Zoom Upstream

Jean Free, a library consultant, is a retired public-school teacher and
librarian in Whitby, Ontario.

Tim Wynne-Jones’s cat, Zoom, has a new adventure when he follows his
friend Maria in a search for Captain Roy and finds himself transported
back in time to ancient Egypt. Zoom meets strange mummies and mysterious
cats, and sees cavernous catacombs. Finally, he and Maria find the
captain and venture upstream to locate the source of the Nile.

This open-ended story will become a favorite with cat aficionados who
delight in stylish drawings. Beddows, the award-winning illustrator of
other Zoom adventures (and of several picture books under the name of
Ken Nutt), contributes fine black-and-white illustrations that are
filled with detail, encouraging primary-grade students to learn
interesting facts about early Egyptian life. Both endpapers and picture
backgrounds extend the text and encourage careful examination by young
readers.

Zoom Upstream is a book to return to many times, and would be a
wonderful addition to a classroom unit on ancient Egypt—a springboard
for creative inquiry.