Who else is studying ancient civilizations this year? After testing out a pyramid of Egyptian picture and chapter books, I wanted to share our favorite stories. Immerse yourself in the art, legends, and culture of Ancient Egypt with these beautiful books!
Note that although many books on this list are picture books, they are not for babies! Elementary and middle school aged readers will enjoy and benefit from the wealth of detail in these beautiful books.
This newly back in print classic strikingly illustrates the building of the boat that is buried at the Great Pyramid at Giza. Learn about the Egyptian belief in the afterlife and their boatbuilding skills.
Buy it through my Amazon affiliate link: Pharaoh’s Boat
Buy it through Bookshop: Ancient Egypt Book List
Did you know the ancient Egyptians told a version of the Cinderella story? This story, recorded in the first century, is matched with jewel toned illustrations in this beautiful edition.
Buy it through my Amazon link: The Egyptian Cinderella
Buy it through bookshop: Ancient Egypt Book List
Explore hieroglyphics with this ancient Egyptian story based on hieroglpys from an ancient papyrus scroll. Each page has a replica of a section of the ancient scroll, along with a translation and gorgeous illustrations.
Buy it through my Amazon affiliate link: The Shipwrecked Sailor: An Egyptian Tale with Hieroglyphs
Graeme Base combines hieroglyphs, a riddle, and a legend into a fun Egyptian immersion experience. Expensive to buy new, but available used or at many libraries.
Buy it through my affiliate link: The Jewel Fish of Karnak
David Macaulay’s strikingly simple black and white illustrations bring to life the details of Egyptian pyramid building. I love all the detailed drawings in Macaulay’s books.
Buy it through my Amazon affiliate link: Pyramid
Buy it through my Bookshop link: Ancient Egypt Book List
Or go the graphic novel route with this eye-catching comic book style account of the building of the Great Pyramid at Giza. This one was a big hit with my 8 year old.
Buy it through my Amazon affiliate link: The Building Of The Great Pyramid
Join Will, the son of an archaeologist, on an unforgettable trip to help uncover the ruins at Giza. Will hopes to make a great discovery- like a mummy! This book has lots of cool period details about excavation and archaeology.
Buy through my Amazon affiliate link: The 5,000-Year-Old Puzzle: Solving a Mystery of Ancient Egypt
Buy through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
Demi’s style lends itself well to Egyptian art. This biography of Tutankhamun is quite thorough, going from birth to death. It does include details that may require parental discussion such as the fact that Tutankhamun married his half sister. There’s also an interesting account of the period of Egyptian monotheism in which they worshipped one God, Aten. Tutankhamun allowed his subjects to choose whether to worship the traditional cast of Egyptian gods or this one god, Aten.
Buy through my Amazon link: Tutankhamun
Buy it through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
This is a fun little series of well-illustrated books that describe daily life for a child in different cultures. Lots of interesting details about “Growing Up in Ancient Egypt.”
Buy through my Amazon affiliate link: Growing Up In Ancient Egypt
Traditional history textbook meets oral tradition in The Story of Civilization. I love that the author includes frequent “Living History” sections with tales, legends, or historical fiction accounts that bring important characters to life for young readers. We like this best as the audiobook, which is professionally dramatized.
Buy the book or audiobook through my Amazon affiliate link: The Story of Civilization: Volume I – The Ancient World
Buy through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
For readers aged 10 and older, Eloise McGraw’s Newberry award winning The Golden Goblet will bring Ancient Egypt to life. A classic style tale of a poor boy with a dream overcoming the odds.
Buy through my Amazon afflink: The Golden Goblet
Buy through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
Mara, Daughter of the Nile is Eloise McGraw’s other masterful historical fiction novel set in Ancient Egypt. Most appropriate for ages 12 and up due to a strong Romantic subplot, this exciting espionage story brings the court of Hatshepsut to life like no other!
Buy through my Amazon afflink: Mara, Daughter of the Nile
Buy through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
If you have a child who wants to deep-dive into the mythology of Ancient Egypt, Roger Laycelyn Green’s Tales of Ancient Egypt is the gold standard.
Buy through my Amazon afflink: Tales of Ancient Egypt
Buy through my Bookshop page: Ancient Egypt Book List
A great book to add to your list is “The Cat of Bubastes” by GA Henty. My kids loved that on audiobook, as well as The Golden Goblet.
I love G. A. Henty too! Thanks for reminding me of this one; I’ll definitely have to add it!