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Jessie Hartland
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How the Sphinx Got to the Museum (How the . . . Got to the Museum) Hardcover – September 1, 2010

by Jessie Hartland (Illustrator)
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 19 ratings
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Acclaimed author and illustrator, Jessie Hartland, beautifully presents this informative and fascinating history of the Hatshepsut sphinx: from its carving in ancient Egypt to its arrival in the hallowed halls of New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. This is essential reading for junior Egyptologists!
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Previous page
  1. Reading age
    6 - 9 years
  2. Print length
    40 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Lexile measure
    AD1460L
  5. Dimensions
    11.36 x 0.42 x 9.39 inches
  6. Publisher
    Blue Apple Books
  7. Publication date
    September 1, 2010
  8. ISBN-10
    1609050320
  9. ISBN-13
    978-1609050320
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 1–4—Lively artwork and rhythmic text highlight this unique picture book that tells the story of how one particular piece of Egyptian sculpture ended up in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Hartland begins with a brief description of Hatshepsut and her significance as a female pharaoh in ancient Egypt, as well as explaining how most pharaohs had many pieces of statuary created in their honor. The story continues to build as Hatshepsut orders the creation of the sphinx, the sculptor secures the granite, the priests admire it, the stepson destroys it, and then the real fun begins after an archaeologist discovers it 3000 years later in a pit and begins the process of acquisition for the museum. The cadenced writing is simultaneously predictable and unexpected, making it a joy to read aloud, inviting listeners to join in. It also includes vocabulary such as curator, rigger, and registrar, providing the opportunity to delve into discussions of unusual career choices, as well as fun verb choices that will intrigue children. The accompanying illustrations are animated and detailed, from an archaeologist's tools to a curator's cluttered office—plenty for young eyes to discover and share. Brilliantly simple and effective, this is an excellent addition to any elementary collection.—Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA
(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* At some point every visitor to a museum wonders the same thing: How did that get here? With exhaustive, dizzying, yet crystal clear detail, Hartland answers that question in regard to a seven-ton sphinx from ancient Egypt. The opening illustration introduces a museum docent and a gaggle of curious students, but then we backtrack to the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut, who requests from a sculptor six granite sphinxes. Priests observe the finished works; years later, Pharaoh Thutmose III destroys them; 3,000 years later, an archaeologist discovers the ruins. This is just the beginning—before it’s over we’ll meet art movers, curators, conservators, riggers, registrars, retouchers, and more, and the increasing lineup is featured on each right-hand page in “house-that-Jack-built” stair-steps: “The SPHINX that was documented by the PHOTOGRAPHER, painted and restored by the ARTIST, officially numbered by the REGISTRAR,” and so on. Eye-openers abound (the movers, for example, avoid “bumpy roads and tight turns”); while Hartland’s cheery, childlike paintings effortlessly shift from desert to city to museum. Closing historical notes are also great. The overall elicited emotion is awe—both for the passage of time and for the steps required to bring a simple hunk of stone to the fifteenth person: you. Grades 2-4. --Daniel Kraus

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Blue Apple Books (September 1, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1609050320
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1609050320
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 6 - 9 years
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ AD1460L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.23 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 11.36 x 0.42 x 9.39 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 19 ratings

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Jessie Hartland

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
19 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mandi M
5.0 out of 5 stars Goes great with CKLA amplify
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2022
Verified Purchase
I got this to accompany ancient history unit of CKLA amplify knowledge curriculum for grade 1. It was a great book that connected well with the previous lessons in that text.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Book About How History is Collected
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2013
Verified Purchase
I bought this book for my six year old who has been obsessed with everything Egyptian lately. It is a cute look into where pieces of history come from and how they end up in the museum. It focuses on one mummy, a woman pharaoh named Hatshepsut and her journey from being pharaoh to ending up in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
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Philly Flower
5.0 out of 5 stars A required read if you are going to visit the museum. And you should visit the museum.
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2014
This book helped me and my children to love the Met even more. The Sphinx is a beautiful statue but it is overshadowed by the huge Temple of Dendur looming over it. Now that we have read this book my kids love finding the little red numbers that identify it, and examine the parts of the statue that are real vs plaster. Did you know they intentionally make the plaster look different from the original so it's easier to tell the two apart? Because the Met has a room dedicated to Hatshepsut statues, this book helped us to value all of those works of art as well (this Sphinx is not in that room). It brings an ancient statue to life, helping us feel it's colorful history and understand it's significance. How often is a masterpiece broken to boxes and boxes of pieces, buried in a pit for thousands of years, discovered, shipped to New York, and put back together again for the world to admire once more? It's uncommon to find a book that covers an object's history as well as it's preservation. It helped us appreciate all the work gone into acquiring the many masterpieces that make the Met the amazing museum that it is. This is a really great book.
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D. Fowler
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a fascinating glimpse at an unusual Egyptian pharaoh and how one of her sphinxes made it to the Met!
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2010
If you've are lucky enough to walk up the stairs and into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, you may have been able to see one of Hatshepsut's sphinxes. Hatshepsut was a pharaoh who ruled in ancient Egypt. There were many pharaohs and perhaps the most famous or memorable was King Tutankhamen, but Hatshepsut was undoubtedly the most unusual. Hatshepsut was a woman and that just wasn't supposed to happen in Egypt, but it did. There were "many monuments and pieces of art [that] were created in her honor." As with most pharaohs there were many different kinds of memorial objects that were created to be placed in their tombs or in front of their temples.

Hatshepsut had artisans carve several stone sphinxes to stand "guard in front of her temple." She supervised her architect, Senenmut, who created her temple. Plans were drawn up to make statues, "including a set of six sphinxes." The granite was mined at an quarry in Aswan and with great difficulty this "HUGE block of granite" made its way down the Nile on a boat. Pharoah Hatshepsut's dream began to take shape and her magnificent temple was soon guarded by the six sphinxes. Later, after she died, her stepson, Thutmose III, had "all of the beautiful artwork, including the sphinxes," destroyed and buried in a pit. Who found these pieces? How were they put back together again and just how did that sphinx get to the Met?

This is a fascinating glimpse at an unusual Egyptian pharaoh and how one of her sphinxes made it to the Met. Most people have never heard of Hatshepsut, but she is just starting to become known to the younger set and this is one of the more interesting portraits of her. The story is progressive and by the time we get to the end we know exactly how that sphinx made its way to 1000 Fifth Avenue so all of us can visit with him. For example, once we meet the archaeologist, "he uncovers the pit with the broken pieces of dozens of statues, including the sphinx that was ... dumped there by the stepson, marveled at by the Egyptian priests, chiseled by the sculptor and order by the pharaoh." At the end we are greeting by the docent and work our way back to the pharaoh. The artwork is marvelously quaint and very appealing. In the back of the book are additional facts and figures, more history, and we learn more about where the other sphinxes went.
2 people found this helpful
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VPrimeaux
4.0 out of 5 stars Grandson Loved it.
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2017
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Shipped quickly. Grandson Loved it.
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Lori Calabrese
5.0 out of 5 stars A nice reminder about preserving our history
Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2011
Egypt has reopened many of its museums and historical sites, which were in jeopardy during the uprising that led to President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. But at the time of the uprising, many historians were afraid how much damage the museum and other sites of ancient art had suffered. Egyptian art is revered and has been studied for years and years, so what better way to teach young readers about preserving these ancient artifacts than with How The Sphinx Got To The Museum.

How The Sphinx Got To The Museum leads young readers through the process of preserving the granite sphinx of Hatshepsut, a female Egyptian pharaoh. Young readers will be fascinated to learn what a sphinx is, how it was made, how it's preserved, and how it made its way to New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Told in a cumulative style, much like "This is the House That Jack Built," they learn about the Sphinx admired by the Egyptian Priests, sculpted by the sculptor and ordered by the Pharaoh while also learning about some of the people influential to a museum--the conservator, the curator, the riggers, etc...

Additional facts and figures are provided at the end of the book and you can even learn where other granite sphinxes can be found today. I love how Hartland lays out the process in a simple manner while her unique illustrations are fun to look at. At a time when Egypt's artifacts have been front and center in the news, How The Sphinx Got To The Museum reminds us all about the importance of preserving our history.
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Max's Mom
5.0 out of 5 stars How about a middle school version?
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2012
I loved this atory. I've walked by this sphinx countless times at the Met and never knew its interesting backgorund. Kids learn about Queen Hatsheput in 6th grade world history. I would love to see a middle achool version of this book, an advanced picture book with the same wonderful illustrations, that would go into why Hatsehput's statues were destoyed and even more details of how it was put together for display.
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