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Pyramid Boy

Author-illustrator Satoshi Kitamura

Interest age: 5 to 9
Reading age: 7+

Published by Walker Books, 2026

  • Around the world
  • Interactive
  • Non-fiction
  • Picture books

About this book

While exploring a museum, Thomas falls through time and ends up lost in the middle of ancient Egypt. He takes in the many sights and smells in confusion until a friendly local resident offers to show him around. Together, the pair explore the fascinating nature, hieroglyphics, cuisine, technology, and (of course) the breathtaking pyramids that are so synonymous with this incredible civilisation.

Just as with Kitamura’s Stone Age Boy, this book is a superb entry point into a unique period of history. There is so much in the illustrations for readers to pore over, with every detail a potential new interest for children to explore, whether that be writing hieroglyphics, baking Egyptian bread, weaving papyrus into paper, or any one of the many amazing innovations associated with ancient Egypt.

Thomas and his Egyptian guide Pepi are friendly characters who bring the culture and history to life in a relatable way. There are also 6 detailed information pages on key topics at the end of the book, zooming in on commonly studied topics like the Nile River, mummification, Gods and Goddesses and the hieroglyphic alphabet – making this the perfect book to use while studying ancient Egyptians as a history topic.

About the author

Satoshi Kitamura is both an author and illustrator. He was born in 1956 in Tokyo. He says that when he was young he read comics and admits that these have had a great influence on his style. He says he was also influenced by anything visual from a tin of sardines to the fine art of the East and the West. He was not trained as an artist, but at the age of 19 began to do commercial work. He moved to London in 1979 and worked mainly designing greeting cards. He started illustrating for Andersen Press in 1981. At this time he had an exhibition of his work at the Neal Street Gallery in Covent Garden, which Klaus Flugge visited and showed him the text of Angry Arthur.

Angry Arthur, written by Hiawyn Oram, was published in 1982 to great acclaim, winning the Mother Goose Award in 1983 and the Japanese Picture Book Award. In 1989, UFO diary was shortlisted for the Smarties Prize, an award he later went on to win for Me and My Cat, which was also shortlisted for the Kurt Mashler Award. In 2006, Satoshi’s collaboration with Colin McNaughton, Once Upon an Ordinary School Day, won The Japan Picture Book Award for best translated book. Satoshi’s book, Millie’s Marvellous Hat, was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award in 2010. 

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