Tutankhamen's Gift

Small and frail, Tutankhamen was an all but ignored member of the royal family of the great Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. At the school of themenoi,or tutors, he did not excel at physical activities with the other royal princes. Keeping to himself, he observed and admired the work of his father's craftsmen, who built glorious temples to Egypt's many gods. Someday he too would find a gift for those gods.Then Amenhotep III died and the unpopular reign of Tutankhamen's brother ended in mystery. Who now would be pharaoh? Could it be a boy of only ten?As he did with the life ofSaint Valentine(Atheneum, 1992), Robert Sabuda combines simple text with artwork true to the historical period in which Tutankhamen lived.

Robert Sabuda grew up in Pinckney, Michigan, about as far away from Egypt as one can get. While attending Pratt Institute in New York City he had the opportunity to travel to Egypt, where his interest in the boy king Tutankhamen began. His last book with Atheneum, Saint Valentine, received a starred review in Publishers Weekly and was a winner of the Magic Reading Award from Parenting magazine. Mr. Sabuda lives in New York City with his companion, singer Dale Stine, and their two cats, Tammy and Reba.