You Wouldn't Want to be a Pyramid Builder by Jacqueline Morley with illustrations by David Antram is a one-of-a-kind book in the series You Wouldn't Want To Be. This book takes children into the world of Ancient Egypt by putting them in the place of a slave during ancient times. This engages children in a way that many books cannot. The descriptive pictures and fascinating text teach children about life, society, and the pyramids of Ancient Egypt.
This book is a fun way to teach what can be a dull subject. The more "icky" facts, such a embalming, are presented with a comic tone that children appreciate. Overall the book does a wonderful job reflecting Ancient Egyptian culture and creating awareness that the pyramids were no easy feat to build.
Curriculum Connections
Not only is this a fun and informative book for both adults and kids it also has many classroom tie-ins. The contributions of the Egyptians as well as their culture and social structure are presented in this wonderful book (2.1, 2.3).
Additional Resources
- Ancient Egypt Fun provides a fun website for kids with many different games and activities that they can do to learn more about Ancient Egypt.
- Tour Egypt is a tourism site for Egypt, but this is a special kids page. It information on Ancient Egypt as well as modern Egypt. It also includes activities and games.
- Ancient Egypt Crafts provides many different arts and crafts activities for children, such as making a paper Pharaoh’s mask and making model pyramids.
General Information
- Book: You Wouldn’t Want to be a Pyramid Builder
- Written by: Jacqueline Morley
- Illustrated by: David Antrim
- Publisher:Children’s Press
- Publication Date:2004
- Pages:32
- Grade range: 3rd- 6th Grade
- ISBN:0531163962