Seth has never been one for school. He finds it boring, especially learning about Ancient Egypt from BORING Mr Ali! During his class assembly, to ‘lighten the mood’ he dresses himself up as a mummy to scare everyone. This does not go down well and he is sent back to class. When he is there he sees something golden on his teacher’s desk…. As soon as he touches it he is transported back in time to Ancient Egypt! He meets Mery and her pet hyena Giggler!
The story explains to the reader how life was like in Ancient Egypt for ordinary people during the rein of King Akhenaten.
The illustrations are lovely and it brings the story to life even more. There is a twist at the end, which I wont spoil for you, but all in all, the book is definitely worth a read.
For Year 3-5 (8+)

This is a brilliant and fun story of a boy who suddenly finds himself in ancient Egypt. Seth finds school boring, especially when Mr Ali starts teaching the class about ancient Egypt. So when the class are at the front of the school assembly, sharing with the other children what they’ve learned, Seth decides to have some fun and dresses up as a mummy to scare everyone. But when the prank he tries goes wrong he’s sent back to the classroom to wait for his teacher during break time. While waiting, Seth spots something golden on his teacher’s desk. And when he touches it he soon finds himself transported to a very different time and place.

While Seth struggles to enjoy school, he finds himself in trouble when trying to scare everyone during the assembly with his mummy costume. But soon Seth finds himself in ancient Egypt and face to face with some very strange creatures. I love what happens in this story, especially the way Seth arrives in ancient Egypt and what he encounters when he gets there. He soon befriends a girl called Mery and is invited to stay with her family. At first Seth upsets some of the family members by saying the wrong things, but he’s soon welcomed and starts to enjoy his time with their pet hyena called Giggler.

I don’t want to give away too much of what happens, but as Seth learns more about the ancient Egypt he’s found himself in, he starts to discover that he is good at a lot of things, unlike at school. Throughout the story we learn about Seth’s struggles with what are later explained to be dyslexia problems, and I like how Seth develops a bond with Mery, her little brother Pash and especially the bond he has with Giggler. The story teaches you a bit about what life was like for ordinary people during the rein of King Akhenaten and I like how there are some interesting facts at the end of the book which help kids to learn more about ancient Egypt and Seth’s problems with Dyslexia too.

The illustrations in this book are so fun. I love how everyone looks, their fun expressions, and the way certain moments are shown. You can see all the expressions well and I especialy love the image when Seth first appears in Ancient Egypt and sees those animals! The illustrations appear among the text and the text itself is especially made to be dyslexia friendly with a special and larger font used, spaces between paragraphs, and in the physical copy, the pages would be a more yellow colour too, and made of thick paper, to make it easier to read for anyone with visual problems too.

The book ends in such a good way with a fun twist at the very end that made me smile. I really like what happens with Seth and the ‘lunch’ he stole, and I have to say that I have really enjoyed reading this book so much. Overall it’s a great and fun read, especially as you can learn some interesting and fun Ancient Egyptian facts while reading this too, and it’s interesting to see a story set at a slightly different time than most Ancient Egypt tales are.

Prankster gets his comeuppance and much more than he bargained for when his boring Egyptian lessons become all too real.

Despite a great teacher and an awesome topic, Seth Davis has little interest in learning about the Ancient Egyptians, it’s all long names and words he cannot pronounce let alone spell. What he’d really like to know is how mummies were made. After a misjudged mummy prank, and whilst awaiting punishment in the classroom, Seth picks up an ancient artefact and is whisked back thousands of years to the land of pyramids, Pharaohs, palaces and slaves.

Seth, god of mischief, soon finds himself lending a helping hand to the various tradespeople and having fun with the children on the banks of the River Nile. A visit from the Pharaoh has all of the villagers excited but Seth risks their wrath when he frees a friendly pet hyena that is going to become lunch. Will a hungry Pharaoh punish Seth? Will he find a way to return home or is the boy from the present destined to stay in the past forever…

History is about more than just the famous people and Karen McCombie gives the ordinary folk some much-needed attention in a fun, action-packed and fact-filled romp through Ancient Egypt. Throughly researched and with extensive back matter, The Boy Who Stole the Pharaoh’s Lunch brings alive a fascinating and exciting era, immersing readers in a rich historical period that allows them to experience what everyday life was like for ordinary children and their families living on the banks of the Nile. Exciting, imaginative and accessible storytelling, complimented by Anneli Bray’s humour-filled illustrations that bring alive Seth’s adventures and misadventures, will have readers turning over the pages faster than Seth can swim away from a crocodile.

Whilst lots of narratives on Ancient Egypt focus on the riches and the lives of the rulers, particularly the famous boy King - Tutankhamun, this is a great counterfoil that will feel more relatable to children who will immediately begin making comparisons between the past and the present. Learning about the strange tools for brushing teeth, the games kids played, unusual breakfast foods and toilets comparable to a cat’s litter box are just as important as knowing about discovered burial tombs, lavish lifestyles, mummies and treasures beyond the wildest dreams. And who doesn’t love learning a few gross facts that will be met with ‘eeeewww’ and ‘gross’.

A nice subplot to the time-travel is a gentle exploration of Seth’s struggles at school and the reason behind some of his behaviours. Children will often mask their personal challenges behind behaviours and Seth opts for the class-clown to hide his dyslexia. Luckily, a supportive teacher is on hand to listen, to offer reassurances and to work with Seth to make things better for him. This is the first dyslexic character to feature in a Barrington Stoke title and it is very fitting for the publisher whose accessible books are printed in dyslexia-friendly font and on tinted paper to ensure their reads can be accessed by every child; I’m sure Seth would approve!

Interesting, incredibly funny and brilliantly written, this is a must have book to support an Ancient Egyptian topic. Perfect for history buffs, mischief-makers and time-travellers!

Recommended for 8+.

With huge thanks to Barrington Stoke for the copy I received in exchange for an honest review.

This Middle Grade/Early Chapter book tells the story of a boy named Seth who accidentally goes back in time to Ancient Egypt. While he tries to find his way in the Nile River Valley, he realizes that the information his teacher tried to teach him during the Ancient Egypt unit, such as the vocabulary, social structures (slaves, pharaohs...) and food were more important than he may have previously thought. In a fun and age appropriate way, readers learn the important information that Seth may have missed from his teacher's lessons, all while imagining what it would be like to really live in that time period. It is the perfect resource to add to a Social Studies unit, and I can say this with confidence as I am currently teaching this unit to my students in Manitoba, Canada and would absolutely use this book as part of a lesson plan or as recommended reading for my students.

Beyond simply the content of the novel, the book is extremely well written. As will all BarringtonStoke books, this one is written with large, well spaced, accessible font and is the perfect material for students with reading disabilities such as dyslexia. Additionally, the word choice and sentence structure is appropriate for the target audience of ages 7-9 and the illustrations help to make it even more accessible for young and struggling readers. By having a character who struggles in school and asks for help from his teacher, it also models for young readers that they too can ask for help and should not be ashamed of their own learning challenges.

I would highly recommend this book to teachers and parents of children in the age 6-10 range, especially for reluctant readers and any young people interested in Historical Fiction books or Ancient Egypt as a topic. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of publication, and I look forward to purchasing a copy for my Grade 3 class.

In our family, we love Barington Stokes books. They are always suitable for all of the family to share and are great for reading together. This one was no exception an interesting (and educational) story we all enjoyed. They tackle issues we all deal with is a great and sensitive way. This book covers ancient Egyptian in an amusing and exciting story. We loved it.

This is an easy-to-read, accessible and factual story about part of the Ancient Egyptian era. It gives information in an interesting way, as we follow Seth, a boy who struggles in school, back in time to when Tutankhamun was just a small child.

I really liked how the information was given and think that the children in my class will be able to relate to how Seth is feeling and therefore absorb better what he knows and learns about both the Ancient Egyptian time period and himself. I think this story packs a lot in for such a short read but it never feels crammed.

I'm looking forward to sharing this with my class and I feel that it will be an essential read in any classroom that studies this time period.

Thank you to NetGalley and Barrington Stoke for allowing me an advance read of this story.

A reminder that most subjects can be exciting and fascinating if you look at them in the right way. Finding yourself back in Ancient Egypt can have all kinds of consequences.

This was a delightful read, perfect for lower KS2 readers or less confident upper KS2 readers. It made a nice change to read a story set in Ancient Egypt that was not set in the time of Tutankhamun. Another appealing factor for this story is that the time shift allows Seth, the main protagonist, to experience life for 'normal' Ancient Egyptian children. Through Seth's experiences, the reader learns some facts that are very often not included in the KS2 curriculum such as the games the children played and how Ancient Egyptian children also had to brush their teeth! As the story progresses we learn a little more about Seth: how he struggles in school - finding it hard to concentrate or focus and how he chooses to be silly taking the attention away from how hard he finds some of the learning he has to told. The theme of dyslexia is sensitively and delicately handled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Barrington Stoke for this e-ARC to read and review.