Ra the Mighty: The Great Tomb Robbery is a treasure fit for a pharaoh’s trove. A. B. Greenfield takes readers on a journey to ancient Egypt with Pharaoh’s cat, Ra the Mighty, as a guide. Ra lives the pampered palace life and shows cat-like disdain for everyone around him–whether human or feline. Ra and his companions, Khepri the dung beetle and Miu the not-as-royal cat, team up to catch the perpetrators of a tomb robbery.
This book is very entertaining. The story is a well-told mystery that keeps the reader following clues right along with the animal detectives. These lovable sleuths navigate their way through a well-envisioned setting that is rich with details about the actual way of life in ancient Egypt. The author clearly did much research and has an interest in the subject, and that makes his storytelling interesting. Greenfield has a talent for making the setting come alive and fills that setting with colorful characters from all walks of daily Egyptian life. Ra is a memorable character, and this is a memorable, funny, and fun book.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Holiday House
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: This book has plenty of comic violence such as: a man attempts to hit a cat with a stick and kick it (but misses); an animal attacks a human without injury; humans chase animals using household items as weapons; dogs chase cats. In addition, it contains a few verbal threats; an animal narrowly misses being crushed by a falling brick; a report of a past death from natural causes; a report of people attacked by animals; a few reports of people being knocked out; a report of arson; a report of the execution of criminals; a prisoner is beaten with fists and a staff with no major injury described.
Sex/Nudity: Young children wear no cloths (cultural norm, not sexual).
Mature Subject Matter:
Graverobbing; kidnapping; blackmail (mention); government corruption; gambling (mention); animal sacrifice is briefly mentioned in the afterword.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Adults drink wine; historical notes in the afterword mention that workers’ wages were paid in goods, and one of those mentioned is beer.
