Recommended Age:
11
+
Best for independent readers who enjoy mysteries that blend imaginative play with real-world stakes and an ensemble cast navigating friendship and danger.
About the Book
Six neighborhood children create an elaborate imaginative game centered on ancient Egypt in a vacant lot, until a series of real-life dangers—including a child murderer in the neighborhood—begin to intersect with their play. A Newbery Honor book that blends imagination with real-world stakes.
Content Ratings
💡
Moderate Themes
The children are navigating the real danger of a child murderer in their community while also processing themes of race, class, and belonging; the juxtaposition of imaginative play with real danger creates sustained tension.
⚔️
Moderate Violence
A child in the neighborhood is murdered; one of the protagonists is attacked by the murderer but saved; the threat is real and frightening, though the violence is not graphically depicted.
Engagement:
Genre:
Mystery
Published:
1967
Page Count:
215
