Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll (Kid Detective Zet) (Volume 1)

My 3rd grader loves this series. It’s a great story that is engaging and my son is excited to read each day. The characters are well developed. The plot keeps him guessing. It’s inclusion of aspects of life in ancient Egypt are woven into the stories without being overwhelming and adds depth (passing people playing Senet on the streets for instance). Being set in ancient Egypt with relatable characters, it is blissfully free of the poorly written social “ideology” that has taken over so much of children’s literature recently. If someone wants their kids to read, the best way to get them to read is to give them books that are a really good story (not overwhelm them with poorly written trendy adult social contagions of the moment). My son is an advanced reader for 8yo. Some of the words are challenging for him, but not so much it frustrates him. This book would be engaging for kids well into middle school. We still have him read out loud to us some nights and it was interesting enough my husband and I both grabbed it after he was asleep and read it ourselves. My son is almost through book 2 and can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

I bought this for my almost 8 year old daughter. I grew up an avid reader and even though I dont get to read my books anymore, I enjoy sharing my animated reading style with her at bedtime. Every night we work through a few chapters of a book and while I love our one regular series, I needed something more eventful and I want to introduce her to other genres. This seemed like a great pick because we both love ancient Egypt and everyone loves a good mystery. I will say, my girl is just finishing 2nd grade and this was a bit challenging for her to read on her own. Mostly due to the Egyptian references but also because it's a legitimate chapter book. She gets tired of reading so many words per page when there's no good pictures. We just finished the story tonight and while we were a little disappointed in how quickly it wrapped up, I have nothing but good things to say. The story is told in such a descriptive fashion that you could picture it for yourself. You were sucked in by the words and its was fun to read aloud. My girl immediately asked for the next book so we can work it into our rotation. She's also looking forward to checking out the author's website about Egypt thats included at the end. The historical reference note included from the author was an appreciated touch. It opened an unexpected conservation about how fact and fiction are able to blend together to create these fun stories and anything that peaks some type of learning interest in my stubborn girl has my vote 110%.

In "The Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll," Scott Peters has provided the reader with a fast, paced mystery set in the times of ancient Thebes in Egypt. The book is probably written for the middle school to early high school reading levels. As a former teacher, I am always interested in books that may get children reading, and this is one! Serving in the Pharaoh's army, father has gone to war to fight the Hyksos, and times are hard for the family left behind. Eleven-year-old Zet and his younger sister Kat are left with the responsibility of minding the shop, but each week the children's earnings dwindle until they fear they won't have enough to feed themselves, their baby brother and their mother. So when a thief bounds through the market place, Zet overhears a medjay (police officer) offer a reward for information. So he steps up to the medjay to offer to help catch the thief in exchange for the reward. Of course Kat, his younger sister, thinks he's crazy. Unfortunately, this foolhearty decision soon lands Zet and his sister in dangerous trouble, so deep their very lives and the lives of their family as well as others are in extreme danger. The book is well written with strong description of the characters and the events. Peters depicts a realistic Egyptian setting for this historical novel. Without question, it is an action-packed mystery set in an ancient land with great attention to detail; the book will appeal to young and old readers alike. There are several simple themes running through the book; the most obvious are: Don't judge a book by its cover, and The importance of doing what is right - both for your family and your fellow man. Since things are not what they appear to be, to save their family, Zet and Kat together must learn about people: who to trust and who has evil motives. If you are interested in a quick read for yourself or in introducing a delightful mystery for a younger person, I do recommend this historical novel, "The Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll" by Scott Peters, to all middle grade readers or adults who may enjoy a quick, historical mystery.

A treat for middle school readers, Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll is a fast paced mystery set in an ancient Egypt. Students will not only be entertained by the story but they will also learn interesting tidbits about a fascinating foreign culture. As a former Peace Corps Volunteer myself, I’m convinced that developing an appreciation of foreign cultures is always a good thing! The story unfolds with 12-year-old Zet in charge of his father's pottery stall, since his father is a soldier fighting in far away lands. Suddenly, a thief runs through the marketplace pursued by law enforcement officials. After the officials inform Zet that there will be a reward for anyone who can find the thief, he undertakes to pursue the man and the mystical scroll that was stolen. Zet boldly begins to follow the trail of clues, despite the protestations of his sister, 10-year-old Kat. Zet's.detective work leads him down a dangerous trail of intrigue and heart-stopping adventures.

Eleven-year-old Zet and his younger sister Kat are left with the responsibility of minding the shop while their father is in a faraway land fighting for Egypt and their Pharaoh. But each week the children's earnings dwindle until they fear they won't have enough to feed themselves, their baby brother and their mother. So when a thief bounds through the market place, Zet steps up to the medjay, or police officer, to offer to help catch the thief in exchange for the reward. This brave, but foolish action soon lands Zet and his sister in trouble, so deep their very lives and the lives of their family are in peril. As Zet and his sister wind their way through the streets of Thebes, the scents and sounds and activity of the thriving commercial city come alive. They meet many people in their quest from the man who grows papyrus to make into paper, to the blind lady on the side of the road, to the merchants in the market, to the high priest of the sacred Temple of Amenenopet. But they are not all as they seem. To save their family, Zet and Kat must learn who to trust, who has evil motives and what those evil motives are. It is an action-packed mystery set in an ancient land with great attention to detail. I recommend this historical novel to all middle grade readers.

I have been trying so hard to get my son into reading, he just didn't seem interested in the books we had so we listened to the sample audible clip of this book and said it sounds interesting and he'd like to give it a try. He could not put this book down until he was finished. So happy we found something he loves to read!

A kids' detective story set in ancient Egypt, with a loving family, dangerous threats, and exciting adventures. Lead character is a boy of Round 12, who, with his younger sister helps foil a plot to kill the Pharoah. Fun story, kids 8-10 I think.

My daughter (3rd grade) and I absolutely loved this book. It was well written keeping us on the edge of our seats guessing what would come next. The history was woven in flawlessly. The 2 kids, Zet and Kat, were kids of their time, but also relatable. Fantastic read!

Haven't read it yet but should be a exciting kids book

My 9 yo daughter loves the adventure and as I’ve been trying to get her to learn more classical studies this is developing her greater interest in classical civilisations. Egypt and Egyptology is our focus at the moment and later the MesoAmerican civilisations. I hope there’s a book for each of these - they’re excellent. I’m going to highly recommend these to her school as a great teaching tool.

Great adventure for young teenagers! My students trully enjoyed reading despite the specific and sometimes difficult vocabulary. I recommend the reading.

Good and positive story and ending. A perfect book for kids to read. It has suspense in every chapter and is very interesting.

Richtig klasse, die Kids lieben dieses Buch. Dass sogar zum nächsten festlichen familiären Event wieder eins gewünscht wurde.