Diary Of Dorkius Maximus In Egypt by Tim Collins
| Diary Of Dorkius Maximus In Egypt by Tim Collins | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Margaret Young
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| Summary: A mad cap cross between the Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Horrible Histories with the story of a fart that changed the world. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 192 | Date: August 2013 |
| Publisher: Buster Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1780550282 | |
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Having enjoyed the first book in this series we were quite keen to try the sequel. Although this is part of what I hope will be a very long series, it is not necessary to have read the first book to enjoy this one. This book sees Dorkius Maximus rewarded for his activities by being asked to accompany Caesar on an important visit to Egypt. Ceasar hopes young Dorkius may be able to help negotiate a deal with the odious King Ptolemy, who happens to be about the same age as our hero.
As expected form this type of book - nothing goes according to plan. One disaster follows another, including a very rude scene involving farting in people's faces, and it looks like Dorkius may be in very hot water with Caesar. Luckily for Dorkius, Caesar soon falls in with someone who hates Ptolemy as much as he does - Cleopatra. The rest as they say is history - but not quite as we know it. If you thought Caesar was the great military genius who defeated Ptolemy XIII's forces at the Battle of the Nile think again. The Diary of Dorkius Maximus in Egypt reveals the true story, and what it lacks in grandeur it makes ups in mirth. This has to be one of the most hilarious versions of an epic battle I have ever come across.
I wouldn't really count on this book to teach your child history. The basic facts are there, but Collins has taken an quite a few liberties with them in the name of a good story. This does have some educational value, but the main reason to read this book is just for fun. My sons especially like very rude illustration of Dorkius's slaves pictorial messages. Readers of the original will remember the sacred chickens, but whether you remember them or not, they were my favourite part of the book, and one of my son's favourite parts as well. Substitute expert parenting books for sacred chickens and we could have a statement on parenting which holds just as true today.
This book has a plenty of action and misadventure, but it is primarily one joke after another, most them gross, and with quite a lot of references to wee. This book isn't for everyone. Many adults are bemoaning the amount of toilet humour in today's books and the lack of strong moral values. I can understand their complaints, but I also feel these books are harmless humour. This isn't one of those books that will change a child's life, or give them ethics which will be embedded into their conscious for life. It serves only one purpose. It shows boys that reading is fun. The cartoon type illustrations entertain as much as the jokes do, the text is large, well spaced and easy to read. Books like this are not classic literature, but they give children the skills they need to read the classics when they are a bit more mature. This book bridges a critical gap in boys reading, in between picture books and Young Adult novels. It is at this stage that most boys either develop a life long love or reading, or give up on reading altogether. Even boys who enjoy the occasional Y/A adventure can still take pleasure in the light entertainment of books like this, just as children in days gone by had the guilty pleasure of comics - and for all the complaints about comics back in the day - the boys who read them went on to become the intellectuals of today. In short, this is rude crude - and exactly what boys want to read.
If this book appeals then we think that you might also enjoy:
Diary of a Wimpy Vampire by Tim Collins
Awful Egyptians (Horrible Histories) by Terry Deary
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