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. 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. For your chance to win a signed copy of Secrets of a Sun King by Emma Carroll, all you have to do is decorate an ornate design onto a jar.

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. 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. 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. A sheet where they have to write a story about being on an adventure and discovering a tomb in EgyptI really enjoyed reading this book. My favourite character was Tulip because she was kind to Lil and she was strong minded about what she wanted and didn't want to do. I liked all the characters in the story, my favourite part about the book was when you read about the Kyky. I liked that part because you could find out about why there is a curse and how Kyky died. London 1922. After World War I, the country is nearly bankrupt, and the Kaye family are struggling; Lil’s grandad, who is passionate about Egyptian archaeology, is in hospital; Lil herself hates being a scholarship girl at snooty St Kilda’s; and her parents are struggling to make ends meet.

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. I learned a lot about how Egyptian pharaohs were treated after their death. The plot of this book was exciting.I certainly found the characters very interesting and they each had an important role to play which made the story even more fantastic. My favourite character has to be Lilian Kaye because she is courageous enough to go all the way to Egypt to save her ill grandad from a deadly curse. 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.

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. 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? I found this book’s plot very entertaining and exciting. I would definitely recommend this book to others.

My 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.