Month: June 2018

A Book-Inspired Outing

~ Beth Mitchell ~ Leave a comment
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
Shabtis
Feather of Truth
Crook and Flail
The Serpent’s Shadow

After Larrabee finished Rick Riordan’s Kane Chronicles trilogy, we took a trip to the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose. I highly recommend both!

The books, The Red Pyramid, The Throne of Fire, and The Serpent’s Shadow, make great summer reading books. They have action, danger, humor, and lots of ancient Egyptian gods. Carter and Sadie Kane take turns telling the stories. They’re brother and sister, descendants of powerful Egyptian magicians from the House of Life. Fans of Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will like these books too.

It’s always satisfying to find connections between books and real life. Some of my favorites from our museum visit:

  • “So that’s what a crook and flail look like!”
  • “That must be Tawaret!”
  • “Shabtis are real!”

We also found an oversized Senet game, scarab amulets, hieroglyphs, a panel depicting the judging of a soul with the feather of truth, a replica of the Rosetta Stone, and statues of many Egyptian gods who make an appearance in the books. It felt like a treasure hunt.

Book Review: The Menagerie

~ Beth Mitchell ~ 1 Comment

Screen Shot 2018-06-18 at 12.04.26 PMIf you like mythical creatures, such as griffins, unicorns, and kelpies, then you’ll love The Menagerie by the sister writing team of Tui and Kari Sutherland. It’s a fast-paced and funny fantasy whodunit—a perfect summer vacation read. Larrabee discovered this one and insisted that I read it.

Seventh grader Logan Wilde has just moved with his dad to Xanadu, Wyoming, and he hasn’t really made any friends yet. One day, his classmate Zoe Kahn seems upset. She tells him that she’s lost her dog, but she refuses his offer to help.

When he gets home from school, Logan finds a griffin cub under his bed. Communicating telepathically, the cub tells him that (1) his name is Squorp, (2) he’s very hungry, and (3) he and his siblings ran away from a place called the Menagerie.

Logan puts two and two together and realizes that Squorp is the missing “dog.” When he tries to return him, he learns that Zoe and her family are the guardians of a top secret collection of mythical creatures. Now, he must help them recover the other five griffins before the authorities discover they’re missing. In addition, he and Zoe must figure out who released the griffin cubs and why.

One word of warning: The Menagerie is the first book in a trilogy, and each book ends with a cliffhanger that makes it necessary to read the next one right away. So, before you start the first book, make sure that you find copies of Dragon on Trial and Krakens and Lies too.