The coffin of Naktankh plays an important role in my book The Ancient Egypt Sleepover. It is not always on display in the British Museum, but you can see lots of similar Old Kingdom coffins with the painted eyes facing east. My book contains a simplified hieroglyphic version of the name Naktankh, but the coffin…
For a fun project over the summer, I had a go at making an ancient Egyptian coffin out of cardboard and papier-mâché. I know papier-mâché isn’t the most relaxing of classroom activities but when I do it at home with an audiobook playing in the background, I find it extremely therapeutic. Maybe a project of…
My new book is out now, and it’s an absolute beauty, thanks to stunning illustrations by Núria Tamarit. It contains six comic style tales, bursting with mythical creatures, gods, pharaohs and adventure. I was thrilled to receive an early review from the queen of historical fiction herself. This new hardback about Egyptian mythology and history…
If you are a Year 5 or 6 teacher and your class is studying the sinking of the Titanic, please note that I now offer a Titanic-themed author visit. We can do this right at the start of your Titanic unit (as a hook to create interest) or later on when the children have already…
Many children are fascinated by the story of the Titanic and it is often studied in primary schools, particularly in Key Stage 2. There are many excellent children’s books on the subject. KS2 teachers often choose my own book Survivor Titanic to accompany their Titanic unit, especially in Year 5 and Year 6. Mandy Southgate…
Why did you make me a nightjar, Ma,Such a portly unmuscular bird?Why must I flitter this tortuous pathAnd emit this crepuscular churr?Do you hear the night birds ridiculeOur spooky flap and vulgar cry?“You Goatsuckers!” the horned owl twoos,“You cooky Caprimulgidae!”“You sprogs of Nyx,” the barn owl twits,“Dark harbingers of puckeridge.”I’m tired of being a nightjar,…
When my first book was published back in 2006, Dad told me about my great grandfather Edward Tegla Davies, who was a Methodist minister and children’s author. Dad showed me an old copy of Nedw, one of Tegla’s best known works. Nedw in Welsh is short for Edward and is pronounced Ned-oo. The language is…
Soar with me, gentle reader, to the heightsOf Mount Olympus, seat of heavenly bliss,Where bright-eyed Paeon is apprenticed toAsclepius the wizened herbalist.When Heracles’s arrow finds its homeAmong the raging veins of Hades’ neck,Young Paeon plucks th’intruder from its nestAnd stems the blood with ginger turmeric.If artful Diomedes’ singing swordShould pierce the golden abdomen of MarsTis…
~ 1 ~ The sun burns orange in the western sky,It dips and disappears, and way up thereOn old Yakuuba’s toothbrush tree you sighA sweetly sorrowful pre-migration prayer.You launch into the void in search of spring,Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you strong.A vulture shrugs a valedictory wing:Au revoir, mon beau phragmite des joncs! ~ 2…