What's YOUR Cartouche? Hieroglyphics by Sean Callery

PREPARE YOURSELF.

YOU ARE GOING TO HELP ME SOLVE A MYSTERY THAT IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD--AND DISCOVER A NEW ONE.

With our mentor Dr. Cameron Stone, esteemed Egyptologist, we are off on a quest to solve the mystery of the missing golden cat, learning to decipher hieroglyphics which within their code carry the clues to to the secret chamber where the much-sought prize will be found.

In an Indiana Jones-style frame story, Sean Callery's CodeQuest: Hieroglyphs: Solve the Mystery from Ancient Egypt (Kingfisher, 2010) takes us into a dark and mysterious Egyptian museum, where we are met by an equally mysterious green-eyed girl, her face covered by a green scarf, who is our guide.

As we race after the elusive Nefret, she takes us through chamber after chamber where the mystery of hieroglyphics is revealed. Glowing illustrations, photographs and digital art show off the beauty and secrets of this ancient writing. The many fold-outs, sidebars, notes to translate, and a succession of clues which use what is taught along the way will keep the reader moving through the book while deciphering the messages she leaves behind and get them writing and reading hieroglyphs as they go. An accompanying CD gives the reader the option of using the included hieroglyphic fonts to construct their own names (cartouches) and write their own messages like the ancient Egyptians did.

For kids who are fascinated by codes and ciphers, there is plenty here to reward the reader who persists through the quest. Another fun book in the CodeQuest series include Inca Gold: Solve the Mystery of the Golden Corn (Codequest).