Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile

April 22, 1987
On Monday Bill Crocodile learns about his hometown on the River Nile from a spectacled Ms. Ibis; on Tuesday, about the Sphinx; Pharaohs, burial chambers and pyramids on Wednesday; Thursday is the day for the Sacred Eye of Isis. Finally, on Friday, he sees it all on a class trip to the Royal Museum, where Bill and Pete doughtily save the famous Isis jewel from "Bad Guy.'' On their journey down the Nile, dePaola's duo transport readers from the mummified past to a living present. Time distinction is abolished as the Nile Queen, the Grand Hotel, cars and umbrellas, sarcophaguses, sacred jewels and sphinxes are all part of the setting for an ancient story that still bears retelling. Shades of blue and gold strengthen the mood of the mystery and adventure. Ages 26.

September 1, 1987
K-Gr 3 -DePaola turns his gaze from the beloved hills of Italy to return to the fertile shores of Egypt's Nile River (Bill and Pete Putnam, 1978). Bill, a crocodile, and his inseparable friend Pete, a crocodile bird, head off for Bill's first day of school. Under the tutelage of Ms. Ibis they learn a fair bit of Egyptian history. The humor is gentle, and a bit of mystery and adventure is woven in as Bill and Pete capture a couple of bad guys during a class trip down the Nile. Egyptian motifs and warm colors accompany the full-page drawings that show Mama's ever-present gaze, always full of loving hearts for her dear son Bill. Humor, adventure, even a bit of Egyptian history and lorewho could ask for anything more, except for more "Bill and Pete" adventures. Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library