Book review: '1,000 Facts About Ancient Egypt' has great bite-sized facts

I'm forever on a mission to find books about Ancient Egypt to satisfy my wannabe grade-school Egyptologist. I thought I may have found one in National Geographic Kids's newest book, "1,000 Facts About Ancient Egypt." But I was wrong.

I'm wrong every once in a while (actually a lot, but I don't want to talk about it).

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However, the only reason my Egypt-obsessed son didn't drool over this book was because he already knew just about everything in it. And he continuously wants to read/watch/learn something new and exciting about Ancient Egypt. However, I don't think he's going to find such a thing until he's in college. He's just read and watched so much that it's hard to find something new for him!

On the other hand, I learned a lot about Ancient Egypt in this book by Nancy Honovich. I learned that Ancient Egypt had only three weeks a year. But each week was 10, instead of 7, days. Pretty cool, right?

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I also learned that the black eye-liner stuff they wore actually had antibacterial properties. Speaking of bacteria, I'm really glad I didn't live several thousand years ago. The people then only had lifespans of around 30 years. They died from all kinds of things that are totally preventable today, like snake bites and cavities.

This book talks about farming, inventions, temples, celebrations, animals, jobs, different pharaohs, diseases, jewelry, and so much more that I really don't have the space to list it all. All these facts are bundled up nicely into themed pages like the one pictured below.

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So, while this book probably isn't for the already knowledgeable Egyptian-lover, like my son, it is a fabulous one for the rest of us normal folk. I appreciated how the facts were short, but how many of them continued along the same thought, sneakily telling a longer historical story.

Of course, the hundreds of photos from National Geographic make this book easy on the eyes. But then, you all already know how I feel about Nat Geo's photography. One of the things I appreciated a lot about this book was that stories were told using photographs of real places and artifacts, instead of illustrations. Seeing actual paintings, statues, and carvings up close, via the photography, was a huge bonus for me.

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While "1,000 Facts About Ancient Egypt" has clean language and very little romance, there are some sections that deal with more gruesome topics. For instance, one of the pharaohs was killed by a bludgeoning to his nose and eyes (ouch!). Archaeologists know that because of the condition of his skull (double ouch!). Also, there's a section dealing with some of the torture methods used. But overall, even though those topics could have been super gross to read about, this book deals with them in a factual manner. Hard stuff happened in Ancient Egypt and this book is a good way to talk about them without glorifying in the violence.

This would be a great companion book for anyone studying the time period and customs of Ancient Egypt. "1,000 Facts About Ancient Egypt" could also be used as a jumping off place for more in-depth study. Or kids could just read this because it's interesting and fun!

Honovich is the author of several books and has worked in the publishing world for years.

Book breakdown:
96 pages
Color illustrations and photographs
Best for ages: 8 and older.
Educational factor: high
Religious content: Some sections deal with the gods the Ancient Egyptians worshiped.
Parents could be concerned about: Disease and death happened and this book deals with both factually, instead of dramatically.