The Egypt Game

THE EGYPT GAME
Written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
TEACHERS GUIDE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In The Egypt Game, April Hall, an insecure and lonely 11-year-old, comes to live with her grandmother
and surprises herself when she forms an immediate friendship with her neighbor Melanie Ross. April and
Melanie, who share an unusual interest in ancient Egypt, use their intellect and vivid imaginations to
develop an elaborate game of "Egypt." Gradually, the game becomes more and more real, and frightening
things begin to happen in the neighborhood. The children are faced with a soul-searching question: Has the
game gone too far?
The following book is also discussed in this guide:
The Gypsy Game

The kids from The Egypt Game are back, and they're ready to play a new game--Gypsies. In The Gypsy
Game, when April and Melanie present their new game to the gang they discover an intriguing fact: their
friend Toby Alvillar claims to be "a real, live, authentic Gypsy." As the friends develop their new game,
Toby becomes distant and strange. Then one day, Toby disappears and the group is on a search that leads
them toward a new understanding of family and friendship.
ABOUT THIS AUTHOR
Raised in California, in the country--with no television and few movies to watch--three-time Newbery
Honor winner Zilpha Keatley Snyder filled her childhood with animals, games, and books. Among her
earliest acquaintances were cows, goats, ducks, chickens, rabbits, dogs, cats, and horses. In fact, her
family's animals were her closest friends, and a nearby library was a constant source of magic, adventure,
and excitement for her. And when she wasn't reading or playing with animals, Snyder made up games and
stories to entertain herself.
While Zilpha Keatley Snyder was growing up, interesting stories filled her household. Both of her parents
spent a lot of time relating accounts of past events in their lives, so Snyder came by her storytelling
instincts early. But unlike her parents, when Zilpha had something to tell, she had, as she says, "an
irresistible urge to make it worth telling. And without the rich and rather lengthy past that my parents had
to draw on, I was forced to rely on the one commodity of which I had an adequate supply--imagination."
Consequently, at the age of eight, Zilpha Keatley Snyder decided to become a writer.
TEACHING IDEAS
Pre-Reading Activity
The Egypt Game and The Gypsy Game depict a special friendship that develops among six diverse
characters. Ask students to write a journal entry about one of their friends who is most unlike them. What
makes their friendship special? Encourage them to share their writing with the class.
Thematic Connections
Friendship
In The Egypt Game, Melanie looks forward to meeting April. Ask students what Melanie's first impression
is of April. How are the girls alike? How are they different? In many friendships, one person emerges as the
leader. Trace the friendship that develops between Melanie and April as they engage in the games of
"Egypt" and "Gypsy." Which girl appears to be the leader?
Describe Ken and Toby's friendship. Why do Melanie and April include Ken, Toby, Marshall, and
Elizabeth in their games? How can children from such different backgrounds become such good friends?
What do each of the six children gain from their friendship? How does the Professor become their friend?
Abandonment
There are several characters who feel abandoned by friends and family. In The Egypt Game, April feels
that her mother abandons her when she sends her to live with her grandmother. In The Gypsy Game, Toby's
security is threatened when his maternal grandparents try to take him from his father. Ask students to
compare and contrast the way April and Toby deal with their feelings of insecurity and abandonment.
Describe how each of the following characters may also feel abandoned: the Professor in The Egypt Game;
Garbo in The Gypsy Game; Bruno, the dog in The Gypsy Game.
Family and Relationships

Melanie, Marshall, and Ken are the only characters in the novels who live in a traditional family. At what
point does April begin to accept that she and her grandmother are a family in The Egypt Game? How does
their relationship grow in The Gypsy Game? Ask students to make a special Mother's Day card that April
might give to her grandmother.
A Sense of Community
The "Egypt" and "Gypsy" games provide the children with a sense of community and teamwork. How does
the neighborhood surrounding the Casa Rosada rally behind the Professor? How do the children use their
"Gypsy Game" to help Toby? How does finding Toby lead the children toward serving the homeless in
their community?
Interdisciplinary Connections
Language Arts
Each participant in The Egypt Game chooses an Egyptian name and its hieroglyphic symbol. Send students
to the library to research the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. Have them select an Egyptian name for
themselves, create its hieroglyphic symbol, and write a short paragraph telling why they selected their
particular names. Make a class chart of the names and symbols.
Mysteries are solved in The Egypt Game and The Gypsy Game. At the end of The Egypt Game, April and
Marshall's picture is in the newspaper along with a story about how Marshall helped the Professor save
April. Ask students to write the article that appears in the newspaper. Instruct them to include quotations
from each of the children of "Egypt," various people from the neighborhood, and the Professor.
Social Studies
April and her friends conduct research about Egyptians and Gypsies before engaging in their games. Ask
the class to name other ancient cultures that they have studied, such as the Incas and Aztecs, and the ancient
Babylonians, Chinese, and Greeks. Divide the class into groups, allowing each to select one culture to
research the facts needed to create a new game. After the groups share their research with the class, ask
which of the cultures researched would most likely interest April and Melanie and why.
The Egypt Game, the children decide to perform an Egyptian "Ceremony for the Dead." They think they
will mummify the bird. Ask students to research the process of mummification. How can scientists
determine the age of ancient mummies?
Use Of Language
In The Egypt Game, the children develop their own alphabet, much as the Egyptians had, in order to write
secret messages to one another. Ask the class to develop a similar alphabet. Divide the class into small
groups and ask them to use the alphabet to write a secret message that they would send to April, Melanie,
and the other children of "Egypt." Encourage the groups to exchange their secret messages for translation.
Teaching ideas prepared by Pat Scales, director of library services, The South Carolina Governor's School
for Arts and Humanities, Greenville, South Carolina.
AWARDS
A Newbery Honor Book
An ALA Notable Children's Book
Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

 

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THE EGYPT GAME

Written by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The following book is also discussed in this guide:

The Gypsy Game

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

Family and Relationships

A Newbery Honor Book

An ALA Notable Children's Book

Lewis Carroll Shelf Award

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