The Ancient Egypt Sleepover

Frequently Asked Questions

About the book

What year group is The Ancient Egypt Sleepover suitable for?

Here in the UK, The Ancient Egypt Sleepover is being used in Years 3 to 6, most often in Year 4 when pupils learn about Ancient Egypt.

What makes The Ancient Egypt Sleepover suitable for classroom reading?

• It’s tried and tested. Teachers using the book with Year 3 and Year 4 classes describe it as ‘gripping’ and ‘engaging’, and say that it works particularly well alongside an Ancient Egypt topic.
• It’s a manageable length: 21 chapters of around 1,000 words each, so it can be read aloud in class in less than a month, while still leaving plenty of time for discussion and activities.
• It’s realistic. There are no curses, magic or time travel, and certainly no marauding mummies. The story is set in the present day, but brings Ancient Egypt to life through the museum, its artefacts, hieroglyphs and the mystery at the heart of the story.

Do you provide teaching notes for The Ancient Egypt Sleepover?

• The Ancient Egypt Sleepover teaching notes
• The Ancient Egypt Sleepover book topic feature (originally published by Teach Primary Magazine)
• You can also find teaching notes for The Ancient Egypt Sleepover at EdShed, CLPE and TES.

Has The Ancient Egypt Sleepover been recommended by any teaching organisations?

Darren Matthews (Primary Advisor Teacher at CLPE) runs themed Ancient Egypt days for teachers in Lower Key Stage 2 and recommends The Ancient Egypt Sleepover as a class read.

Is The Ancient Egypt Sleepover endorsed by the British Museum?

The Ancient Egypt Sleepover is not endorsed by or affiliated with the British Museum, although the book is available in the British Museum bookshop. I have also spotted it at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza and the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology in London.

Have you written any other books about Ancient Egypt?

I’ve written two other books about Ancient Egypt. Myths, Mummies and Magic in Ancient Egypt is a comic-style nonfiction book for younger readers, while How to Steal the Rosetta Stone is a heist novel aimed at Key Stage 3 readers.

Author visits

Do you offer school visits for schools studying The Ancient Egypt Sleepover?

I love visiting schools! I do twenty to thirty Ancient Egypt-themed school visits each year, mostly for Years 3 and 4.

What does an ‘Ancient Egypt-themed school visit’ entail?

I start with an hour-long, highly interactive session for the whole year group in the hall, followed by a writing workshop for each individual class. The session in the hall isn’t a lecture: pupils get involved throughout, with questions, challenges and opportunities to contribute.

What is the content of your Ancient Egypt Sleepover writing workshop?

The workshop focusses on plotting, characterisation and Show Don’t Tell. It contains opportunities for working in pairs and individually. I guide pupils through the process of creating an Ancient Egypt Sleepover story of their own. By the end of the session, each child has written a plot concept, a character outline and the first paragraph of an engaging adventure story.

How long does an Ancient Egypt school visit last?

Four hours of contact time. In a year group with three classes, this means an hour-long whole-year-group session followed by three one-hour class workshops. With two classes, each workshop lasts 90 minutes.

How many children can take part in an Ancient Egypt school visit?

Up to 200 children in the talk and up to 35 in each workshop. I have run workshops for 60 children in the past, but it’s a stretch.

Do you offer virtual school visits?

Yes. I can do an hour-long interactive session combining elements of the whole-year-group talk and the writing workshop. I’m happy to use Zoom, Teams or Google Meet.

Does our class need to be studying The Ancient Egypt Sleepover to book an Ancient Egypt-themed visit?

Not at all. You don’t need to be reading the book. The creative content of the day would include the idea of an Ancient Egypt themed sleepover, but without reference to my book.

Do you adapt your Ancient Egypt workshops for different year groups?

Yes. With younger pupils, I put more emphasis on idea generation and characterisation. With Year 6, we go through plot and character much faster, so as to get deep into the nuts and bolts of writing. We have fun with Show Don’t Tell, limited/close third-person point of view and using dialogue to convey character.

Contacting the author

Can you reply to an email from our class containing questions about the book?

Yes, gladly. I aim to reply within three working days.

Can you make a personalised video introducing the book to our class before we read it?

Certainly. I can make a personalised five-minute video introducing the book to your class and giving them a quick virtual tour of the Ancient Egypt Sculpture Gallery (where much of the book’s action takes place). I charge £30 for this.

How do I book a visit?

Authors Abroad deal with the logistics for my school visits. They’re ever so friendly and efficient. Click here to drop them a line.