Looking for a "learn a language book" with a difference? Then look no further--this book is certainly unusual in that the language in question is over 5000 years old--hieroglyphics.

Apparently, according to the author Philip Ardagh, it took the average Ancient Egyptian scribe about 12 years to learn all the hieroglyphs he would need to sustain a reasonable writing career, and therefore admits that this highly entertaining little book won't quite make the reader an internationally world expert on the subject. But what it will do is provide endless hours of fun for children who are either in the midst of their studies about Ancient Egypt, or young tikes who take pleasure in baffling their buddies with clever codes and secret messages.

A clever mix of technical detail and humorous interpretation makes The Hieroglyphs Handbook a sure fire winner for any child who likes a good dose of entertainment with his bread-and-butter learning. (Age 10 and over) --Susan Harrison

An entertaining introduction to hieroglyphics which enables children to walk into a museum and translate Ancient Egyptian inscriptions. It provides background history and a practical section explaining how the language works and is written, as well as a glossary-cum-phrasebook.

EVERYBODY'S TALKING ABOUT IT... IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN!
I'm delighted by the response that 'The Hieroglyphs Handbook' has had. Philip Pullman wrote in The Guardian: "If you've ever wanted to read ancient Egyptian, there's no better way to start than with this."

Given the top rated score of 'wa-hey!' when chosen as a book of the week in The Time's Meg@ section, it also went on to be discussed on Radio 4's 'Open Book' where I had the chance to decipher some of the 3,000 year-old hieroglyphs on Cleopatra's Needle.

With Japanese and German editions already in the pipeline, more and more people everywhere will soon be having a go at reading and writing ancient Egyptian.

It really is great FUN. Go on! Why not give it a go yourself?

2003-02-07 Good for Children?

This is a cheap and cheerful example of a growing collection of 'teach yourself hieroglyphs' books. The basics are covered, but no more than that - the ability to phonetically spell out your name using hieroglyphic signs seems a fairly unambitious aim for a whole book.

In my humble view the best English-language book which DOES teach you to read actual ancient Egyptian texts is Collier & Manley's book - the best introductory text since Gardiner's Grammar.

If you are at all serious about wanting to learn to read and write ancient Egyptitan, then buy their book - don't wait to upgrade to it later.