Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile »

Best known for his award-winning picture book Strega Nona and for the 26 Fairmount Avenue series of chapter books, Tomie dePaola is one of the most prolific -- and beloved -- author/illustrators in the field of children's literature.

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Little William Everett Crocodile and his friend Pete take a class trip to a Cairo museum where they encounter a jewel thief.

Publishers Weekly

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. (May)