Lights on the Nile
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Kepi is a young girl in ancient Egypt, content to stay home with her family, helping her father, who was wounded in the construction of a pyramid for the cruel pharaoh Khufu. But that was before she and her pet baboon, Babu, were kidnapped and held captive on a boat bound for the capital city, Ineb Hedj. And when Kepi and Babu are separated, she knows she has only one choice: to make her way to the capital on her own, rescue Babu, and find a way to appeal to the pharaoh. Khufu is rich and powerful, but Kepi has her own powers, deep inside her—ones she herself doesn’t even know about yet.
Donna Jo Napoli, acclaimed author of Zel and Beast, revisits the fabled origin of fairies in this strikingly orig-inal and affecting novel of friendship.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Living in ancient Egypt around 2530 B.C.E., 10-year-old Kepi inhabits a world very aware of the presence and power of gods and spirits. Her father is wounded while helping build a pyramid for the cruel Pharaoh Khufu, putting their family under financial stress. While collecting fruit Kepi is duped and kidnapped, along with her pet baboon, Babu, by a man who wants to travel north to the capital city of Ineb Hedj and sell Babu to the pharaoh. Strong-willed and wily, Kepi refuses to be separated from Babu during the turbulent journey, praying to the gods for protection and forming her own agenda: to confront the pharaoh about his neglect of his people. Napoli (The Wager) crafts a mystical coming-of-age tale and a love letter of sorts to Egypt, saturated with proverbs, intriguing details of everyday life at the time, and rich descriptions of the places Kepi visits ("The mornings were all misty green, as though someone had woven the finest cloth of fresh leaves and draped it over the world"). Kepi's survival skills and perspective are challenged in this absorbing adventure. Ages 8 12.
