheap literary device -- to tie up a plot that the author could have ended -- in so many better ways, such as: Have the characters discover that the professor was an old Egyptologist, and that their imagination had only begun, that he could help them develop their imagination into a real trip to Egypt. Non-secular parents, who oppose magic, underworld worship or sacrifices -- will not be pleased -- when their kids act out this book's 'Ceremonies' in their back yard -- complete with animal sacrifices akin to dark forces worship. Wow. Not worth the ride to stimulate imagination, when there are so many other books. Can't imagine why this book has become such a teacher favorite. Sad, I think.

This book is very good!!! It is about six children; April, Melanie, Marshall, Elizabeth, Ken, and Toby. The Egypt Game is them pretending to be priests, gods, godesses, etc. What I liked about it was that the characters were extremely well developed and the plot was clear. I rated it 4 stars because I did not get to the end of it, so I don't know who the murderer is. This book is great and not a waste of money!

--Bob the Bookworm