The Golden Goblet (Newbery Library, Puffin)

By Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Book Overview

A Newbery Honor Book Winner of a Newbery Honor, an exciting ancient Egyptian mystery Ranofer wants only one thing in the world: to be a master goldsmith like his beloved father was. But how can he... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140303359
• ISBN13: 9780140303353
• Release Date: May 1986
• Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
• Length: 248 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

An incredible story

The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw is an incredible tale of a young boy's fight for his dreams. Ranofer, son of Thutra the goldsmith, is a pauper that has been taken in by Gebu, his evil older brother. Every day, Ranofer must go and labor in a gold shop, seemingly destined to work within sight of his dream of becoming a goldsmith, but to never fulfill that dream. Each night, he comes home to eat a half-loaf of bread, curl up in a corner with his ragged blanket, and sleep for the next long day of drudgery. Ranofer notices, however, that his half-brother Gebu is living well beyond his means. He begins to suspect that his brother is a criminal. Ranofer cannot tolerate this, but he cannot live without Gebu either, since Gebu provides food for him. This is an astoundingly moving story of a young boy's departure from innocence, and his grim determination to live his dream of becoming a goldsmith. I really do not know why anyone would not like it. This is a tightly woven tapestry that has you rooting every step of the way for Ranofer, celebrating with his victories and mourning his defeats. It is a beautifully written story.

A painless way to learn about ancient Egypt!

I started reading this book aloud to my daughter, and I couldn't put it down after the first few chapters. I had to read the whole book to find out what happened to Ranofer, and to find out how he could resolve his problems with his abusive half-brother and fulfill his dreams. Reading this book really helped spark my interest in learning more about ancient Eygpt. The book is beautifully descriptive, and made me feel like I was there. It really helped me see the beauty in that culture. As I read other books about ancient Egypt, I realized I had already learned and retained quite a bit about it already just by reading this children's book! I think the author really researched her subject well.I would highly recommend this book as an educational book, or just for fun. After the first few chapters, the story does become pretty exciting, and at the end I was left wanting more.

Orphan adventures in Ancient Egypt -- Cool!

Young Ranofer, an orphan, lives with his half brother, Gebu, who beats and mistreats him. Ranofer discovers that there has been a thief at the goldsmith where he works. He thinks that it is Gebu's friend, Ibini, but later learns that Ibini is actually working for Gebu, who is behind the thefts. Then, one night about six months later, a hungry Ranofer ventures into Gebu's room, which is forbidden to Ranofer, for food; and he discovers a golden goblet with hieroglyphics spelling out, "Thutmose the Conqueror"! The discovery leads him to believe that Gebu is a tomb-raider. On the day of the festival when the Nile rises and makes the soil rich with nourishment, Ranofer secretly follows Gebu and Wenamon, the mason, into a tomb. But they soon discover Ranofer and start chasing him. Ranofer escapes, traps them in the tomb, and runs to tell the queen about the tomb-raiders. At first, no one believes him, but then the queen sends some people to investigate. When they find out what Ranofer has said is true, the queen rewards Ranofer with the donkey he asks for. Because I enjoy reading about Egypt, this book was fun to read. It was a good adventure and mystery. I recommend it to other people who also enjoy mysteries and adventures.