The Heart Scarab by Saviour Pirotta

 illustrated by Jo Lindley 

Saviour Pirotta is back with a new historical adventure series for children, this time set in Ancient Egypt, with brothers, Reni and Mahu as the main characters.

Renni is the younger, quieter and more thoughtful. He's learning to be an artist, helping his uncle Pepy decorate the tombs in the Valley of the Kings. His older brother Mahu is always full of schemes - often ones which get the brothers into trouble. He's interested in boats, fishing and hoping to one day find work on a ship that would take him to far distant places. To get such a job he'll need to bribe one of the crew, and his current plan is to steal something valuable from one of the tombs (or persuade Renni to) and barter it for an item of interest to a sailor. Things aren't as easy as Mahu claims. Renni is persuaded to enter the tomb of a dead general and steal a heart scarab placed on his chest but this is the beginning of the brothers' problems, for the Pharaoh's vizier also wants the heart scarab and will stop at nothing to get it. 

As with the author's previous 'Wolfsong' series set in the Neolithic period, this story mixes an exciting, maybe a little bit scary, plot with rich historical details; the first will engage younger readers, the second teach them about Ancient Egypt. Through the lives and adventures of Renni, Mahu and their friends, history is presented in a way to interest children. Pharaohs and their Gods can seem a little remote to the average 7 to 9 year old; experiencing that world through the eyes of  similar-aged children brings it to life. Everyday life probably didn't involve mummies coming back to life, or pursuing an enchanted thief through the corridors of a tomb, but this is definitely a story to entertain as much as it educates. 

There are black and white illustrations by Jo Lindley throughout to bring the characters and settings to life, and at the back a glossary of the more unusual words, notes on Gods and the locations of the story. As it's not all dull learning, the book ends with instructions for how to play the Ancient Egyptian board game of Senet.