We have long been fascinated by Ancient Egypt. The pyramids, in particular, are an architectural wonder and part of Jewish history. So when I came across the relatively new book, If You Were a Kid Building a Pyramid, I had to check it out. Turns out that this is a series of pretty cool books that cover various periods in history.
Since I’ve only actually read the pyramid book, it is the only one I can truly comment on, but I have one child studying the American Revolution and the other focusing on the Oregon Trail…both have books in this series. We will definitely have to check these out, and then probably donate them to our school library or individual teachers.
The concept behind these books is that they each follow two children during a period of history. In this book, you have Seneb and Merti.
Seneb is a teenage boy and working as an apprentice for his father, but he dreams of seeing the inside of a pyramid. Merti is a girl who has to take care of her little brother all day, but longs to do something more interesting. They watch as a pyramid is being built and how the stones are moved. Many of the pages have boxes with more detailed, factual information about the time as well as how pyramids were built, the study of archaeology, and artifacts.
The books are aimed at 6-9 year olds and are perfect for imparting information in an interesting and accessible way. I’m thrilled that our library had this one and look forward to reading others!
I challenge myself to review a nonfiction picture book every week as part of the Nonfiction Picture Book Challenge, hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy. Check out Alyson’s site for a link-up of amazing nonfiction books!