The Egypt Game
Zilpha Keatley Snyder
About this book
The Egypt Game is a Newbery Honor-winning children's novel by Zilpha Keatley Snyder about a group of children who invent an elaborate imaginative game based on ancient Egypt. The book explores friendship, creativity, loneliness, and the boundary between play and belief.
Why it was banned
Challenged in 2009 as part of a fourth-grade reading list at Southern Hills Elementary School in Wichita Falls, Texas, over scenes involving Egyptian worship rituals.
Censorship history
United States school ban context: The Illinois Library Association records a 2009 challenge to The Egypt Game at Southern Hills Elementary School in Wichita Falls, Texas. A parent objected to scenes depicting Egyptian worship rituals and said he would not stop until the book was banned from the district. The case is a precise example of religiously motivated challenge activity directed at a children's novel where the contested material was imaginative play rather than religious instruction.
Bans
| Country | Year | Reasons |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2024 | Other |