Our Top Books & resources for learning about Ancient Egypt!
- iamalexandra
- Nov 6, 2023
- 1 min read
Updated: Jan 9, 2024
Here are some of our favourite resources for finding out about Ancient Egypt – books, podcasts, TV programmes, documentaries, puzzles, games and internet research links.
information books about ancient EGYPT
Meet the Ancient Egyptians (James Davies, Big Picture Press)
We love this series with quirky, illustrations and bitesize facts. The text is engaging and funny and just the right amount of info to spark interest. It covers daily life, pharoahs, gods, pyramids etc. (There are a couple of historical errors but overall the content is good – could be fun to spot the errors?!)
Ancient Egypt (DK Findout!)
We have a few of these DK FindOut books at home but often get them from the library for specific topics – they are packed with information and lots of photographs of real artefacts. Not particularly in-depth but a great starting point.
Everything Ancient Egypt National Geographic Kids
Packed with photos, infographics, maps, a timeline and lots of facts. The pages are quite lively – we found this really good for dipping in and out of and for sparking interest.
The Legend of Tutankhamun
A really beautifully illustrated book that tells the story of Tutankhamun’s life and the discovery of his tomb – with lots of Ancient Egypt general info too.
fictional books about ancient egypt
Mummies in the Morning Magic Tree House, Book 3
Another favourite series, we like these as early reader chapter books or as quick family read alouds. This book is about two children who are transported to Ancient Egypt via their magic treehouse where they enter a pyramid to solve a riddle. Full of facts. There’s a graphic novel version of this book and a non-fiction fact tracker book too.
Mystery of the Egyptian Scroll
Kid Detective Zet – Book 1
An exciting Ancient Egyptian mystery story with plenty of info along the way. You can find comprehension questions and some activities on the author’s website here: https://www.egyptabout.com/
activity books about ancient greece
An Egyptian Adventure The Histronauts series
Love this graphic novel style book that takes an group of children (and their cat) on an adventure through Ancient Egypt. Lots of activity suggestions and some puzzles along the way.
Find Tom in Time – Ancient Egypt British Museum Find Tom in Time series
‘Can you spot’ books are always a hit in our house. This series from the ritish Museum are brilliant as they have facts and a list of hidden items to find on each double page. This one is focused on ancient Egypt with pages that cover: The River Nile, A Funeral Procession, The Temple, Scribe School, Housing and lots more.
General information Books
A Day in the Life of a Caveman, a Queen and Everything Inbetween
One of our absolute favourite series of books! This one has a history focus and introduces Ancient Egypt through pharoahs, hieroglyphics and cats using a comic book style with funny bitesize facts and brilliant illustrations.
Vincent’s Starry Night and Other Stories A Children’s History of Art
Features a short story about hieroglyphics, one about Egyptian royal painters and sculptors and another about Tutakhamuns tomb. These stories a brilliant at evoking the feeling of the time and describing the surroundings.
A Child Through Time The Book of Children’s History
Has a double page spread on a child working in the fields of Ancient Egypt and another on Tutankhamun. Doesn’t have lots of detail but is good for comparing what it’s like to be a child now compared to then.
The Big History Timeline What on Earth Wallbook
Brilliant for contextualising history – showing chronological order and what was happening elsewhere in the world at the same time. Folds out to a huge, long illustrated timeline with tons of detail.
The Usborne Encyclopedia of World History
This is a beast of a book that covers every time period. It’s organised chronologically which means if you are just focusing on the history of one specific place it jumps around a bit – we don’t find it the easiest book to use for this reason but it does have an impressive amount of content and offers a good introduction to any historical period.
podcasts and audiobooks about ancient greece
We listened to lots of podcasts and an audiobook whilst working on the hands-on activities in the Exploring Ancient Egypt topic guide. Here are some that we enjoyed:
• The BBC's History Homeschool has a couple of episode on Ancient Egypt:
• Cambridge for Kids History Podcasts have several episodes on Ancient GreeceEgypt:
Introduction to the EgyptiansEgyptian Inventions
• The History Storytime podcast has a few episodes on Ancient Egypt including:
Audio Adventures – Ancient Egypt Ladybird
Aimed at the younger crowd (although older ones will probably enjoy it too). Jam-packed with fun facts about Ancient Egypt. Perfect to listen to while colouring or crafting, before bed or in the car.
Please note we are not responsible for the content of these podcasts. You may want to listen to them first to ensure they are suitable for your family.
TV & movies about ancient greecE
• If you're in the UK, BBC Teach has some great animations on: society and culture, the river Nile, gods and goddesses, pyramids and Tutankhamun. BBC Bitesize also has lots of short animations.
• TedEd has some videos on Ancient Egypt including:
A Day in the Life of an Egyptian Doctor How Did They Build the Great Pyramid of Giza The Hidden Story of Hatshepsut
• There is a GoJetters episode on the Pyramids of Giza – available to watch on BBC iplayer on the UK or on YouTube.
Please note we are not responsible for the content of these videos. You may want to watch them first to ensure they are suitable for your family.
ancient greece research links
• If you're in the UK, BBC Bitesize has lots of information, games and quizzes on Ancient Egypt for younger children.
• Facts on Ancient Egypt from National Geographic Kids
• Kids level information on Ancient Egypt from Britannica Kids
• Student level information on Ancient Egypt from Britannica Kids
• DK Find Out about Anicent Egypt
• The British Museum has lots of information and photographs of artefacts – also great to visit and they do really great interactive self-guided tours for children of different ages.
• The SchoolRun.com has a couple of pages on Ancient Egypt:
Egyptian Life & Culture Pyramids & Mummies
More ancient egypt resources
Find photos, facts and inspiration on our Ancient Egypt Pinterest board
If you’d like to find out about Ancient Egypt with some hands-on activities, check out our Exploring Ancient Egypt topic guide – bursting with information and fun, like making amulets, deciphering hieroglyphics and designing booby-traps!
