Learning about the life and times of ancient Egyptians can be an incredibly fun experience. Look at the gods, pharaohs, lifestyles, pyramids and wonders of the era; they are some of the most enthralling and captivating topics around. Well, at least if you ask my geeks that is what they would say if you asked them. Dover Publications is well known for their wide catalog of titles and interesting learning kits but there is so much more to the company and website than that. If you type in any random word like 'space', 'history' or 'anatomy' you will get tons of results and some of them night just shock you. Not only do they sell text and work books they also have products for art, kids activities and adult crafts. The series of stencil books that they have for kids might not last all that long but they can be used for projects, homeschooling packets and even crafts.

Fun With Egyptian Stencils

Like almost all of the other stencil books in this series, there are six designs to this and you guessed it, they are all Egyptian in tone. The companion book to this is the Egyptian Symbols stencil book and both titles are worth getting if you are into the subject or have a child that is. Both books have six stencils and none of them are repeats so you are essentially getting twelve unique designs for about $2.50 to $3.00 [suggested retail price of $1.25 to $1.50 per book]. The books are small and part of the Little Activity series, they are excellent for homeschoolers that are learning about Egypt or if you have a child that is doing a project about ancient Egypt.

What do you get in regards to the designs in this book? My person favorite is the symbol of Amaunet [or Horus depending on how you interpret it] with a wide wing span; you might see this and think that there isn't that much you can do with it but if you add some color or a few layers of [I cringe as I say this] glitter nail polish over it, you get something that looks pretty freakin' cool. Annabelle started using glitter, glitter paints and sparkles when she made tons of scarabs from the other stencil book and I wanted to see if I could add some zip to the "falcon" with this one. The ankh looks great if you use metallic markers on it but you do have to use slightly thicker paper if you want to use several different colors as the metallic markers will warp regular paper.

The sarcophagus is the stencil that I really wanted to use in the border design that I planned on using for the black painted bookcase. Even though it is a little on the plain side if you add some gold leaf foil to it or use different colors, it turns out looking great. That is one of the nicest things about these stencil books from Dover; you get the basics of the design but it's up to you or your child to make it something that is unique. Another one that you can have a lot of fun with is Seth [but it could also be Anubis depending on how you look at it]; even though his representation is rather grim [Seth: protector of the desert / Anubis: the overseer of the mummification process] the design in this book is clear cut and easy to color but because it is in sections you can use different colors to give it a nice look.

One thing to keep in mind about any type of stencil book that deals with symbols is that sometimes they are not going to be 100% accurate. You could look at the jackal stencil and it could be Seth, Anubis or Thoth depending on which type of symbol you are comparing it to. I ran into the same type of issue when I got the Chinese Symbols stencil book; one person would say that a character meant one thing and someone else would say that it was something slightly different. Granted, there is no confusing a scarab or ankh with something else but when it comes to the figureheads and animals, they can be interpreted in different ways. Even the falcon / hawk / bird in this book could be taken several different ways; the brood said that [by a slight stretch] it could be Ma'at.

What's the best way to use these? It all depends on what you are into. For kids you can always use crayons, paints or markers but you will have to use the right kind of paper. We are planning on enlarging some of the designs once they have been traced out when running them through the printer on to Shrinky Dink paper to color and bake. This was Annabelle's idea and when we tried this with other art based booked from Dover we always had great results. I can fully see her making tons of scarabs [from the other book] and hanging them in her window.

The Bottom Line

This book sells at the Dover website for $1.50; I would rather pay a little more and have the stencils be cut from plastic instead of card stock but hey, you can still have a lot of fun with them. Whether you use them as a teaching tool or to have some fun, the designs are nice and with a little bit of care they can be used more than a few times. I like the fact that Annabelle started reading more about the Egyptian people and some of the cool things that they invented; in that respect the dollar fifty paid for it was more than worth it. I'd suggest any of the title in this series for kids who like to draw or color, even more so if they find a subject or topic that really interests them.


As always, thanks for the visit…

~^V^~ Freak ~^V^~

© 2008 Freak369


Other "Fun With Stencils" title:
Chinese Symbols - Egyptian Symbols
Easter - Dragon - Pirate

Egyptian Hieroglyphics: How To Read And Write Them
Egyptology: Search For The Tomb of Osiris
The New Book of Pharaohs - The Egyptian Cinderella

Egyptian Mummy - Oasis Ambush - Scorpion Tracker
Sphinx Secret Surprise - Curse of the Pharaoh - Secret of The Tomb
The Gods And Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Eqyptian Designs Stained Glass Coloring Book
Arabic Designs Stained Glass Coloring Book
King Tut Coloring Book - Egyptian Coloring Book
"Tomb of Kings" 100 Piece Floor Puzzle



Recommended: Yes