The Egypt Game

What parallels exist between the Professor and April? How do the two relate to one another? What lessons do both learn by the end of the story?

Many of the novel’s characters experience isolation in some form. Choose three characters from the text and discuss how isolation affects each one. How does the Egypt Game resolve this problem for them?

Dorothea and Caroline both function as April’s caregivers. Compare and contrast their parenting styles. What does each have to offer? Which does April prefer, and does this change? Would you describe Dorothea and Caroline as flat characters who remain stagnant during the course of the novel, or round characters who experience a shift?

The children use multiple props to create the world of Egypt. Discuss three of the most significant items. What do they symbolize in terms of the book’s themes?

Toby and Ken are both sixth-grade boys. Are their temperaments similar? Do they connect with the Egypt Game in the same way? Why do they continue to play?

Communities feature prominently in the novel. How does Snyder depict the community of parents in the real world? How does she depict the community within the Egypt game? In what ways are they similar and different?

Both the Professor and April depend on objects to distance them from the present moment. Describe what these objects are and why they are uniquely suited to sustaining the characters’ alienation.

Discuss the roles that magic and mystery play in the Egypt Game. How does imagination fuel magic? How does human intervention, though not supernatural, function as its own magic?