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

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The book has a feeling of a classic adventure book with the theme being Egypt. The heroin/main character is Lillian, whose characteristic is intelligent, adventurous and bold. The story was good vocabulary including names, places, and artefacts that originally come from Egypt.

Plot: A young girl named Lilian (Lil) has a grandpa who loves Egypt and he falls ill from a curse and she goes to feed her grandpa’s cat (Nefertiti) and sees some parcels and makes friend with a girl (Tulip) and they talk about it. A fast paced, thoroughly researched and fascinating historical adventure with ancient gods and curses to appease and unscrupulous villains to outwit. This time she has turned her skill to the discovery of King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 and with her usual flair has woven a plot mixing historical facts with fictional characters and discoveries. Emma Carroll is one of my favourite writers for children, and has been for a while now. I met her a few months before this book was published and she told me a little about her process for writing this book and how deadlines were helpful for her, which was really inspiring for me. Like her previous books, this is a story centred in history, but with a modern-day awareness of social issues like representation, colonial footprints, and cultural appropriation. Olive and her brother have been evacuated to Devon, but big sister Sukie is still missing from the night of the bombs. Emma Carroll is a natural storyteller: there's a good twist towards the end that even the most wily readers won't see coming.

A powerpoint based around chapter 2 of Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll designed for Year 6 Whole Class Reading. During the book there are possibly three main characters, Lilian Kaye, Pepe and Tulip, and Oz Mendoza. However, there are multiple other characters that have significant roles in the book but do not appear enough to be classed as main characters. These include Lysandra, Maya, and Kyky, the three characters most focused on within Lysandra’s account of Kyky’s, or Tutankhamun’s, final days as King of Egypt. Other secondary characters that are mentioning would be Alexander, the boy who helps to get the parents of our main characters to reveal the blood relativity between the Mendozas and the Kayes. 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. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing -

You’ll see this book on the bookstores’ shelves and it will grab your attention just by its lovely image. I liked that skin colour wasn't an issue and wondered how Mrs Mendoza got on with society in her choice of partner.

This book is a well-paced historical adventure with a wonderfully intimate heart centred in a story of steadfast friendships and personal remembrance. The ancient diary entries that punctuate Lilian's narrative were a lovely addition, giving us a voice into the past that felt both fresh and of the time. Lilian is a clever and conscientious kid, who is immediately easy to love. She has an engaging voice, a thirst for adventure, and a lot of loyalty for her friends and family. Her story gently takes some deep topics like the death of a friend and gives it warmth, a strong sense of peace, and a wonderfully satisfying ending. I would have liked more scenes with Lil and her grandfather. I liked the scene at their Sunday roast.

Fantastic resource. I shall be using chapter 1 and 2 resources with my class. Very well presented! Please say you are doing the rest of the chapters :-) The story starts off in London 1922, Lilian Kaye finds a parcel on her grandad's doorstep with a note about a strange curse. It was sent by a famous Egyptologist, who was found dead that very morning. Education Shed Ltd, Severn House, Severn Bridge, Riverside North, Bewdley, Worcestershire, UK, DY12 1ABMy favourite character in the book would have to be Pepe. This because he is expecting of politeness and is annoyed to see Englishmen invade Egypt and straight away act as if they own the place which I perfectly understand and can sympathise for. On the other hand; there are no characters that I would not be happy to be acquainted with. I definitely found out a lot from the past like the story of Tutankhamun and Lord Carnarvon’s death. Even though this story is fiction there are certainly lots of historical things about this book. Faber and Faber would love to see how you use their provided resources. You can do this on social media using #SunKing or #SecretsOfASunKing and tagging faberchildrens and readingagency. You can also tag the author Emma Carroll with @emmac2603. A sheet where they have to write a story about being on an adventure and discovering a tomb in Egypt

I enjoyed the way that the story’s twists and turns develop out of Carroll’s well-researched knowledge of the period. For example, Mrs Mendoza is never chosen for top assignments for the Washington Post because of her sex. 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. It all takes days – will the children and Mrs Mendoza be on time? 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). Ideal for Year 4, Year 5 or Year 6 children, particularly linked to an Egypt or Tutankhamun topic.In Emma Carrol’s latest historical adventure for Middle Grade we find Lilian and her friends in a race against time to stop the Pharaoh’s curse.