cover image A Puzzling Day in the Land of the Pharaohs

A Puzzling Day in the Land of the Pharaohs

Scoular Anderson. Candlewick Press (MA), $14.99 (32pp) ISBN 978-1-56402-877-8

In this flat-footed hybrid of the Magic School Bus series and the Waldo books, Mrs. Pudget and her students arrive at a museum to tour an exhibit on ancient Egypt. When the teacher pushes the wrong button on her audio tour cassette player, the group is transported back to the land of the Pharaohs, where Thoth, god of learning and magic, offers a tour of the Nile, the fields, a house, a temple, a pyramid, etc. At each location, readers are asked to find objects and people concealed (not very subtly) in a crowded spread; try mazes and similar activities; and otherwise piece together a ""puzzle"" that will enable the time travelers to return to the present. Unfortunately, the book comes up short on virtually all counts: Anderson (A Puzzling Day at Castle MacPelican) offers only cursory information about ancient Egypt; hides too few objects in his loose-lined art; and provides confusing directions to several of the challenges. Ages 6-11. (Aug.)