Nick Would

Living in the walls of an ancient Egyptian temple, a small scarab beetle is going about his daily activities when he encounters a young prince. Khepri, whose name means "rising sun," finds himself transported shortly thereafter to an ornate tomb that is still under construction. Here he discovers a dangerous paving stone in one of the subterranean passages of the tomb, and rightly concludes that a trap has been laid - a trap for the very prince he so recently encountered. Fortunately, the prince sees Khepri a second time, and allows the beetle to lead the way, thereby preventing an attempted assassination, and securing an honored place for Khepri in Egyptian tradition...

An imaginative 'what if" story, Nick Would's The Scarab's Secret does not appear to be based upon any actual Egyptian myth, although the god Ra is mentioned in the narrative. Rather, it appears to be a work of historical fiction, one which attempts to explain the significance of the scarab beetle to the ancient Egyptians. I found the story here engaging, and thought that the accompanying artwork from illustrator Christian Balit was absolutely marvelous. I love Balit's use of color and stylized forms, and found each page a pleasure to peruse. I'd recommend this one to children who are interested in Ancient Egypt, as well as to fellow fans of Balit's artwork.… (meer)

Khepri, the scarab beetle, turns out to be a hero for a young Egyptian prince. Ra the Sun God created Khepri, and the young prince was very religious and believed that all living things needed to be respected, and had a purpose. Khepri ends up in the corridors of the palace and realizes that he almost slipped and could have died, and immediately he thought about his new friend, the prince. He needed to warn him because the prince's servants had an evil plan where they wanted to take the prince down the lethal passageway. However, the prince spots Khepri, and the little beetle leads the way of saving the prince's life. I enjoyed the background story on the scarab beetle, and I also really enjoy the illustrations. The expression on the characters of the story was very accurate. I learned a little something about Egyptian history, and that's what I enjoyed about this book. I would recommend this book to students, parents, and my kids.… (meer)

"The Scarab's Secret" is the story about how Khepri, a beetle, discovers a dark secret that, once revealed, not only saves a life but also gets him honored on a pharaoh's temple. The belief that even the smallest of beings can make a large impact on the world seems to be the theme in this book. Since the book is set in Ancient Egypt, the historical setting is a very major aspect of the plot and the story's meaning. Without Egypt as the setting, this book would lack something critical to its ability to portray such a significant story. While the story of a beetle saving a life can still be a great one, it's the historical setting that makes the life that Khepri saves and the act of saving it have such a noteworthy meaning. This book really reinforces that "little people can do do big things" idea in the mind of the readers and that's why it's such a remarkable one.… (meer)