It’s a romance for the ages, told in that most colorful of narrative forms: the graphic novel. Lillian (pert and pretty) and Imhotep (dashing and dapper) are in love, and the duo makes quite a splash as they gad about Victorian-era London. Of course, many obstacles stand in their way—Lillian is the daughter of an eminent archeology professor, and Imhotep is a bandage-wrapped mummified Prince of Ancient Egypt. Imhotep is three-thousand years old and somewhat out of touch with modern life (a single cuppa turns him into a drunken mess, insulting gentlemen and wrecking tea rooms), and Lillian’s father is unlikely to approve the match (“You are the property of the British Museum. You are dead. Stay out of this!” the Professor cries when he discovers the mummy and his daughter in each other’s arms). Imhotep’s own mummified dad, the British police force, and Queen Victoria herself get tangled up in this whimsical romantic omedy. As the sprightly forms of Lillian and Imhotep dart across the pages, readers become enchanted by the pair’s hijinks and adventures. Originally published in France in 1997, The Professor’s Daughter was translated by noted graphic novel press First Second Books in 2007. Author and artist collaborators Joann Sfar and Emmanuel Guibert are in fine form here—cheeky humor and expressive illustrations combine for a truly delightful romp.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:45PM

Miss Agnes Shanklin is a spinster schoolteacher in rural Ohio, the plain Jane in her family who is loved but overlooked nonetheless. She’s spent her life quietly obeying her hard-working mother and living vicariously through her sister. But when the Great War and the Great Influenza take her family away from her, Agnes is forced into the spotlight. Leaving her grief behind, Agnes takes her modest inheritance and her cheery little dachshund, Rosie, to Egypt. It’s 1921 and the world is still recovering from all those years of trench warfare, but in Cairo a peace conference is underway. Luminaries like Winston Churchill, Gertrude Bell, and “Lawrence of Arabia” are meeting to determine the fate of the Middle East. When Agnes wanders into their midst, her mild manner gives way to a sharp mind that serves as an ideal sounding board for their plans and ideas. Her attention is also drawn to Karl Weilbacher, an affable gentleman who showers Agnes with more kindness than she’s experienced in an entire lifetime. Karl is excessively interested in everything Agnes has to say—particularly when it relates to Churchill, Bell, Lawrence, and the plans of the European diplomats. Author Mary Doria Russell vividly portrays the real personalities who created the nations of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, but it is Agnes, the fictional character who narrates this history, who readers will relate too. Inexperienced but by no means uninformed, Agnes navigates the waters of Egypt’s shifting political intrigues with a sense of wonder and wry intellect that is appealing and intimate.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:45PM

Author Rick Riordan is best known for his Percy Jackson and the Olympians books that combine the pantheon of Greek gods with a rag-tag bunch of modern kids on a heroic quest to save the world. In his new series, The Kane Chronicles, Riordan mines the equally rich Egyptian mythos for a similar but no less exciting adventure. Book one, The Red Pyramid, introduces Carter Kane (age 14) and Sadie Kane (age 12). Since the death of their mother six years ago, these siblings have lived separate lives. Carter roams the globe with his Egyptologist father, Julius, while Sadie lives in England with grandparents. The scattered family is reunited one Christmas Eve when Julius Kane brings his children to the British Museum. What happens there results in the destruction of the Rosetta Stone, the disappearance of Carter and Sadie’s dad, and the unleashed power of the ancient Egyptian god of chaos. This god, Set, is of course out to destroy the world and Carter and Sadie—who begin to display some unique powers of their own—are the only ones who can stop him. They are aided (and educated in Egyptian lore) by a colorful cast of magicians, gods, goddesses, and monsters. Sadie is cheeky and tenaciously curious; Carter is cautious but steadfast. The siblings’ banter (the tale is presented as a transcript of an audio recording) is as much fun as the action-packed chapters, and it’s a refreshing to have a female hero join a genre that finally features main characters with a biracial heritage (the Kane kids have a black father and a white mother). Riordan brings ancient Egypt to life and sends it crashing into the modern world. The result is non-stop, dynamic, rip-roaring adventure.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:44PM

In the 1920s, Egyptologist Ralph M. Trilipush (secretive, arrogant, and paranoid) has pinned all his hopes on Atum-hadu. Trilipush translated and published the ancient Egyptian king’s erotic verses, but his fame in the field rests on finding the pharaoh’s tomb and accompanying riches. Trilipush is not especially well respected by his fellow scholars and he’s maddeningly jealous of Howard Carter’s recent discovery of the tomb of King Tut. But now he’s got the funding (from his opium-addicted fiancé’s wealthy father) for his own dig, and he knows that Atum-hadu is out there, under the Egyptian sun, waiting to be uncovered. If things don’t go according to plan—and with an Australian detective on his tail, investigating the disappearance of an explorer who had connections to our arrogant Egyptologist, plans might very well go awry—Ralph M. Trilipush is equipped with exactly the kind of raving megalomania to cope with the situation. Author Arthur Phillips’ tale of deceit, self-deceit, and exposure unfolds through a series of letters to and from Trilipush. With a streak of macabre humor peeking out amongst the drama and a mean twist of an ending, The Egyptologist is a strange, darkly comic creation that is sure to shock and surprise.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:44PM

The first thing Amelia Peabody does when she gets her independence after the death of her father is to head out and explore the wonders of Egypt. Not your typical Victorian spinster, Amelia is destined for adventure. So when she collects an elegant damsel in distress, the handsome archeologist Emerson brothers, and a walking, talking (well, moaning), two-thousand-year-old mummy along the way, it should come as no surprise that the iron-willed, umbrella-wielding Englishwoman knows how to deal with supposed curses and fainting ladies. But in the hot-tempered personality of dashing Radcliffe Emerson, Amelia appears to have met her match. It is hardly spoiling the story to reveal that the comically tempestuous relationship that develops between Amelia and Emerson is the force that drives not just Crocodile on the Sandbank, but the other eighteen books in the series. The real appeal lies not so much in the mysteries (though crime does indeed abound among the ruins of the ancient pharaohs) but in author Elizabeth Peters’ dynamic cast of characters and impeccable re-creation of the sights and sounds of Victorian-era Egypt. Peters has been writing about Amelia and her unconventional family, quirky friends, and deliciously wicked enemies for nigh on thirty years. The books take place in the years 1884 to 1922 (Amelia ages gracefully but never grows an ounce less resolute) and each explores another facet in the relationships of the Peabody-Emerson clan, another archeological site in Egypt, and another chapter in the ever-evolving history of that ancient nation. Fans can also check out Amelia Peabody’s Egypt: A Compendium, a lovely big book overflowing with details about Amelia and her brood, how they thought, what they did, and what they saw in glorious Egypt.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:43PM

Name an Egyptian pharaoh. Ten to one, the words “King Tut” came rolling out of your mouth almost automatically. When Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s untouched tomb was discovered in 1922 filled to the brim with gold and precious stones, it caused a worldwide sensation. And when several of the people involved in the excavation died of “mysterious causes” attributed to an ancient curse, Tut’s popularity went through the roof. But really, we know very little about the actual life and death of this immensely famous ancient ruler. With Tutankhamen: The Life and Death of the Boy-King, British Egyptologist Christine El Mahdy investigates the mystery that lies behind the legend. El Mahdy has devoted most of her life and career to the study of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, which ruled the country more than 3,500 years ago. She outlines the ancient geography, culture, religion, politics, and society. She relates Tutankhamen’s family tree and describes the unique period into which he was born—the pharaoh before Tut was Ahkenaten, the heretic king who turned his back on Egypt’s traditional array of gods and built a brand new city in sole honor of the sun god. She describes the riveting account of the discovery of Tut’s tomb in 1922 by Howard Carter. And she constructs a new biography of Tutankhamen, this young man who was crowned king at the age of seven, died in his tender teenage years, and was entombed with almost unimaginable wealth. Tutankhamen is accessible, intriguing, intellectual, and brimming over with the author’s unmistakable enthusiasm for her subject.   posted Aug 31, 2010 at 12:43PM

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” This unusual newspaper ad catches the eye of an especially observant and inventive orphan named Reynie Muldoon. It also catches the eyes of ready-for-adventure Kate Wetherall, brainy and sensitive George “Sticky” Washington, and very contrary little Constance Contraire. The children pass a series of tests for the mind and spirit and are recruited by the philanthropic Mr. Benedict. Their mission: Infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, a school run by the brilliant but dastardly Ledroptha Curtain. Mysterious messages are issuing forth from the school to brainwash the unsuspecting population, and Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance must combine their unique talents and skills to save the day. The reader follows clues and solves puzzles right along with the kids for a clever and interactive literary adventure. Like all worthy and wise orphans, Reynie and company pull together to outwit the villains and save the day. And like most orphans, their troubles are far from over—their unique capabilities are required in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma. And thank goodness for that, because few things are more fun than saving the day with the Mysterious Benedict Society.   posted Aug 17, 2010 at 11:39AM

Oh, despair for the poor little Baudelaire children! Inventive Violent (age 14), bookworm Klaus (age 12), and baby Sunny, who likes to bite, have absolutely no happiness in store for them—and we are assured of that fact from the beginning by a wry narrator who cautions that “If you like stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book.” Orphaned when their beloved parents and home are consumed by a fire, the trio of Baudelaire siblings are installed in the gloomy home of distant relative Count Olaf. Count Olaf, of course, is a wicked villain with dastardly designs on the hefty Baudelaire fortune. Since every other adult in the book is completely clueless, Violent, Klaus, and Sunny must rely on their own pluck and resolve to get out of this sticky situation. But remember that the title of this series is, after all, A Series of Unfortunate Events. The adults get no wiser, the children no luckier, and at the end of The Bad Beginning the Baudelaires are no better off than they were before. The reader, however, has been in a fit of giggles since page one. Author Lemony Snicket tells his tale of woe in a gleefully tongue-in-cheek fashion. Satirizing the literary conventions of many an old-fashioned classic, Snicket takes the orphan story to wonderfully absurd new heights. His flair for the comically melodramatic continues in The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, and ten other cunning titles.   posted Aug 17, 2010 at 11:38AM

Orphans turn downright nasty in Rare Beasts, a slim volume overflowing with the devious deeds of twelve-year-old twins Edgar and Ellen. Their parents are off on a lengthy (it’s been years) round-the-world vacation—and no wonder, because Edgar and Ellen are the terror of the town of Nod’s Limbs. The deceitful duo runs amuck in a tall, narrow old house. They have a gloomy groundskeeper called Heimertz and a pet, named Pet, who they occasionally torment. In fact, it’s the presence of Pet that gives the siblings the idea for their latest evil plan—steal the town’s beloved pets, deck them out in paint and glitter, and sell them for a fortune as rare and exotic beasts. With money in their grubby little pockets, the twins will be able to fund all manner of underhanded schemes. It’s a master plan and Edgar and Ellen are determined to carry it out to perfection—if their own in-fighting and constant bickering (not to mention a very big pet snake) doesn’t get in the way. Rare Beasts is the first offering a series by author Charles Ogden, and he holds nothing back in making his hero and heroine as gleefully diabolical as possible. Edgar and Ellen are so outlandishly over-the-top awful that he gets away with it and the result is a deliciously naughty little book. Whether the sneaky siblings develop any morals—and we rather hope they don’t—remains to be seen in book two (Tourist Trap) and its many prank-filled sequels.   posted Aug 17, 2010 at 11:38AM

The Willoughbys are a pleasant, old-fashioned sort of family—except that Mr. and Mrs. Willoughby tend to forget that they have children, and get rather tetchy when reminded of the fact. So the Willoughby children—bossy Tim, sweet Jane, and twins Barnaby A and Barnaby B—decide that they really would be better off as orphans. That way, they would at least be assured an adventure or two. A baby left on the doorstep (and re-delivered to a neighboring doorstep) is the catalyst for a series of astounding coincidences, devious plans, and literary conventions turned upside down that make up author Lois Lowry’s sprightly tale. Other characters include a down-in-the-dumps candy bar tycoon (inventor of the delicious Lickety-Split), a no-nonsense nanny who scorns other no-nonsense nannies (like that “fly-by-night” Mary Poppins), and a lederhosen-clad lad who speaks very poor German (he just adds extra syllables “with a vaguely Germanic sound” to English words). The sly, winking tone that Lowry adopts on page one carries through to the utter end, meaning even her glossary of vocabulary words and bibliography of orphan literature are a rare and playful treat to read. Absurd humor with more than a dash of sparkling satire, The Willoughbys contains some of the most impish orphans out there.   posted Aug 17, 2010 at 11:38AM