Secrets of a Sun King: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian: 1

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I thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of this layered and intriguing novel, as I was completely swept along with by the delightful cast of characters Carroll created. A whole English teaching sequence linked to the book Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll (Nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2016).

There are a total of 126 SMART Notebook screens (in one file) and each lesson is clearly marked, along with details about which lesson each chapter should be read, to aid and link to the learning. It's a tightly-written and very conscientious book that naturally weaves so many themes into a fun adventure. HNS Awards have helped discover and launch the author careers of Michel Faber, Ruth Downie, Hilary Green, Martin Sutton, Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott, Nikki Marmery, Margaret Skea, Warwick Cairns, Katherine Mezzacappa and Elizabeth Macneal. The backstory set in Ancient Egypt is conveyed via transcriptions of papyri found in the jar (one of these translations is done on the hop in a few hours by Oz, a twelve-year-old!It would also link well with English lessons, such as inference based sessions and as a model for narrative writing. As she tries to find out more, she meets the Mendozas, and before she knows it, they're on the train to Luxor in a race against time to put things to right before the opening of King Tut's tomb.

A bookish teen, he has the skill to translate a lengthy ancient Egyptian text overnight, something which a learned professor probably took weeks to do. Regarding the characters, Lil was quite likable, and I adored both her bravery and the fact that her loyalty to her family motivated her.year-old Lilian is equally fascinated by the news but when a famous Egyptologist dies under mysterious circumstances and her grandfather becomes ill, Lil begins to believe these events are related and that there is a curse on artefacts stolen from the ancient Egyptian tombs. This books follows Lil on her journey to Egypt, as she uncovers the secret life and death of a boy king, as well as the secrets and struggles of her own family. There is exactly the right amount of intrigue, themes of family, friendship and bravery are touched upon and I loved the parallels drawn between friendships separated by several millennia. However, since I'm not in the target age group any more, maybe I'm just being picky expecting that the writing appeals across generations in the same way that Morpurgo and Ibbotson do! In terms of the characters, Lil was completely likeable and I loved her bravery and that it was her love for her family that spurred her on.

The modern idiom of the characters' speech grates, as does the contemporary sensibilities ascribed to them. During the book there are possibly three main characters, Lilian Kaye, Pepe and Tulip, and Oz Mendoza. Lillian doesn’t like school very much and has very few friends, she likes to listen to her Grandad recite stories of when he used to go travelling back in his young, although Lillian’s Grandad, whose name’s Ezra, have been to many different countries he has always been most fascinated with Egypt. I also liked Tulip and Oz very much, particularly how bold and daring Tulip was, as well as their mum, whose storyline highlights how sexist the time period was. They travel to Egypt 1922 style: by boat, train to Athens, a smelly cargo boat to Cairo, another train to Luxor, and finally by camel.The story was good vocabulary including names, places, and artefacts that originally come from Egypt. Secrets of a Sun King - Teaching Slides is a PowerPoint presentation which contains a range of task modelling, group activities and teaching and learning opportunities that teachers can use as they explore the focus text in this English unit from Focus Education.

Then Lil's grandfather is taken suddenly ill, and when a mysterious package turns up for him from the Egyptologist, Lil starts to believe there is truth to the rumours of a pharaoh's curse. Secrets of a Sun King begins with Lilian finding a strange package has been delivered to her unwell grandfather. I felt drawn into her world at once, and her characters are likeable, even though one of them is a bit on the Mr Exposition side. Then Lil finds a parcel addressed to her Grandad from Professor Hanawati, who recently died in suspicious circumstances. It is well written with good characters and is an ideal book to hook the class to their English learning.The story starts off in London 1922, Lilian Kaye finds a parcel on her grandad's doorstep with a note about a strange curse. Chiar daca povestea in sine are multe scene neverosimile, trebuie mentionat ca este prezenta si o tenta fantasy.