The Egypt Game

Comprehension Questions
Chapter 1: The Discovery of Egypt
1. Who owns the Antique store?
The Professor lives somewhere in the rear of his store, which is backed by a small storage
yard housing a battered lean-to and a miscellaneous assortment of items, including a broken
birdbath and a chipped plaster reproduction of the bust of the ancient Egyptian queen
Nefertiti. The yard is surrounded by a high, wooden fence topped by strands of barbed wire;
one of its planks has come loose, making it possible for very slender personages to slip in.
2. Where is the store located?
In a distinctively diverse California neighborhood made up of inexpensive apartment houses
and small, aging homes clustered around a large university
3. How do people in the community generally feel about the Professor?
A "strange old man" runs a dingy second-hand curio store. The man is tall and bent, and his
expressionless face is accentuated by a straggly beard and dark, inscrutable eyes nestled
under heavy brows. Nothing much is known about him and the children in the neighborhood
are afraid of him; for a reason no one seems to be able to explain, he is referred to simply as
"the Professor."
4. Who first witnesses the Egypt Game?
The Professor can peek out onto the storage yard from a small, dirt-caked window covered
with a gunnysack at the back of his shop. It is from this vantage point that he witnesses the
very beginning of the Egypt Game.
5. What are the names of the three children the Professor watches through the window?
April, Melanie y marshall
6. What is Marshall carrying with him?
He is clutching a large stuffed octopus.
Chapter 2: Enter April
1. What does April Hall sometimes call herself?
April dawn
2. What is the name of the building where April comes to live?
3. Who is Dorothea?
The mother of April
4. Who is Caroline?
Is the father's mother of april or his grandmother
5. What happened to Aprils father?
Her father died in the Korean War when she was very young
6. Where does Caroline work?
Caroline works in the library at the university and has moved to the Casa Rosada so she will
have room for April.
7. Who is April supposed to check in with before leaving the building?
8. What does April purchase from the drug store?
False eyelashes
9. Why is April impressed by the man at A-Z?
Because A-Z Antiques, Curios, and Used Merchandise. A lean-to provides the basis for the
"temple" where ceremonies and chants are conducted in The Egypt Game, Costumes are
also stored there, as well as the secret scrolls upon which all of the rites and ceremonies are
written down. Also stored is the list of special Egyptian names with corresponding symbols for
all of the Egyptians including the special hieroglyphic alphabet constructed by them?
10. What does April tell the man she wants to be when she grows up?
She wants to be an archeologist
Chapter 3: Enter Melanieand Marshall

1. Why is Melanie hopeful as she knocks on Apartment 312?

Because she said that you wouldnt know what to expect of someone like that she is talking
about April but then you never knew what to expect of any new kid
2. What is Melanies initial reaction when April opens the door?
She is impressed of how it looks her and she open the mouth because of that
3. Why doesnt April think Melanie will like her?
Because many kid have dislike her because of her look
4. How does April first describe her mothers job to Melanie?
She tells to Melanie that she actually is a singer of a band that travels
5. What is Melanies favorite occupation?
Read
6. What does Melanie keep hidden in the dull-looking old geography book?
Kind of paper dolls
7. How does April react to Melanies secret hobby?
She thinks she has very good ideas
8. What name does Melanie give to the games that the girls play? Melanie gives to the
imaginary game a name, Egypt Game.
Chapter 4: The Egypt Girls
1. Where do Melanie and April go almost every day in August? Melanie and April go almost
every day to the library, researching the land of Egypt.
2. How do April and Melanie earn the name the Egypt girls? Melanie and April go very
frequently to the library, researching the land of Egypt; so for this reason all the people called
them the Egypt Girls.
3. Why are April and Melanie worried about the start of school? School is about to begin, and
April is nervous about facing a new class in a new school. Melanie, on the other hand, is
worried about how her classmates will react to April's haughty and stuck-up "Hollywood
attitude", as she can already see that April does not make the right kind of impression on
children of their age. Melanie tries to dissuade her from at least wearing the fake eyelashes,
but fails.
4. What aspect of Aprils appearance most concerns Melanie?
Melanie hates the fake eyelashes. She knows the Wilson school kids won't like it and neither
does she. On the way back from the library they met some future schoolmates and Melanie
could tell they didn't like April's Hollywood act. She is very nervous how school will go with
April and her fake eyelashes.
5. What reason does April give Melanie for her feelings about Caroline? April never wears her
fake eyelashes to the library because she still has trouble reading through them, but puts
them back on when her grandmother comes home. Melanie once asked her why she did that,
and April said it's because they annoy her grandmother. It then occurred to Melanie that April
didn't like her grandmother very much.
6. What do April, Marshall, and Melanie nd in the deserted yard that April considers a
beautiful messenger from out of the ancient past? When April and Melanie discover the old,
deserted yard, they nd the bust of Nefertiti inside the lean-to shed. That is what April
considers "a beautiful messenger from out of the ancient past".
Chapter 5: The Evil God and the Secret Spy
1. Who does Melanie suggest might be watching them through the window? Melanie
suggests that the Professor might be watching them through the window. Since they are in
the storage yard of his Antique Shop, he is able to see through a dusty old window in the
back of his store. The girls realize there is a curtain that blocks the view and they are relieved
to know that he is not watching them. They believe that he doesn't even use the room where
the window is, however they are wrong.
2. Who do the girls appoint pharaoh? The girls appoint marshall, melanie's little brother, as
the new pharaoh.

3. What do they name the pharaoh? They name the pharaoh Set, who I think was a powerful
egyptian ruler, who was evil.
4. Why does Marshall agree to play the game? Marshal agrees to the game because the
girls insist that he should be the Pharaoh, who is the king and ruler of all the Egyptians.
Everyone would be his slave. Marshal agreed to these terms and asked when they needed
him. They said not for a while so he would be a junior high priest for the time being.
5. Who is Set? Set, or Seth, is an Egyptian god. He is the god of storms, deserts, chaos,
and war. According to Egyptian mythology, Set killed and mutilated his own brother, Osiris.
Despite that horrible deed, Set is not always an evil god. Often he is portrayed as the
protector of Ra. In all cases, Set has a human body and some kind of animal head, but the
type of animal head has changed throughout the mythology.
6. Where do the girls get the rules for the Egypt game? Melanie and April wanted to learn
more about Egypt, so they did. They went to the museum to see what they could learn. They
went to the library. There they learned rules and traditions about Egypt. They soon brought
this into the Egypt Game. All the rules used in the Egypt Game were taken right out of ancient
Egypt itself. Melanie and April started the rules of the Egypt Game to be followed.
7. What happens unbeknownst to the girls after they throw the boxes over the fence?
After the girls timidly through the boxes over the fence, the sound of the boxes hitting the
oor was loud. Suddenly, the curtain was opened and you could see the professor watching
them through his window. They were hoping that he wouldn't see them but after the piercing
sound it was almost impossible for anyone to ignore.
Chapter 6: Eyelashes and Ceremony
1. Why is April having trouble concentrating the day before school is to begin? April knows
that the rst day of school will be hard for her, but knew thought she shouldn't care what
people thought of her because she thought that Dorothea would send for her soon.
2. Why is Melanie having trouble concentrating? Melanie was having trouble concentrating
because she knew both of April's sides and the one she would put on at Wilson's school was
one that Wilson School wouldn't be able to handle. April acted all adult and pretended she
was all Hollywood for the adults or people she didn't know.
3. What does Melanie take from Aprils room? How? April was still wearing her fake
eyelashes and Melanie couldn't talk her out of leaving them at home when school started.
While she was in April's room, Melanie noticed that April's eyelashes were just sitting on her
dresser. Melanie decided to ''steal'' them. Since they were very sticky, she just swept her
ngers over them, and they stuck like glue to her ngers. She only stole them because she
was trying to protect April from the kids at school because she knew they would think she
was weird. The kids would make fun of her because of the way she dressed and acted.
4. How do the sixth graders at Wilson respond to April? At rst April schoolmates didn't like
her. She acted to grown up and they didn't appreciate it. However, later her schoolmates start
liking her because she is daring.
5. What nickname do Toby and Ken give to April? Why is it important? 2 boys even gave her
the nickname of february.Even though they were teasing her name Melanie was a bit happy
about this. This is because it meant the kids were exciting her because that isnt a nickname
that you would give to just anyone from any school.
6. What do Isis and Nefertiti represent? The "Egypt Game" really begins to take shape: they
make two altars, one for Isis, the god of love (who is represented by a plaster bust of Queen
Nefertiti), and the other for Set, the evil god (whose statue was made of clay by the girls
themselves). They decorate the altars with various objects, such as owers, stones, gurines
and candles, and they paint stars on the fence.
7. How are the rituals of the Egypt game recorded? The rituals of the Egypt Game were
supposed to be recorded in April and Melanie's version of the hieroglyphics, but since they
weren't nished with them, they recorded the rituals in English.

8. What is the Crocodile Stone? What do the girls do with it? The crocodile stone is a stone
that April found on the sidewalk. It looked like more than just a rock, and from a certain angle
it looked like a crocodile, so they put it at Set's altar because crocodiles were one of the
animals Egyptians feared.
Chapter 7: Neferbeth
The Casa Rosada.She is nine and is in 4th grade. She seems lonely so once April and
Melanie decided to walk her to school, they soon nd out that she is a very interesting kid.
They soon decided to let her into the Egypt game and she ts right in with everyone else, and
is also excited to play.
2. Who does Elizabeth look like to April and Melanie? Elizabeth reminds April and Melanie of
Nefertiti for her beauty.
3. Why do April and Melanie ask Elizabeth to join the Egypt game? April and Melanie both
ask Elizabeth to join from a suggestion to be friends with Elizabeth from Melanie's mom, soon
Elizabeth is as important to the game as they are.
Chapter 8: Prisoners of Fear
1. How does Elizabeth respond to the Egypt game? April and Melanie think of Elizabeth as
the perfect addition to the Egypt Game. They thought she was exactly what they needed to
make it perfect. She was always throwing admiring comments and was crazy about the Egypt
game even though she didn't have many ideas and didn't know much about the ancient
history because she was still young.
2. What name do Melanie and April give to Elizabeth in the game? The group thought she
looked just like the Egyptian queen Nefertiti so they combined that name with her own and
from then on called her Neferbeth.
3. What puts a temporary stop to the Egypt game? While playing the Egypt Game, Mrs.
Ross started frantically calling, "Melanie!", "Marshall!" over and over. The girls and Marshall
quickly and soundlessly slipped out of the backyard. Mrs. Ross took all 3 kids to her house.
She was very uneasy and she was thinking about something important; Melanie just knew it.
Then Mrs. Ross explained that there had been a murder in the
Neighborhood. Mrs. and Mr. Ross forbid Melanie and Marshall to go out of the house.
Caroline also agreed. The Egypt Game would have to go on hold for a while.
4. Who does the community believe is guilty? The whole neighborhood was blaming only 1
person for the unfortunate murder: the Professor. Nobody knows enough about him to please
his innocence, so they all believe he is guilty.
5. Who organizes the efforts to invite the Professor to leave? After the little girl was found
dead, many people had different suspicions of who did it. Of course the Professor was a big
hit. Mr. Schmitt even went so far to make a campaign to make the Professor leave the
neighborhood.
6. How do the players continue the Egypt game when they are conned to the Casa
Rosada? After the tragedy of the ending of the Egypt Game, April has a terrible feeling
weighing a ton on her back. She realized she only got one letter from her mother in the whole
month of August. April begins to realize that she will be in Caroline's town longer than she
thought. April starts to get upset and has a hard time keeping her mind on something to do.
All she can think about is the Egypt Game, but she know she'll have to wait to play her
beloved game.
7. How do accusations against the Professor affect his business? This very much affects his
business, because now he only gets an occasional shopper that won't even go by him. His
only other customer is travelers from other towns that don't know about him or the crime.
8. What changes do the players notice in Egypt when they stop by briey? When the
members of the Egypt Game stop by briey in Egypt, they notice that the Crocodile Stone
moved a tiny bit over which they thought was a denite sign of its sinister power. They also
noticed that the owers on the altar of Nefertiti stayed fresh much longer than they had
expected, as if a compliment to her beauty.

Chapter 9: Summoned by the Mighty Ones

1. Under what circumstances are the kids in the neighborhood allowed to trick-or-treat?
Parents still do not let kids play outdoors, and they have to go to school in large groups. It
looks as if Halloween trick-or-treating was ruined, but eventually, some parents volunteer to
take large groups of trick-or-treaters around the neighborhood.
2. What is Aprils plan for revisiting Egypt? The Egypt Game kids come up with their plan;
they're going to sneak away during the trick-ortreating and visit Egypt.
3. What costumes do April, Elizabeth, Melanie, and Marshall wear for Halloween? Egyptian
Costumes they created
4. What token does April claim Set and Isis have sent to the players as a summons? They
pretend to be summoned by the ancient gods Isis and Set. On Halloween evening, they dress
up in their costumes and leave to join the group.
5. What are the players watching for as they trick-or-treat? A secret omen that will cue them
to return to Egypt
Chapter 10: The Return to Egypt
1. Who do the girls run into while trick-or-treating? After the incident, no parents want to
allow their children to go out trick-or-treating by themselves. So a few parents agree to take a
few children around the neighborhood and watch them as they go trick-or-treating. They sort
of save Halloween because if they weren't there to take the kids around, they would be sitting
in their room instead of going around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. 2. Describe Ken and
Tobys costumes. Kens costume was a hunchback with monster hands, feet and mask. In the
other hand Tobys one was a box man. 3. What does the Egypt gang claim to be the secret
omen? A shooting star.
Chapter 11: Egypt Invaded
1. What does April declare the Crocodile God demands for sacrice?
They need to do the sacrice for being forgiven for being absent too much time out.
2. What does Marshall mumble under his breath after April tells him not to yell? He was
afraid due to the sacrice of the Crocodile God.
3. What do the players decide to use for sacrices? The player decide to use one or two
hairs or a shred of ngernails.
4. What happens at the end of the Ceremony of Sacrice? It was just about the best
ceremony theyd ever had, and it was a shame to end it; but Melanie was just thinking that
perhaps it was time to leave when suddenly she heard Elizabeth give a gasp of pure terror.
Following Elizabeth's gaze, Melanie was horried to see a huge misshapen gure teetering
on the top of the high board fence. The gure teetered wildly in the dim light, and then sprang
forward to land in a horrible threatening crouch, right in the middle of Egypt.
Chapter 12: Elizabethan Diplomacy
1. Who enters Egypt uninvited? Toby and Ken with his Halloweens costumes.
2. Why does Elizabeth invite the boys to join their game? For making the Egypt Game
continue being secret and doesnt be revealed by the boys.
3. Who does Melanie credit with saving the Egypt game after outsiders discover the games
existence? April credits Melanie of saving the Egypt game after outsiders discover the games
existence.
4. Why does Melanie think that Elizabeths method is successful? Because the two boys
didnt tell anything and this situation is better than giving up the game entirely.
Chapter 13: Moods and Maybes
1. Why do Melanies parents argue about the kids playing outside? Melanies parents still
reluctant to let the children outdoors because of the murder case, but they nally decide to
allow them as long as they stay in larger groups.
2. Why is April in a bad mood? April is in a bad mood due to she got a letter from her mother
Dorothea, telling that she married her manager Nick and moved in with him. She states that
there is no room for April, and plans to send April's remaining things to Casa Rosada.

3. What kind of list does Toby ask the girls to make? What does he plan to do with it? A list
of the names that everyone will have in Egypt.
Chapter 14: Hieroglyphics
1. What do Toby and Ken bring to Egypt? Toby and Ken bring several objects to the storage
yard to decorate the "temple", such as rubber insects, a dagger, an animal skull and a stuffed
owl. The girls use them to decorate Set's altar.
2. Who is Thoth? Thoth is an owl named after the bird-headed god of wisdom and writing.
3. Why does Toby think they should nish the alphabet of hieroglyphics? For making secret
private messages.
4. What do the players want to purchase with the money they earn? Things for the game.
5. List the players Egyptian names and hieroglyphic symbols. Toby: Ramose Ken:
Horemheb Melanie: Aida April: Bastet Elizabeth: Nefertiti Marshall: Marshamosis
6. Who is Petey? Elizabeths pet
Chapter 15: The Ceremony for the Dead
1. What happens to Prince Pete-ho-tep? He was the son of the queen Neferbeth he was
death.
2. How are the high priests of Anubis chosen for the ceremony? The priest of Anubis will be
Ken (Horemheb) and Toby (Ramose)
3. How long does Toby think the mummication ceremony might take? He think it will take 5
or 6 days.
4. Who is the chief mourner? Elizabeth that was also the Queen Neferbeth or Queen
Mother.
5. Why do the players become less cautious? Because they feel secure that anybody is
going to tell the secrets of the Egypt Game.
6. What knowledge does one very small Egyptian keep to himself?
Chapter 16: The Oracle of Thoth
1. What gets the players interested in the topic of oracles? Because Mrs. Granger talk about
the oracles in her class.
2. Who comes up with the idea of using Thoth as the oracle? Toby had the idea.
3. Who asks the rst question? Toby ask the rst question.
4. Why does Ken think the rest of the players are crazy? Ken think that everyone was crazy
about using Thoth as the oracle will reveal secrets.
Chapter 17: The Oracle Speaks
1. Who performs the ceremony of Returning to the Oracle for the Answer? Bastet (April)
performs the ceremony.
2. What does Ken ask the oracle? Will I be a big league star someday?
3. Who do the Egyptians argue about the oracles answer? April was the one that argue
about the oracles answer?
Chapter 18: Where is Security?
1. What does Marshall leave in Egypt? After the kids return home, Marshall notices that he
lost Security, his plush octopus.
2. What does April ask the oracle? April checks the message and nds that there is another
answer. She'd asked when she was going home again. The mysterious answer: the best
thing to do is to make wherever you are look as much like home as possible.
3. How do the Egyptians react to the oracles answer? The kids are spooked. For all they
know, there's a very inspiring ghost writing messages to them. They even discuss stopping
the game altogether.
4. What does Marshall ask the oracle? Marshall bursts in that they can't stop, and that he
has a question to ask. He needs to ask about where Security went.
5. Who is most worried about Marshalls question to the oracle? Melanie.
Chapter 19: Confession and Confusion
1. Why does Toby call April at home? For making a confession.

2. Why does Toby fake injury? When the girls remind him that the killer is still at large and he
might have been murdered, he also reveals that he did see a person in the alley last night
and ran away.
3. What does Toby confess to April and Melanie? At school, Toby confesses to April and
Melanie that it was him writing the Oracle's answers.
4. How does the oracle answer Marshalls questions? When they perform the ceremony,
though, the paper says something in old-fashioned handwriting. It tells them to look under the
altar of Set.
5. Why was everyone surprised by the oracles response to Marshalls question? The kids
check the altar of Set and, lo and behold; here's Security! Toby swears up and down that he
didn't write that, and the girls believe him.
Chapter 20: Fear Strikes
1. Who wants to ask the oracle another question? The "Egyptians" continue to visit the
storage yard, but they do not perform ceremonies or consult the oracle.
2. Why are Marshall and April alone in the Rosss apartment? One evening, there is a
concert at the university, and Mr. and Mrs. Ross decide to attend. They take Melanie with
them, but leave Marshall at home, and ask April to babysit him
3. Why do Marshall and April go to Egypt alone? Melanie lost her book, she fears that her
school record will be ruined for not doing her homework, so she plans a short visit to "Egypt"
to recover the book.
4. What happens to April after she climbs through the board in the fence? April is attacked
from behind. She grabs at the board on the fence and tries to hang on. The man has her
mouth covered.
5. What does April wonder about Marshalls behavior as she is being attacked? Marshall
sees everything but cannot move. The police question Marshall but he won't talk. April asks
him questions and he says he knows the man who attacked April.
6. Who nally calls for help? The Professor. 7. What happens to Aprils attacker? He
escapes, then they notice he is mentally ill and he goes to a mental hospital.
Chapter 21: The Hero
1. Where do Marshall and April go after leaving Egypt? They go to the police station.
2. Who is Inspector Grant? He is the police that ask April and Marshall about the attacker.
3. How does Marshall describe the man who grabs April? April says she did not see him, but
Marshall reveals that it was a robust man with orange hair and spotted skin, and they identify
him as Mr. Schmitt's cousin.
4. Who does Marshall identify as the man who called for help? She grabs at the board on the
fence and tries to hang on. The man has her mouth covered. Marshall sees everything but
cannot move. The professor is looking out the window and starts yelling for help.
5. What does April call Caroline for the rst time? She calls Caroline grandma
6. Who is the man who commits the crimes? Mr.Schmitts cousin
7. How does Marshalls participation in the capture change his behavior? The newspapers
present the case in detail, and Marshall is regarded as a hero for identifying the criminal
Chapter 22: Gains and Losses
1. What happens to the land of Egypt after April is attacked? The loose board in the fence of
the storage yard behind A-Z Antiques is boarded up, so the children cannot visit "Egypt"
anymore.
2. What is the Professors real name? His name is Dr. Huddleston
3. Who begins working at the Professors store? Elizabeth's mom is working at the shop now
to help out the Prof.
4. What objects does the Professor show to April? Dr. Huddleston comes over to greet April,
and shows her a hieroglyphic from an Egyptian tomb. Needless to say, she nds this very
impressive.

5. To who did the items the Professor showed to April once belong? They belonged to the
Professors wife.
6. How does April respond to Dorotheas letter? April receives a letter from her mother,
inviting her to a holiday in Palm Springs, but she refuses to go.
Chapter 23: Christmas Keys
1. Who asks to see the Egypt gang on Christmas Eve? On Christmas Eve morning, Caroline
gets a phone call from the Professor asking to have the kids from The Egypt Game gather at
Caroline's apartment after dinner that day so that he can see them.
2. What reason does the Professor give for wanting to meet with the group? The Professor
tells the Egypt gang the story of his life, how he lost his wife, that he couldn't bear to live in
the house they shared, and how he eventually came to live in the store that Anne had bought
just prior to her death.The Professor tells the kids that, after he had been suspected of the
neighborhood girl's murderer, he had fewer and fewer customers, which gave him more time
to watch their game. He apologizes for spying on them but found the game most interesting.
Then the Professor makes a startling admission.
3. What is the Professors former profession? He was a professor teaching anthropology,
and traveled a lot with his wife to research native tribes and to try to improve their living
conditions.
4. How did A-Z store get started? Dr. Huddleston worked as an anthropologist and his wife
Anne planned to open the A-Z store as an outlet for native handicrafts. After Anne is killed, Dr.
Huddleston became reclusive and broke all contact with the outside world. He kept the A-Z
store open though, but neglected it, and instead of native-made objects, he started selling
second-hand junk.
5. What information does the Professor give about the oracle? He also reveals that he
frequently watched the six children playing in the storage yard to see that nothing was
damaged or no res were started, and he confesses that it was him writing the Oracle's last
message.
6. What does the Professor give each member of the Egypt gang? Dr. Huddleston gives
them keys to the padlock so they could enter the storage yard through the door. This is his
Christmas present to the six kids.
7. Why does April feel sad after the children receive their keys? She feels sad because of
Egypt, because she misses it and she express that it would not be the same.
8. What question does April pose to Melanie at the end of the novel? She asks: "What do
you know about gypsies?"