The Secret Explorers and the Tomb Robbers

By Author / Illustrator

SJ King

Genre

Adventure

Age range(s)

Publisher

Dorling Kindersley Ltd

ISBN

9780241442265

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

01-10-2020

Synopsis

Join The Secret Explorers as they go up against thieves in ancient Egypt in the third instalment of this action-packed, fact-filled book series. The Secret Explorers come together from all four corners of the globe to fix problems, solve mysteries and gather knowledge all over the planet - and beyond. Whenever their help is needed, a special sign will appear on a door. They step through to the Exploration Station, and receive their mission...

In The Secret Explorers and the Tomb Robbers, Gustavo (history expert) and Kiki (engineering expert) are set the mission of stopping the Cairo Museum from closing down. They travel back in time to ancient Egypt and are soon drawn into a tense, thrilling adventure that involves breaking into pyramids, learning ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, and stopping thieves hoping to rob all the treasure from the Pharaoh's tomb. Packed with fun illustrations and facts about the real-life Pharaoh Khufu and his treasures, ancient Egyptian religion, and how mummies were made, this thrilling adventure is perfect for young readers.

Also available as an audiobook, narrated by actor Alfred Enoch.

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Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed The Secret Explorers series and the recent additions to their adventures with new missions in two new books, The Secret Explorers and the Tomb Robbers and The Secret Explorers and the Jurassic Rescue.

This is fantastic set of fast paced , shorter read but action packed stories linked well with popular STEM topics in Primary schools . A diverse crew of eight children are the Secret Explorers - a group of individuals from around the world - all with their own area of expertise that makes them perfect for problem solving missions. Each book in the series tasks two of the brave and knowledgeable youngsters with a task and then whisks them off to another time or another place, ready to save the day!

The topics chosen as the backdrop for the stories are well picked - Ancient Egypt and the Jurassic age of the dinosaurs form the settings for the latest two books - as they reflect the themes learnt about in schools that really seem to capture the interest and enthusiasm of children . The first two books - The Secret Explorers and the Comet Collision and The Secret Explorers and the Lost Whale were equally engaging and ideal story settings to grab a young reader's imagination . There are plenty of great black and white illustrations along the way that bring the characters even more to life.

One of my favourite features of the stories is that ALL of the experts are the children themselves so each character takes a turn to lead a mission and share their knowledge and skills with the rest of the team . This is such a positive depiction of a group working together to solve some difficult problems and also means the wealth of factual information the reader actually learns is delivered in an easy, chatty, informal voice. I certainly enjoyed learning about the inside of a pyramid far more through reading Gustavo and Kiki's daring dash away from tomb robbers than I would have in non fiction format!

This is a great series for younger readers - packed full of thrills and peril and has superb section at the end of the story where the reader will find quizzes, fact-files and timelines to immerse them even further into the different lands and places explored. A great addition for our school library!

128 pages / Ages 7+ / Reviewed by Jenny Caddick, teacher