We're Sailing Down the Nile: A Journey Through Egypt

by Laurie Krebs

The wonders of Egypt will unfold before you on this river-bound adventure. With hieroglyphs on each page, a god or goddess associated with every destination, and informative notes at the end, primary school children will be Egypt experts in no time!

Genres: Picture Books, Egypt, Africa, History, Childrens, Geography, Travel

Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Laurie Krebs combines her love of children's literature with her enthusiasm for traveling, to create her wonderful picture books that bring readers all around the world. She lives in Virginia with her husband, Bill.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one! Vivid pictures take you on a tour through Egypt via the Nile and rhyming prose provides an explanation of what you're seeing. It's a great book for both younger and older children as the last part of the book contains pages about the pharaohs, Egypt's history, living in ancient Egypt, a map with landmarks and more.

If you're looking for a book to help with a study of Egypt, start here!

Ages: 4 - 8

#geography #africa #egypt

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[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 2yo LOVES this book and so do I. The illustrations are great and story flows nicely. (See what I did there?) And the "appendix" is awesome. We spend just as much time on the extra info at the back of the book as we do on the story.

[Runway Family · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a bit hestitant to buy this book because the content on many of the pages looked rather thin, even for the recommended age range, but I was pleasantly surprised when the book arrived.  In We're Sailing Down the Nile, several friends travel through modern Egypt from Aswan to Cairo, commenting on the sights along the way in lovely little rhymes. The illustrations in this book are beautiful.  I thought that the book would only appeal to my preschool aged son and his toddler brother, but even my fourth grader was listening intently and commenting on how the characters' travel itinerary along the Nile matched ours! As far as content goes, the last several pages comprise notes describing gods and goddesses, life in ancient Egypt and other aspects of Egyptian history.  It's a little treasure trove of information back there that I wasn't expecting (and that significantly prolongued what I thought would be a short bedtime story, but in a good way)!  

[Mavis’s Dad · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got fascinated with the Ancient Egyptians in elementary school. This book assures children will fall in love way earlier than that. This book is a treasure, like those found in Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Moral: Learning history and geography is fun!

Length: It’s not really short, but the rhythms of the rhyme scheme and fascinating pictures keep the story moving.

Favorite Line: “Climb aboard the river boat, we’re sailing down the Nile.”

Overall impression: As a geography teacher, I was reading this story and thinking about all the freshmen who come to me with no knowledge. How I wish they could have been brought up reading books like this: accurate, enjoyable, and that add an allure to the social sciences. And when you’re done reading the story, there’s so much more to learn about in the appendix.

[Dorrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is a magnificent picture book about Egypt which serves as a colourful introduction to Egyptian mythology as well as a good geographical and environmental overview of the country. The artwork is utterly charming and has a warm engaging style which is somewhat reminiscent of Grandma Moses. The text has rhythm and appeal and is perfect for reading aloud. Also, the end pages are chock-full of extra information and fascinating facts to provide extra insight and context. A real gem.

[Alejandra Vasquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for the ages five to nine. The themes talked about are exploration, learning, and history. This book I picked is great because it talks about ancient Egypt and has lots of illustration for younger students. I would include this in my classroom because it can be read during a history class and then discuss some things the culture does.

[Michelle Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

We enjoyed this picture book as a supplement to our Ancient World History studies on Ancient Egypt. It had a fun simple story and then more indepth information in the back, making a good fit for multiple ages.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story and well illustrated.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Musically the text is appealing and the pictures are delightful.
However the story leaves a bit to be desired.

[Carolyn Bowman]

Used it for kid yoga class. Not to engaging.

[Ethan Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhythmic and lyrical

[Elishia · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’re Sailing Down the Nile begins with a rhyme about sailing down the River Nile in Egypt. Each page features a different destination along the River Nile i.e. Cairo, Abu Simbel, and the Valley of the Kings.
The last pages of the book act as an educational resource and provide information and facts including Egyptian history, Gods & Goddesses and Life as an Ancient Egyptian.
The book is beautifully and carefully illustrated with lots of bright colours and interesting pictures, as is typical of Barefoot Books publishers.
This book would be great to present to a class in the early stages of learning about Egypt in either Geography or History and would be suitable for KS2 children, years 3 and 4.

[Jeremiah Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

We borrowed this book for Classical Conversations Cycle 1.

I really enjoy finding books that are kids' stories but also include things from the real world! Our kids, ages 6, 4 and 2, really liked this book. The youngest liked the bright colors and the illustrations, while the older two were pointing out things like pyramids and asking questions about things in the various scenes.

This was a great way to introduce them to Egypt, the land and some of its history, by way of the famous Nile river.

[Lisa Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have a very curious child, because he also has discovered a love of Egypt. My parents bought him this book as a birthday present and we found the colors and pictures amazing. We got to tour Egypt in a fun way that was easy for a child to understand. The Pyramids and Mummuies are fascinating for a child, yet there were many facts and educational experiences througout the text. This book would make a wonderful addition to literacy and social studies lessons for young children.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare find, a beautifully illustrated picture book that can serve as an information book too. This is on par with Pam Munoz Ryan's Our California. A simple text resembling the flow of the river takes the reader to places along the Nile. The back of the book includes factual information such as a brief history, the names of gods and goddesses etc.

[Donna Gofur · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this story to my reception class last week to link their literacy lessons to their topic of the week on 'hot and cold'

A group of friends travel down the River Nile, each friend taking turns to talk about key places they have visited.

I found this book to be a great start for children to develop ideas for creative writing relating to hot and cold.

[Nashiea Edmiston · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has so much to look at, the illustrations are bright and interesting. Would make an excellent choice to accompany a lesson on Egypt for early elementary students. This would also be great to also give examples of rhyming text. The end of the book has information about Ancient Egypt and Gods, and about the different monuments.

[Alyssa]

This book explains how sailing down the Nile, there are many things to explore and see! There's lots of history that the book shows, such as the Sphinx, King Tut's tomb, Kitchener's Island. They even go through some of the museums as well. This is definitely a book to read if you've got children who have never seen parts of Egypt and the Nile.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colorful and entertaining as well as the usual high quality, informative text you always find with Barefoot Books. I've added this to my "Africa" collection! As always, you can find this and all other Barefoot Books on my website.

[Ella Sloan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the gods and goddesses. I am Isis and Duncan is Sobeck.

[Juliej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very colorful and full of information with rhymes. Made learning about Egypt interesting to a 7 year old boy.

[Charlotte Osborn-bensaada · Rating 3 out of 5]

The travel portion appears to be for a small child, however the background info appears for an older child. That portion is much better.

[Phoenix · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a bit advanced but they are learning about rhyming in class so this book was perfect. We've watch show on the pyramids so she liked seeming those too.

[Malachi Mottram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it, it's very Egypt-y. I have seen Rosetta Stone and mummies and a small Sphinx at crystal palace. But no pyramids.
I want to go on a river boat.

[Rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visit seven exciting destinations in Ancient Egypt, read about Egyptian history, and get to know about the monuments in this excellent book!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story in the begging of the book is just ok but the information in the back is excellent.

[Donna-Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love all the information that has been included in this book.