Tut, Tut

Time Warp Trio #6

by Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith (Illustrator)

Everyone’s favorite time-travelers are changing their styles!  The Time Warp Trio series now features a brand-new, eye-catching design, sure to appeal to longtime fans, and those new to Jon Scieszka’s wacky brand of humor.

Genres: Childrens, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction, Adventure

80 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 1996

About the author

Jon Scieszka is an American children's writer, best known for picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based literacy program for boys whose mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."

Reviews

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Candy caramels are made with nutritious ingredients mixed with equal parts sugar. They are tasty, enjoyable, and have virtually no nutritional value. They are very like this pleasantly written, irreverent and forgettable time-travel story, part of a longer series by the same author. In Tut Tut, three friends are accidentally whisked into the time of ancient Egypt by a pesky younger sister, who is befriended by the goddess Isis. They, in turn, impress the boy-pharaoh with their sneakers and basketball skills, with a little additional help from scientific tricks that they pass off as magic.

Amidst the lighthearted, fast-moving plot the author mixes in quite a bit of trivia about ancient Egyptian culture, with quite a bit of juvenile humor but without any real sense of the cultural gravity of that great society. This is a fairly unobjectionable library read. While its accessibility makes it a good choice for a reluctant reader, I don't recommend it as part of a permanent home library.

[Bernadette · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun book! I obviously chose this book because Ancient Egypt is part of my curriculum for next year and I’m looking forward to using this book. It would be a fun wrap-up read aloud to our unit. Students will be able to relate to the characters and their fun adventure. And it will be very motivating to listen to a story in which the setting and characters are all about something we have studied. Scieszka’s use of language and word play are fun, but need to be explained to my English language learners. This is a fun book to incorporate into the study of history. A quick read with a lot of action also lends itself to a dramatization of the story.

[Denise Spicer · Rating 2 out of 5]

cover art and other illustration by Lane Smith
Three boys are transported back in time to ancient Egypt (along with little sister and her cat). This mildly interesting book gives a rudimentary (and occasionally unrealistic) introduction to Egyptian history. There are cartoonish, mostly black and white line drawings which range from whimsical to creepy/scary.

[Shesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little children’s book! Enjoyed it.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We had been steadily working our way through the Time Warp Trio series and then we somehow took a break. I'm not sure why. I guess it's just a matter of too many books and not enough time to read them all. In any case, after a ten-month hiatus, I thought it was high-time that we start in again. I really missed this series. The stories are so silly and fun, but a little educational too. The boys always seem to get into danger and/or big trouble, but of course, they always find a way to get the book and get home. And I love that Joe's little sister Anna joins them on this trip. This is a good book about ancient Egypt and we really enjoyed reading it together.

[Lucas - Bits of Lit]

Tut, Tut is the sixth book in the Time Warp Trio series written by Jon Scieszka and illustrated by Lane Smith. Jon Scieszka has also worked with Lane Smith on other fun projects such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!, The Stinky Cheese Man, Other Fairly Stupid Tales, and Math Curse. These stories tell the story of Joe, Sam, and Fred. Throughout the series these three children find themselves in different, exciting adventures in different time periods.
In Tut, Tut, the children find themselves in Ancient Egypt, after Joe’s sister, Anna, opens The Book. The Book is a magical item given to Sam for his birthday by his Uncle Joe. It works like a time machine, but it comes with a problem. Every time it is opened the opener goes to a different time, but the only way to go back in time is to find The Book again, which coincidentally goes missing every time and must be found again. The children have gone into the future to the year 2095, seen the ancient Greeks, Vikings, the Ancient Romans, the Mayan civilization, and even gone way back into the past to see Neanderthals, and many more adventures!
In Tut, Tut Joe, Sam, and Fred find themselves inside a tomb with a troublesome priest, Hatsnat, a wicked priest looking to secure more power than any pharaoh in this life or the next life by having a temple with secret rooms and treasures built for him. The children are found by Hatsnat and suspected for being grave robbers, so he hopes to have their hands cut off. With some quick thinking, the boys manage to make Hatsnat believe they are magicians. This buys them enough time to meet Thutmose III, the son of Hatshepsut, and the future pharaoh of Egypt that is the same age as the time traveling group of boys.
The boys wow Thutmose III with wonders of the modern day such as tennis shoes, skiing, and basketball. Meanwhile, the wicked priest, Hatsnat, plots against them. There are bits of historical information spread throughout the book to interest readers in ancient Egyptian traditions. With every mention of an Egyptian God, such as Isis, Seth, or Anubis, there is another opportunity for a young reader to find an interest in learning more about this ancient civilization and finding other books to satisfy their curiousity.
The rest of the novel unfolds in a series of silly jokes and exciting thrills that are sure to make young readers come back to read the next book in the series, or go back to any of the other books they missed out on. The humor of the book comes from the wild problems the boys find themselves in and the relationship that the boys have with each other. When the boys first meet Hatsnat they irritate him by joking about his name, calling him “Hot Snot”, then calm him enough to convince him that they are magicians. Hatsnat then asks them to prove it.
“Magicians, you say? Hmmm. Then conjure me jewels, elephant tusks, a live baboon.”
I couldn’t believe I was on the spot again. For a guy who’s not even an official card-carrying magician, I sure get an awful lot of work. I wracked my brain for a good trick.
“Jewels and monkeys? That’s baby stuff.”
If jewels, monkeys and elephant tusks are the stuff of baby magicians, what can Sam do to prove himself and keep him and his friends from losing their heads? There are many situations scattered in this novel where the characters face difficult problems that raise the tension and make the reader worry for the characters, only for their solution to create bigger problems later on. All of this adds to the zany excitement that these wacky boys go through.
Tut, Tut is an imaginative romp through time that shows the consistent quality of the Time Warp Trio series. It’s another great addition in a whole series of classic children’s books that never disappoints. Tut, Tut does a great job of putting the boys in intense situations in a similar way to series for children written for boys, but make no mistake - girls can enjoy the book too. Joe’s sister, Anna, has a bigger role to play than just causing problems for the group of boys. Adults can enjoy the series too for some light-hearted, loosely historical reading to enjoy. The books are quite short, coming in at around 70 pages, so they would be easy to enjoy in small bits of free time. Fast, fun, and adventurous - you can’t miss out! They’re for grade 3 level readers, so go pick them out and enjoy them! Make sure to make offerings to the Egyptian gods afterwards so that they know you enjoyed this great book!

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to the audiobook this time and it was great. The reader was animated and kept the attention of my 5yo son. I was entertained as well. I love the bits of history that we learn as well as all the funny antics from the trio. I love how they implement basic physics and call it magic. Ancient Egypt is a fun location. Pyramids, style of clothing, mummies, and sailing down the Nile river. Another great addition to the series.

SPOILERS and book notes:
Joes lil sis is coming to king tut tut time too! Anna and her cat Cleo. The wicked priest they over hear in the tomb is like the wicked priest to king Noah. Prideful and just want power. His name is hilarious: “the great priest Hatsnat.” Fred shot me a look. If he was thinking what I was thinking, we could have sworn the guy had said his name was Hot Snot. I had just convinced myself it couldn’t be, when he started up again. “Great Hatsnat. Most Awesome Hatsnat. The Wonder of All, Hatsnat.” The little bald guy paced around the room, trying out his different names.” They are teaching the future pharo (Thutmos) basketball with pomegranate hahaha. Nile river: ““Inundation,” answered Sam. “When the Nile overflows its banks every year. That’s how the fields are watered and fertilized.” They are sailing on the Nile river!! There are hippos and crocodiles in there (Trey knew this). And SAm fell in bc of Hatsnot!! And a crocodile is coming to eat him!! Fred was so mad bc they tried to put make up and necklaces and perfume on them haha. “Isn’t it amazing how little some things change? A person who is very mad 3,500 years ago looks just like a person who is very mad today.” I love how the trio always passes simple physics off as magic. It makes me happy. Anna was missing and they found her asleep in a sarcophagus wrapped like a mummy bc she was cold haha. Hatsnat captured them wrapped them up like mummies stuck them in sarcophagus and sealed them in a tomb! Chills.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was another pretty good one, showing a lesser known pharoh. I do feel like some of the egyptian culture coukd have been shown better, but a good way to spark interest.

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[Rick Bavera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read some Jon Scieszka in the past, but was not familiar with his Time Warp Trio series.

This was a fun little story, humorous. And a little bit of history was woven into the tale too. Well done.

[Elan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's Joe Sam and Fred on another time-traveling adventure to the time of ancient Egypt.
The part I like about this book is the time where they get trapped by Hatsnat in a mummy.
It took one hour in one day to finish this mummifying book.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Black face lines can evoke fear or foolishness. The magic Book green fog takes them to a secret tomb chamber. The villainous villain sneaks behind.

The three boys show off a decent grounding in kings, gods, learn about queens. I still remember mine, when the ROM museum had Sundays for kids and mummies to inspire more fun.

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because I like ancient stuff. I also liked this book because I like secret stuff.

[Cadie Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students and I love these silly fast reads.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy these books because they are entertaining, adventurous and sneak in factual information.

[Sarah Hoov · Rating 5 out of 5]

I. Love time warp trio books for my kiddo. They re educational ina fun way that's appropriate for elementary kids.

[Phil Deschler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story of Eypt and the Pharaohs. The most tense of the Trio series.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

More fun times with Jon Scieszka!

[QuantiFIRE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading, I like the addition of a main character.

[Rehey · Rating 3 out of 5]

With Penny

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the only book in the series that my library has, so I have started putting them on hold through ILL. This was enjoyable, funny, and adventurous with a good plot.

[Naomi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was not very detailed and not super interesting. Still, an okay book though.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jon Scieszka's series was on a list of books for my son to read for a school library program, so we gave it a try. He's in second grade and just reading on grade level, so I had to read most of the book to him. It's written on a 3.5 grade level, but may be of more interest to slightly older children. My son was not overly interested in it, but my 4th grade daughter was, probably because she's been reading Rick Riordan's Egyptian mythology series and the gods get a mention here as well. The Time Warp Trio is reminiscent of Magic Treehouse. I don't know which came first, but one must be a rip off of the other. The female character in The Time Warp Trio is a little less annoyingly superior, but that stereotypical dynamic of smart girl/silly boy is still there. Overall, I didn't think much of the book. It was very out-of-a-box formulaic, as too much children's literature is these days, and even so the loose ends weren't adequately tied up. That is, the ending was rather abrupt, and the Trio surprisingly did little to foil any plots. The book read like a series of small, predictable adventures with overly convenient resolutions. I would not read more of this series for my son, and he would resist me if I did.

[Trace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very light-hearted, more than a little silly...but with a wee bit of historical education tucked in.. its almost as if the author believes that he has to 'trick' the readers into learning...
This is the first book that we read in this series, it was recommended as extra-curricular reading for Story of the World (a history curriculum). I would have loved it to be just a wee bit meatier and the silliness dialed down a bit more.. BUT I have to admit that I'm not a fan of silliness - and I'm NOT the target reader for this type of book... I'm just the parent.. :)

My son, 6yo, on the other hand LOVES silliness and LOVED this book. He would't let me put it down, so we had to read the entire book in one night (which was easy to do. And it DID reinforce what he learned in SOTW. He remembered learning about Hatshepsut, for example.

So perhaps MY expectations as a stodgy ol' parent are a bit too high for a children's book... but I'll stand by my 3 star rating... I liked it and will probably read more of them in the future to supplement our history curriculum... but I didn't LOVE them because of all of the silliness...

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the sixth installment of the Time Warp Trio, Joe, Fred, Sam and Joe's sister Anna, along with her cat Cleo, find themselves in ancient Egypt during the time of Hatshepsut and her son Thutmose III, who is the same age as the Trio. The boys amaze Thutmose with tennis shoes, basketball and skiing. But they make an enemy of the greedy priest, Hatsnat. With Hatsnat scheming against them and The Book lost as usual, the time travelers must use their 'magical' powers to keep them in the good graces of the rulers until they find a way back home.

As with the other books in the series, Tut Tut is a quick read and entertaining. There is no shortage of booger jokes due to the priest's name- Hatsnat. And it was a fun twist to have Joe's sister along for the ride; she turns out to be intelligent and entertaining.

[SaraLaLa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book (and a few others in the series) looking for good supplemental readings for my students as we cover these topics in Social Studies. I didn't notice that the target audience is ages 7-11, making this book too juvenile for even my 6th graders. Some kids my still enjoy it; especially my struggling readers.

The story starts off with some kids finishing up their Egypt projects when the narrator's kid sister walks in with a magical book that transports the readers to the time/place their looking up.

While in their adventure, the reader catches a glimpse of clothing worn, food eaten, religion, geography, and more. This is far easier to read than our text book.

[Children's Literature · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe's little sister Anna bets the boys that there was a female pharaoh. Joe, Fred, Sam, Anna, and her cat Cleo travel back to the time of Thutmose II in order to settle the bet. There they find that Hatshepsut, Thutmose II’s aunt, is acting pharaoh until he comes of age. However, the chief priest Hatsnat is secretly trying to take control and Joe, Fred, and Sam just happen to hear his plan. Anna calls upon Isis, an Egyptian goddess, to help them find The Book and set them free from Hatsnat’s trap.

[A_Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a twelve mini-section book (74 pages). The book is based on a book Sam was given by his uncle Joe, that he believed to be magical. Every time his sister Anna open the book they were drawn in like a time machine into ancient Egypt. Every adventure lead to losing and finding Sam's sister, her cat cleo, and the book and finding them by outsmarting eqyptians. Throughout the book interesting vocabulary comes up, such as inundation, shaduf, and hatshepsut. In the back of the book there is a seven word quiz. This book was published in 2006.

[Patricia Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The little professor's favorite quote: "Hatsnat appeared like a bad smell in a dark movie theater and no one knew where it came from." The fact that I read that line only once and he was able to find it A) hilarious and B) memorize it, tells me that I've found a series which my son will like now at 5.9 and when he's older and forgets that he once loved to read. We love studying about ancient civilizations and countries in general. This book, along with visits to the Field Museum in Chicago, has definitely increased the little professor's curiosity about what life was like in ancient Egypt.

[Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time Warp Series. Three boys and a little sister time travel to ancient Egypt. I introduced the book to our groups of 9 year old boys (summer book club) with lots of picture books about ancient Egypt. They were very interested and thumbed through the books for about 10 minutes. The book has just the right amount of silly boy stuff that I'm sure will keep them going. (The main bad guy is Hatsnat, pronounced Hot Snot, for example, and there are lots of plays on that name in the story).

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book of pharaohs, three fun time-traveling boys, and some bad guys. This time the trio ends up in Ancient Eygpt. What could possibly go wrong? Let me tell you now, A LOT. With their sister, their cat, and THE BOOK missing how will they ever get out and back to their time. Don they have a chance? Mabye. And they haave to keep trying if the wanna get home to turn in their Ancient Eygpt projects to their teacher.