The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch

Seth is startled when he touches a sculpture of a scarab beetle and is transported back in time to Ancient Egypt, where he meets Mery and her hyena, Giggler. He’s invited to stay with Mery’s family and learns about their customs and beliefs. Seth enjoys helping out, picking dates and weaving baskets, and is hailed a hero when he saves Mery’s little brother from a hungry crocodile. As the villagers excitedly prepare for a visit from Pharaoh Akhenaten and his young son, Prince Tutankhamun, Seth is dismayed when he realises that Giggler will be the main course in a grand feast. Can Seth save the hyena and find his way back to his own time?

As well as learning how ordinary Egyptian villagers lived, Seth also discovers some things about himself: he likes receiving praise for working hard, rather than being reprimanded for messing around; and he realises he should tell his teacher that he finds reading and writing difficult.

This engaging time-slip adventure, which features dyslexia as part of the storyline, is ideal for reluctant or dyslexic readers. Special editing helps reduce barriers to comprehension, and the clearly-spaced text is interspersed with black-and-white illustrations, which visually reinforce the story.