"Tales of the Dead: Ancient Egypt" is a rather innovative work of non-fiction for children. It could even be considered "subversive" -- it disguises much of its information in the form of a graphic novel. It is a fairly unique book, combining elements of the old "Eyewitness" books -- with pages filled with large, color photos and small factual captions -- and the comic book. A comic strip runs around the edge of each page, telling the story of a young boy, the son of a priest, who is in grave danger after being caught up in a corrupt official's plot. As the reader pages through the book and learns about ancient egyptian culture, the boy's story unfolds along the sides, integrating facts just learned in the text. In short, it's sort of brilliant!

The text offers a plethora of information concerning Egyptian society, from gods and the afterlife to working conditions and keeping the peace. Each page is richly augmented by large, full-color illustrations, some covering the entire page with the text super-imposed on top of it. These visuals really aid in understanding just what exactly the text is trying to describe. In addition, the comic strip runs along the outer and bottom edges. The overall effect is a well-organized but exciting and visually appealing page. Again, this book would appeal to reluctant readers and is another area of high-interest to many youngsters (for some reason, I remember being fascinated by ancient Egypt in elementary school). Many school districts have a unit on ancient Egypt, making a book such as this an excellent choice for addition to a collection. It is recommended for kids in grades 3-6. ( )