The neighborhood also had to accept the fact that the Professor was odd and kept to himself, but that didn’t make him a murderer. April and Melanie had to accept new kids into Egypt and their suggestions. April had to accept her new living arrangement. There’s also a common thread of acceptance running through the book. Several other kids, including two boys, are added to the game as time goes on.įinal thoughts: A perfectly pleasant book that highlights the fun you can have with a fertile imagination. Their play is interrupted when a child is murdered in the neighborhood, but eventually the parents let the kids out to play again. They turn the yard into Egypt and imagine themselves as priestesses. This really comes to the forefront when they discover a loose board in the alley that leads to the Professor’s unused back yard. Melanie and April are great at imagination games. April’s not too keen about La Casa Rosada, her grandmother’s apartment house, but at least there’s a girl her age to play with, Melanie. Summary: April has been sent to live with her grandmother while her mother tries to get her career going in Hollywood. Setting: a large University town in California, 1960s The kids are focusing on ancient history in homeschooling this year, and this was at least nominally about Egypt, so why not.

I had seen this book recommended as a good read aloud somewhere and decided now was a good time for it.

The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder