THE SCARAB’S SECRET By Nick Would – illustrated by Christina Balit.
Published 2006 by Francis Lincoln Children’s Books
SYNOPSIS
“The Pharaoh’s painters have just finished decorating his new temple. By special request of the Pharaoh, I have been painted too. There, on the far wall, just below the man with the head of a jackal – that’s me, Kehpri, the scarab beetle. And this is the tale of how I came to be honoured.”
“The challenge illustrating this title was that the story is told from the perspective of a tiny beetle. It was also the first book I had painted that was set in Ancient Egypt and I had been longing to do something like that for quite a while.
“Balit creates kaleidoscopically patterned illustrations through which move gracefully attenuated figures with strong noses
and heavily outlined eyes.”
Kirkus Review