Tales of Ancient Egypt by Roger Lancelyn Green

Age: Any 

Pages: 234

Publisher: Puffin Classics Series 

Publication Date: 7 November 2013 (Original Edtion:  1967)

These stories include the great myths - of Amen-Ra, who created all the creatures in the world; of Isis, searching the waters for her dead husband Osiris; of the Bennu Bird and the Book of Thoth. But there are also tales told for pleasure about magic, treasure and adventure - even the first ever Cinderella story.

My Thoughts: 

As someone who loves history, I really enjoy books about mythology, particularly those about ancient Egypt as it has been an obsession of mine since I was little.  In fact, it was because of my love for ancient history that this book was given to me. 

I was surprised with how easy it was to read this book.  I have read many mythology books in the past that are written in such a way that it can often be confusing for the reader.  The writing style of this book was simple enough that even a younger audience could easily comprehend the stories. I also noticed that the variants of the Egyptian legends were tame compared to others that could have been chosen, making this a safe option for younger readers. 

Another nice feature of this book is that it is compiled chronologically so that it makes sense to the reader. The book was also separated into legends about the gods, legends about magic, and legends about adventure  I found these aspects to be a very helpful features as it made the book feel as if it had some structure to it and wasn't just a mish-mash of myths and legends. 

The only issue I could see is that a reader who doesn't know much about Egyptian history and mythology may become confused with the many different gods and goddesses.  My particular edition has a glossary and a who's who section, but I felt that it just wasn't detailed enough.  For example, Isis is listed only as Nut's fourth Child.  No other information is given about her.  She is so much more than Nut's fourth Child, and while I know a lot about her and the other gods I recognize that other people might not and may need more information. 

 Personally, I think it would have been helpful to have half a page to a page of information about each god and goddess giving some common facts, what they look like, and what they are the god or goddess of.  It would function the exact same as the who's who section, but give the common reader a better understanding of the deities without having to add anything to the text of the actual book.  

In general, this book is a very informative read and would be perfect for the history buff, particularly a young history buff, as this is on of relatively few child appropriate mythology books. This being said, while it is tame enough for young readers it is also written well enough that it can be enjoyed by an older audience as well.