I couldn’t get into the audiobook. I’ll try again in print.

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 story is so cute! I love that kids took something they were learning and made it their own. To inspire kids to dig in and learn more on their own the dream of most teachers I think.

I can’t wait to introduce it to my kids! I’m hoping it sparks their imagination!

There are some scary themes that may cause sensitive readers to be afraid. Read a few more reviews before deciding for sure, but I thought my crew was old enough to handle it.

I'd never heard of this book until my niece told me she was reading it for school. I decided to read it as well. I was a bit of an Egypt nut when I was younger, so the fascination with Egypt here was terrific. Really liked the overall story as well. Can see why this was a banned book, but let's face it, scary things happen and that doesn't make this book any less worth reading.

"That's the way with Marshall," she said. "He's been awfully grown-up ever since—oh, since about the time he started walking. That is, about everything except Security. I guess he's not very grown-up about that. Dad says the reason Marshall needs Security is that he had such a hard time being a baby. Dad said being a baby offended Marshall's dignity."

Melanie's mom is having difficulty raising her so she sends Melanie to live with the Grandmother she has never met. Melanie creates fantastic stories about what her mom is doing but finally a girl in the apartment building works though the tough exterior and they become close. The stumble upon an old shack and create Egypt but someone is watching and it's about to get dangerous.

I first read this in fifth grade, and borrowed the book from my school library. Well, I never took the book back, so here, almost 40 years later, I am admitting to such on these internets.

Aside from the petty larceny, I fell in love with the characters and the use of Egyptian mythology as a wonderland for these kids to play in. I reread it recently, and it still has that same charm, that same sense of wonder, and I hope some kid still gets a copy somewhere and loves it like I did.

Maybe I'll give them my library book copy, and they'll have to pay the fine. (Kidding.)

Freaking delightful. Four stars rounded up for the fantastic illustrations, I want so many more of them.