Secrets of the Sphinx

by James Cross Giblin and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline

New York:  Scholastic Press, 2004

In this beautiful informational picturebook, the reader learns not only about the history of the Great Sphinx, but also about the history of the ancient Egyptians.  Using two different paint styles (watercolor and gouache), Ibatoulline brings to life the wonders Egypt and the history of its people, from the very primitive Egyptians, to the building of these magnificent structures, to the speculation of present-day scholars.

This book is great for older readers who are interested in the history of Egypt and the construction of the pyramids and Sphinx of Giza, in particular.  In these pages, the reader finds an accurate and comprehensive discussion of various aspects of ancient Egyptian life, including how and where people lived, how they wrote and communicated, what they ate and, most significantly, how they built the pyramids and Sphinx of Giza.  From there, Giblin discusses modern advancements, from the Rosetta Stone to the theories about Atlantis's connection to ancient Egypt.

I enjoyed this book a great deal.  Any reader interested in ancient Egypt, as I was (I used to want to be an archaeologist because I found out people could just find things in the deserts of Egypt.  That was amazing to me.) would devour the information on these pages and want more.  The illustrations are beautiful.  Mostly single-page representations of whatever is being discussed on that page, Ibatoulline preserves the beauty of these monumental structures.  Some pages even have two-page, full bleed illustrations that give the reader an idea of what this area might have looked like back when everything was first being built.  Overall, the text and the illustrations welcome readers and allow them to delve into the information they are reading.  Even though it was written for older readers, I think it could be useable in an primary classroom as well by showing the pictures, reading it aloud, or using isolated pieces of information from the text.