Hatshepsut, His Majesty, Herself

Andronik (Quest for a King: Searching for the Real King Arthur) pieces together a thoughtful biography of ""ancient Egypt's only successful female king,"" who ruled in the 1400s B.C. The heavy amount of text and sophisticated discussion of lineage and royal customs make this picture book best suited to older readers. After the death of her father, Tuthmosis I, a powerful pharaoh, 12-year-old Hatshepsut married her only surviving sibling, half-brother Tuthmosis II, who died within several years. Hatshepsut then became the acting ruler of Egypt, allegedly until Tuthmosis's son (by a member of his harem) reached an age to assume this role. Yet she soon thereafter crowns herself pharaoh. Andronik discloses some intriguing anecdotes and details, among them the facts that Hatshepsut referred to herself in her writing as both ""he"" and ""she,"" and dressed in male clothing at official ceremonies, even attaching a gold ""beard"" to her chin. After her death, Hatshepsut's nephew (Tuthmosis III) and successor changed the royal records to make it appear as though he had succeeded his father directly and ordered statues and wall carvings bearing her image destroyed. Carefully mingling fact and well-reasoned conjecture, the author shapes an absorbing story, helpfully including pronunciation keys throughout the text. Rendered in alkyd on paper, Fiedler's (The Crystal Heart) stately pictures emulate the feel of ancient Egyptian artwork and make this historical figure all the more real and intriguing. Ages 7-10. (Mar.)