#27- You Wouldn't Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!

#27- You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!

You Wouldn’t Want to Be a Pyramid Builder!

Written by: Jacqueline Morley

Illustrated by: David Antram

Salariya Book Company Ltd, 2004

29 pages

Multicultural (Egyptian)

“You are living in Egypt around 1500 B.C. How lucky you are!”

            The book starts out by putting you in the role of an Egyptian who is forced to work on pyramids. The book takes you through the process of being chosen to work on the pharaoh’s pyramid, and then the process it takes to actually build it. Pyramids could take up to twenty years to build. The book introduces all the jobs of the builders, and how each of them contributed to the building. The book describes how tough life was for the working Egyptians. It even discusses the pharaoh dying, being wrapped, and then being buried in his pyramid.

            The artistic medium is not given for this book, but I believe that Antram used watercolor and pen to create the cartoon-like drawings. Each page contains a picture on a two-page spread, along with smaller accompanying pictures that capture the Egyptian culture. The caption bubbles provide humor and insight to the minds of the Egyptians.

            This book is appropriate for upper elementary level students. In a history lesson, this book could be read aloud to the students. The students could then write a short story about putting themselves in the life of a working Egyptian. They would write about how their day would go based off of the information from the book.