The Secret of the Nile - Jack Long and (illustrator) Doug Cushman

Published by Joshua Morris Publishing, Inc./Victoria House Publishing Ltd.: Bath, England, 1987.

I enjoy being able to add this one to a list, because this is actually a book I had when I was young. Not just a copy of a book I had when I was young, either. This is a book I kept, and have now handed on to Ezekiel, and that he is now enjoying.

Which is pretty neat.

It is also one of the first 'slightly longer' story-based picture books he has taken to. We follow detective Otter O'Reilly and his able assistant L Pinkerton as they investigate the theft of the golden burial mask of King Tut-Tut, stolen by the sinister Mack the Cat. Their investigation takes them from the museum, to a train station, to an airport, to a jungle, and on to Egypt, with each section of the journey consisting of a double page illustration with various items labelled, enabling children to learn the names, and spelling, of those items.

Educational, and with an actual narrative adventure, complete with somewhat high-stakes and a clear story arc.

And I even get to do voices for the different characters!

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