Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Hieroglyphs

toA Rhyming Book

withAncient Egyptian Stencils for Kids

from

Peter Der Manuelian

How to Use This Book

This book shows the English alphabet from A to Z, one letter at a time. The large color hieroglyph on each of the alphabet pages shows a picture of a word that begins with the letter on that page. That’s why an Archer is on the A page and a Beetle on the B page. These large hieroglyphs are beautiful reproductions of actual ancient carvings and paintings.

At the bottom of each A to Z page is a smaller hieroglyph in a box. This is the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph that stands for the sound our English letter makes. The (vulture) would be read as A, the (foot) as B, and so on. These are the hieroglyphs you can use to spell names and words. You will find a stencil of these hieroglyphs at the back of the book.

At the back of the book you will also find a brief history of hieroglyphs and a chart to help you learn the hieroglyphs that match our alphabet.

All of the drawings are based on actual hieroglyphs that are either carved or painted on Egyptian tomb and temple walls. Many drawings come from examples on exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

What’s a Hieroglyph Anyway?

Long ago—over 5,000 years ago—the ancient Egyptians found a way to put their spoken language into writing. At first, the Egyptians used pictures to record their words and ideas. For example, they used a to stand for the word “sun.”

As they needed to write down more and more complicated ideas, their language grew and changed. The was a good way to represent “sun,” but how would you say “sunny day” or “sunspot” or “sunburn”? Instead of coming up with new pictures for these new ideas, the Egyptians combined one hieroglyph with another hieroglyph to create new words.

Here’s an example of this idea:

(bee) + (leaf) = (beeleaf) = belief

So in addition to being pictures, hieroglyphs were also sounds. With time, the Egyptians started combining one sound with another sound to make words.

We do the same thing in English. We have twenty-six letters in our alphabet that represent many different sounds. We combine these to make words. The ancient Egyptians had hundreds of different hieroglyphs, and they combined them to make words.

Ais for archer

who carries a bow.

To write the letter A the Egyptians used a vulture. To spell archer using hieroglyphs, you would write

The Egyptians used bows and arrows to hunt wild animals in the desert, such as bulls, rabbits, gazelles and hedgehogs.

a r ch e r.

A

Bis for beetle

whose footsteps are slow.

To write the letter B the Egyptians used a foot. To spell beetle using hieroglyphs, you would write

The scarab beetle was worn as a powerful lucky charm. The Egyptians made scarab jewelry out of blue glass and jewels.

b e e t l e.

B

Cis for cat

who sits there so still.

The Egyptians had no letter C, but you can use a basket with handle (k) to stand for the C sound. To spell cat you would write

Cats were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians. They even had a cat goddess named Bastet.

c a t. C

D is for duck

who “quack quacks” with his bill.

To write the letter D the Egyptians used a hand. To spell duck using hieroglyphs, you would write

The Egyptians had many of the same kinds of colorful ducks that we have today.

d u ck. D

Hieroglyphs from A to Z is the first book published by PomegranateKids™, an

imprint of Pomegranate Communications, in collaboration with the Museum of

Fine Arts, Boston. Originally published in 1991, this popular best seller has been

out of print for many years. With bold graphics, charming, rhyming text, and solid

educational content, it explains the hieroglyphic code while imparting important

facts about ancient Egypt. As an added bonus, a separate sheet of stencils is

provided, slipped inside the back cover, so that kids can easily draw their own

hieroglyphs. All told, this is the perfect book for any small visitor to a museum

with Egyptian artifacts, or for any child who simply loves words and pictures.

Author Peter Der Manuelian became interested in ancient Egypt not long after

learning his own ABCs. He received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1981 and

a Ph.D. in Egyptology from the University of Chicago in 1990. After working at the

pyramids of Giza and the temples of Thebes in Egypt, he joined the curatorial staff of

the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1987. He has been Giza Archives Director there

(www.mfa.org/giza) since 2000, and also teaches Egyptology at Tufts University. He

is interested in using the tools of the future to study the past, and combined his hand-

drawn hieroglyphic artwork with a computer to produce this book.

Published by PomegranateKids™, an imprint and registered trademark of Pomegranate Communications, Inc.Box 808022, Petaluma, CA 94975800 227 1428 • www.pomegranate.com

Pomegranate Europe Ltd.Unit 1, Heathcote Business Centre, Hurlbutt RoadWarwick, Warwickshire CV34 6TD, UK[+44] 0 1926 430111 • sales@pomeurope.co.uk

This product is in compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA).

A General Conformity Certificate concerning Pomegranate’s compliance with the CPSIA

is available on our website at www.pomegranate.com, or by request at 800 227 1428.

48 pages, 83⁄8 x 10 inchesIncludes a sheet of punch-out stencils of hieroglyphsSmyth-sewn caseboundFull-color illustrations throughout

© Peter Der Manuelian, 1991, 2009 $17.95 US ($22.95 Canada) ISBN 978-0-7649-5306-4Catalog No. A184Available January 2010Printed in China